''Scatman's World'' is the debut major-label studio album (and second overall) by American musician

Scatman John John Paul Larkin (March 13, 1942 – December 3, 1999), known professionally under the alias Scatman John, was an American musician. A prolific jazz pianist and vocalist for several decades, he rose to prominence in 1994 through his fusion of s ...

, recorded after the worldwide success of his debut single "

Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop) "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" is a song by American musician Scatman John. It was released in November 1994 by RCA Records as his debut single, and was later re-released in July 1995 for his second album, '' Scatman's World'' (1995). The song ...

". It is a loose

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

dealing with an imaginary

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

n society named "Scatland". He speaks about this at length in the liner notes, as well in several tracks on the album, most notably the track "Song of Scatland". ''Scatman's World'' was very popular internationally, particularly in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, where it reached No. 2 and stayed on the charts for 40 weeks, selling more than 1,560,000 copies overall, ranking among the top twenty best-selling albums of all time in that country recorded by non-Japanese artists. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, the title track "Scatman's World" saw a resurgence in popularity due to becoming an

Internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

See also

References