"Shut Up" is a song recorded by American

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

group

the Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...

for their third studio album ''

Elephunk ''Elephunk'' is the third studio album by American group the Black Eyed Peas. It was released on June 24, 2003, by A&M Records, Interscope Records and will.i.am Music Group. Production of the album commenced in September 2000, and later was aff ...

'' (2003). Lyrically, it is about a disastrous courtship with the chorus consisting of the lines "Shut up, just shut up, shut up". The song was released as the second single from ''Elephunk'' on September 8, 2003, by

A&M Records A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and functions as a branch of Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Interscope-Geffen-A&M. Established in 1962 by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the label initially operated independent ...

and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. "Shut Up" was not commercially successful in the United States but became a hit internationally, topping the charts of Australia, New Zealand, and 12 European countries. It was Europe's second-biggest hit single of 2004.

Background and release

Black Eyed Peas group member will.i.am needed a female singer for the song "Shut Up", so he brought in Fergie. She assisted the group on most of the songs on ''

'' and became the group's fourth member in 2003. While will.i.am,

apl.de.ap Allan Pineda Lindo (born November 28, 1974), known professionally as apl.de.ap ( ), is a Filipino-American rapper, singer and record producer. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas (BEP). With the BEP, he has been nomin ...

, and

Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

were working on the song, their girlfriends' phone calls would interrupt the session. Will said "The vibe was blown" and Taboo said "So we turned the negative into positive", by adding the problems they were having into the song they were making. "Shut Up" was recorded at The Stewchia in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, from December 30, 2001, to February 19, 2002. The song's "Knee Deep Remix" includes a rerecorded version of will.i.am's verse and the bridge. It also includes a new verse with apl.de.ap. An edited version of this remix appears on the deluxe version of the group's 2009 fifth studio album, '' The E.N.D.'', titled "Shut the Phunk Up". The remix samples the song " (Not Just) Knee Deep" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

. In December 2010, Funkadelic leader George Clinton filed a

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

lawsuit against will.i.am, Fergie, and

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

. Clinton stated that he did not give his permission for the sample and that his signature was forged on the release form.

Chart performance

"Shut Up" became an international success, reaching number one in Australia, Austria, Belgium (

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 ...

and

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 ...

), the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland. The single also reached number two in Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom and peaked at number five in Hungary. At the end of 2004, it was ranked as Europe's second-highest-selling single according to 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 ...

, on which the song peaked at number one. As of August 2014, it was the 47th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 400,000 units sold. In Germany, it is the second-best-selling single of the band behind " I Gotta Feeling", selling 300,000 copies to reach platinum status. The song peaked at number one on the German Singles Chart and stayed there for five weeks, becoming the band's longest run at the pole position. In the United States, the song never charted on the ''

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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

despite appearing at number 30 on the ''

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

in November 2003.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was directed by The Malloys and features an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

themed around a battle of the sexes. In it, will.i.am and Taboo play Fergie's suitors, and apl.de.ap is the conductor. The music video has several Andre the Giant Has a Posse-style posters near the stage man. Two posters from the song "

Where Is the Love? "Where Is the Love?" is a song by American hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. It was released on May 12, 2003, as the lead single from their third album, ''Elephunk'' (2003). The song was written by will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, Justin Timberla ...

" are also shown. Kimberly Wyatt and Carmit Bachar from the Pussycat Dolls both make cameos in the video. Travis Barker from

Blink-182 Blink-182 is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California, in 1992. Its current and best-known line-up consists of bassist and vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though its so ...

, Shifty Shellshock from Crazy Town and French singer Afida Turner also have a cameo in the video.

Track listings

US 12-inch vinyl :A1. "Shut Up" (LP) – 5:10 :A2. "Shut Up" (radio edit) – 3:46 :A3. "Shut Up" (instrumental) – 5:09 :A4. "Shut Up" (acapella) – 4:55 :B1. "Shut Up" (Knee Deep Remix) – 4:23 :B2. "Shut Up" (Knee Deep Remix instrumental) – 4:21 :B3. "Shut Up" (Knee Deep Remix acapella) – 4:20 European CD single # "Shut Up" – 5:12 # "Tell Your Mama Come" (live from House of Blues,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

) – 2:51 UK and Australian CD single # "Shut Up" – 5:12 # "Tell Your Mama Come" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago) – 2:52 # "Karma" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago) – 3:05 # "Shut Up" (video) UK 12-inch single :A1. "Shut Up" :B1. "Tell Your Mama Come" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago) :B2. "Karma" (live from the House of Blues, Chicago)

Personnel

The Black Eyed Peas * will.i.am – vocals,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

, executive production, production * Fergie – vocals *

– vocals *

– vocals (Knee Deep/E.N.D. remix only) Additional musicians * George Pajon, Jr. – guitar * J. Curtis – guitar * Ray Brady – guitar Production personnel * Ron Fair – executive production, additional vocal production * Dylan Dresdow –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

* Christine Sirois – engineering assistance * Tony Maserati – mixing *

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance-p ...

– mastering * Tal Herzberg – additional engineering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References