"Fired Up!" is a song by American

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

duo Funky Green Dogs, also known as Murk. Written and produced by group members Ralph Falcon and Oscar Gaetan, the track's vocals are performed by Pamela Williams. "Fired Up!" was released on September 2, 1996, as the lead single from Funky Green Dogs' debut album, ''

Get Fired Up ''Get Fired Up'' is the debut album of Murk as Funky Green Dogs. It was released on Twisted America/MCA Records, catalog number TWD-11511. The production doesn't stray far from the catchy, successful formula of the two major club chart hits a ...

'' (1996).

Music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

responded positively to the song, praising its

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

and

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

sound. The song became a number-one hit on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Maxi-Singles Sales chart, the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

Dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

chart, and the

Ultratop 50 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

chart of Belgium's

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

region. It also reached the top 20 in the United Kingdom and in Belgium's

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

region.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

of ''

'' magazine called "Fired Up!" a "percussive, tribalistic anthem" and noted that the remixes by

Danny Tenaglia Daniel "Danny" Tenaglia (born March 7, 1961) is an Italian American DJ and record producer. Biography Early life Tenaglia left New York in 1985 and started DJing in Miami as a resident at Cheers nightclub, playing classic New York and Chicago ...

are "too hot for mere words". In later reviews for the same publication, he referred to the song's

as "mind-numbing" and described the track as a "stomper that melds the throaty sass of singer Pamela Williams with infectious tribal drums". ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' magazine also praised the song's hook, with Marc Pinte of

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

radio station BRTN Radio Donna calling the track an "absolutely fantastic record" and noting its appeal for both radio and dance clubs.

Commercial performance

Following its commercial release in the United States, "Fired Up!" appeared on the ''Billboard'' Maxi-Singles Sales chart, debuting at number 21 on September 14, 1996. The following week, it jumped to number one, giving Funky Green Dogs their only number-one single on this chart. On the ''Billboard''

Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, the song reached number two in early November 1996 and spent 15 weeks on the ranking, making it their joint-longest-charting single on this listing along with "Body" and "Rise Up". The song also appeared on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in February 1997, peaking at number 80 that April and charting for 14 weeks; it is the band's only appearance on this ranking. In Canada, the track topped the ''

chart in December 1996 and was the country's 26th-most-successful dance hit of 1997. Outside North America, "Fired Up!" charted in several Western European countries. In the

region of Belgium, the song debuted at number 15 on the

chart on March 22, 1997. Over the following four weeks, it rose and fell within the top 10, eventually ascending to number one on April 26. It held the top spot for five consecutive weeks and stayed on the chart for 24 weeks in total, ending the year as Flanders' eighth-highest-selling single. The song also reached the top 20 in the

region, where it peaked at number 11, spent 16 weeks within the

Ultratop 40 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiza ...

, and finished at number 74 on the region's year-end chart. The song is certified gold in Belgium for selling over 25,000 copies. In the Netherlands, "Fired Up!" peaked at number 23 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

listing and number 40 on the

Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

chart. On the UK Singles Chart, the single debuted and peaked at number 17 in April 1997, making it Funky Green Dogs' only top-40 UK hit. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, "Fired Up" reached number 31 the same month.

Track listings

1996 releases

US, European, and Australian maxi-CD single # "Fired Up!" (Twilo Anthem edit) # "Fired Up!" (

Club 69 Peter Rauhofer (29 April 1965 – 7 May 2013) was an Austrian-American disc jockey (DJ), remixer and producer who formerly worked under the moniker Club 69 as well as Size Queen. A native of Vienna, Austria, he was famous for a variety of his r ...

's Future mix) # "Fired Up!" (Murk's original groove) # "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future dub) # "Fired Up!" (

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

's Plastic Disco mix) * A second maxi-CD with the same ID was also released in the US featuring a sixth track: the Brat radio edit. US 12-inch single :A1. "Fired Up!" (Murk's original groove) :A2. "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future dub) :B1. "Fired Up!" (Peter's Plastic Disco mix) :B2. "Fired Up!" (Murk's Vocaled Up dub) US and UK 2×12-inch single; UK CD single # "Fired Up!" (Twilo Anthem edit) # "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future mix) # "Fired Up!" (Murk's original groove) # "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future dub) # "Fired Up!" (Peter's Plastic Disco mix) # "Fired Up!" (Murk's Vocaled Up dub)

1997 releases

US CD single # "Fired Up!" (Club 69's radio edit) # "Fired Up!" (the Murk radio edit) US cassette single :A. "Fired Up!" (Brat radio edit) :B. "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future dub) US 12-inch single (remixes) :A1. "Fired Up!" (

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

's Arena Anthem mix) – 14:11 :B1. "Fired Up!" (

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

's DDDDDeep vocal mix) – 9:54 :B2. "Fired Up!" (Deep-apella) – 2:05 US maxi-CD single (remixes) # "Fired Up!" (Angel's radio mix) – 4:12 # "Fired Up!" (Junior's Arena Anthem mix) – 14:11 # "Fired Up!" (Angel's DDDDDeep vocal mix) – 9:54 # "Fired Up!" (Deep-apella) – 2:05 UK CD single # "Fired Up!" (Club 69 edit) – 3:45 # "Fired Up!" (Angel's DDDDDeep vocal mix) – 9:58 # "Fired Up!" (Danny's Twilo Anthem edit) – 9:33 # "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future mix) – 7:25 # "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future dub) – 5:08 UK 12-inch single :A1. "Fired Up!" (Angel's DDDDDeep vocal mix) – 9:58 :B1. "Fired Up!" (Brat edit) – 4:00 :B2. "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future mix) – 7:25 UK cassette single # "Fired Up!" (Club 69 edit) – 3:45 # "Fired Up!" (Club 69's Future mix) – 7:25

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the ''

'' liner notes. Studios * Recorded at HN Studios and Down Low Studios (Miami, Florida) * Mastered at Frankford Wayne Mastering Labs (New York City) Personnel * Ralph Falcon – writing, production, mixing * Oscar Gaetan – writing, production, mixing * Pamela Williams – vocals * Carlos Santos – engineering * Rick Essig – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Reflist 1996 songs 1996 singles American house music songs Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles