Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston song)
Encyclopedia
"Beautiful Girls" is a song by reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

-influenced musician Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...

 from his eponymous debut
Sean Kingston (album)
Sean Kingston is the self-titled eponymous debut album by Sean Kingston, released on July 31, 2007. The album was produced by J. R. Rotem. Sean Kingston wrote the lyrics with help from Evan Bogart. Kingston has claimed his lyrics are totally representative of his personal life...

. The song samples Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...

's classic "Stand by Me
Stand by Me (song)
"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...

" and uses digital pitch correction
Pitch correction
Pitch correction is the process of correcting the intonation of an audio signal without affecting other aspects of its sound. Pitch correction first detects the pitch of an audio signal , then calculates the desired change and modifies the audio signal accordingly...

 technology on the vocals. The song is about a boy who is suicidal over the failure of his relationship with a "beautiful girl". It is Kingston's signature song.

Rapper Lil Mama
Lil Mama
Niatia Jessica Kirkland professionally known as Lil Mama, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, and dancer.-Early life:...

 and actors Kenny Vibert and Lil' JJ
Lil' JJ
Lil' JJ is an American stand-up comedian, musician, dancer, and actor, best known for his role as Jordan on the Nickelodeon television series Just Jordan and doing Vital Information sketch for All That in season ten....

 are featured in the music video directed by Marcus Raboy
Marcus Raboy
Marcus Raboy is an American film and music video director.Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J...

.

Lyrics controversy

Certain radio stations (mostly AC or hot AC
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....

 stations and including Radio Disney
Radio Disney
Radio Disney is a radio network based in Burbank, California and headquartered out of the Disney Channel headquarters on West Alameda Ave., from where it has been based since November 2008. Prior to that, the network was based in Dallas, Texas...

) play the censored version of the song, which replaces the word "you had me suicidal, suicidal" with "you got me in denial, in denial." On MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 the word "suicidal" is completely removed with no replacement. On BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...

, Fuse
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....

 and MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...

, as well as several top 40, urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...

 and rhythmic top 40 and AC
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...

 stations, "suicidal" was left intact.

Due to the lyrics containing references to suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

, the track has been removed from many radio playlists including FM104
FM104
FM104 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcast across Dublin, Ireland, on the frequency 104.4 MHz. It is operated by Capital Radio Productions Limited , and is a subsidiary of UTV Radio. The station broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland...

 in Dublin, where complaints were phoned in on a late night chat show The Adrian Kennedy Phoneshow, and Wild 102 in Roseau, Minnesota
Roseau, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,756 people, 1,157 households, and 713 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,153.6 people per square mile . There were 1,229 housing units at an average density of 514.4 per square mile...

. It was allegedly pulled from two FM although a spokesperson said the song is currently not on its playlist but could not confirm if it had been in the past. FM104 replaced "suicidal" with "in denial", a change Sean Kingston made for the radio station.

Track listing

US Promo CD
  1. "Beautiful Girls" (main version) - 3:45
  2. "Beautiful Girls" (instrumental) - 3:45
  3. "Beautiful Girls" (acapella) - 3:45


UK CD single
  1. "Beautiful Girls" (album version) - 4:02
  2. "Beautiful Girls" (a Cappella) - 3:41
  3. "Beautiful Girls" (instrumental) - 3:40
  4. "Beautiful Girls" (remix) (Featuring Fabolous
    Fabolous
    John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...

     & Lil' Boosie)
    - 3:27
  5. "Beautiful Girls" (video)

Official remixes

  1. Official Remix Featuring Fabolous
    Fabolous
    John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...

     & Lil' Boosie (3:28)
  2. Official Remix Featuring AC (4:12)
  3. Official Remix Featuring Lil' Mama (3:50)

Official versions

  • Main Version, Radio Edit - 3:43
  • Album Version, LP Version - 4:02
  • Clean Radio Edit - 3:43 (Credited also as 'Radio Disney Version' or 'Nickelodeon Mix')
  • Extended Version, Video Version - 4:17

Chart performance

The song benefited from extensive airplay before its digital release, reaching as high as #17 on the Hot 100. On July 24, "Beautiful Girls" was accidentally leaked onto the U.S. iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

, two days before the planned release date. The week after the song's digital release it hit number one on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...

, debuting with 260,000 downloads in its first week (the second highest digital sales for a new song of 2007, only behind Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

's "Umbrella
Umbrella (song)
"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...

").
Kingston became the first artist born within the 1990s to top the Hot 100, beating rapper
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em
DeAndre Cortez Way , better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, and internet personality....

 to it by six weeks.
It has also gone on to occupy the top spot on the U.S. Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...

 and the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...

. It remained on top of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 for four weeks before being knocked off by the Sugababes
Sugababes
The Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...

' first single from their 5th studio album Change
Change (Sugababes album)
Change is the fifth studio album by English girl group Sugababes, released through Island Records during October 2007 in most European territories. The album features production by Dr...

, "About You Now
About You Now
"About You Now" is a 2007 single by English girl group Sugababes, written by Cathy Dennis and producer Dr. Luke for the group's fifth studio album, Change...

". The song ended 2007 as the year's 15th biggest-selling single in the UK.
On the official ARIA
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

 charts in Australia it debuted at #1, fell to #2 when Delta Goodrem's
Delta Goodrem
Delta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...

 comeback single took the top spot. "Beautiful Girls" returned the next week and remained for a month before being replaced by Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....

's "The Way I Are
The Way I Are
"The Way I Are" is a song by Timbaland, released as the second single from his second album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value. The song is known in part for its incorrect grammar. The song samples "Push it", a 1987 hit by group Salt-n-Pepa, and features R&B singer Keri Hilson and uncredited vocals...

".
> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Chart (2007) Peak
position

Year-end charts

Chart (2007) Position
German Singles Chart 64

Covers

A few months after "Beautiful Girls" was released in 2007, a new online video service called Votigo began a cover contest in which fans could submit covers of the song for a chance to get a call from Sean Kingston. After an online vote user Mallory Robbins won with an a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...

 version of the song. Top honors also went to a rock cover of the song performed by the Ailan Christopher Project. Shortly afterward, recording artist JoJo released a cover response version of the track which was released on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

, however will not be featured on her upcoming album. Chris Moyles
Chris Moyles
Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....

 also released a parody cover, however it was about the song describing how bad it was in his opinion.

The Lead Singer of Sublime, Rome, sang the Acoustic version of "Beautiful Girls" on RAWsession on October 20, 2008.

The Plain White T's
Plain White T's
Plain White T's is an American Pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes.The band is best...

, whose song was knocked out of the charts by this one, did a cover version for Yahoo Music. Lead vocalist Tom Higgenson says that the group "started covering it as a joke almost. We started learning it because we were number one for a few weeks and then we got knocked out of the number one spot by Sean Kingston, by this song. It's kind of like an ode to Sean." To close out the song guitarist Mike Retondo breaks into the chorus of "Stand by Me
Stand by Me (song)
"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...

", (which is also done in the cover version by Boyce Avenue
Boyce Avenue
Boyce Avenue is an American acoustic rock band. It was formed in Sarasota, Florida, by brothers Alejandro, Daniel and Fabian Manzano. The band is named after a combination of two streets the brothers lived on as children...

 a nod to the fact that that song's bassline is used in Beautiful Girls.

Teddy Geiger
Teddy Geiger
-Singles:-Album appearances:-Television and movie appearances:-External links:****...

 covered the song on his 2007 tour, due to popularity a recorded version of the song will be featured as a bonus track on the iTunes version of his upcoming CD The March.

Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney
Jesse McCartney is an American singer-songwriter, actor and voice actor. McCartney achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama All My Children as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo musical career...

 covered Beautiful Girls during his Right Where You Want Me
Right Where You Want Me
"Right Where You Want Me" is the first single and only single released in the U.S from Jesse McCartney's second album, Right Where You Want Me. It is also the title song for the Disney Channel Original Movie Return to Halloweentown. It also appears on the Disney album Radio Disney: Party Jams...

 tour.

David Archuleta
David Archuleta
David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...

 briefly sang the chorus of the song at the end of his May 6, 2008 performance on the U.S. TV show American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

. He was singing Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...

's original "Stand By Me" song.

Deer Tick (band) recorded a cover of "Beautiful Girls", which can be found on Myspace.com.

Casey Crescenzo
Casey Crescenzo
Casey Crescenzo is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, most notably for the bands The Dear Hunter and The Receiving End of Sirens...

 of The Dear Hunter
The Dear Hunter
The Dear Hunter is an indie rock band originating in Providence, Rhode Island. It began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo, formerly of post-hardcore band The Receiving End of Sirens...

 recorded a cover of this song and has occasionally performed it live.

Boyband JLS
JLS
- Music :* JLS, an English boyband** JLS , debut album by JLS* JLS a Spanish Rock band based in Zaragoza , Spain formed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic by lead Leo Susana.- Organizations :...

 choose a Mashup
Mashup (music)
A mashup or bootleg is a song or composition created by blending two or more pre-recorded songs, usually by overlaying the vocal track of one song seamlessly over the instrumental track of another...

 of the song and Stand by me as their bottom two performance on UK TV show The X Factor
The X Factor (UK series 5)
The fifth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV in 2008. The series started on 16 August and was won by Alexandra Burke on 13 December, with new judge Cheryl Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges...

 A year later on Series 6
The X Factor (UK series 6)
The sixth series of British television music competition The X Factor started on ITV on 22 August 2009 and was won by Joe McElderry on 13 December 2009. Cheryl Cole emerged as the winning mentor for the second consecutive year, the first time in the show's history that a mentor has won back-to-back...

of the show Lloyd Daniels
Lloyd Daniels
Lloyd Daniels is a retired American professional and semi-professional basketball player.The 6'7" shooting guard was one of the most sought-after recruits in the nation during the 1986-87 recruiting cycle. At the time, he was considered the most talented player from New York City since Kareem...

 sang the chorus and the last verse of the song in his November 30, 2008 performance also singing King's original Stand By Me.

Bayside
Bayside (band)
Bayside is an American punk rock band from Queens which formed in the winter of 2000. The band has released five full length albums since signing to Victory Records...

 covers the song on Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2 is the eighth compilation album released from the Punk Goes... series created by Fearless Records to feature covers by various artists of pop songs, and is the eighth album in the series overall. It was released on March 9, 2009, in the United Kingdom, and March 10, 2009, in the...

.

BAMF!
BAMF!
BAMF! is a six-piece band from St. Louis, Missouri, who write skacore songs that sometimes have hardcore Heavy Metal breakdowns.-This Means War:On January 2, 2009, they released their first full length album, This Means War.-Track listing:...

 recorded a version entitled "Bootyfull Girl".

Beautiful Girls Reply

"Beautiful Girls" is a song by American pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 and R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...

 singer JoJo. On July 20, 2007, the cover response version to "Beautiful Girls
Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston song)
"Beautiful Girls" is a song by reggae-influenced musician Sean Kingston from his eponymous debut. The song samples Ben E. King's classic "Stand by Me" and uses digital pitch correction technology on the vocals. The song is about a boy who is suicidal over the failure of his relationship with a...

" by Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston
Sean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...

 leaked on the Internet called "Beautiful Girls Reply" by JoJo. the song however will not be featured on her upcoming album "Jumping Trains". The song samples Ben E. King
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...

's classic "Stand by Me
Stand by Me (song)
"Stand by Me" is the title of a song originally performed by Ben E. King and written by King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller, based on the spiritual "Lord Stand by Me,", plus two lines rooted in Psalms 46:2-3...

" and uses digital pitch correction
Pitch correction
Pitch correction is the process of correcting the intonation of an audio signal without affecting other aspects of its sound. Pitch correction first detects the pitch of an audio signal , then calculates the desired change and modifies the audio signal accordingly...

 technology on the vocals. Whereas Kingston's version is about a boy who is suicidal over the failure of his relationship with a "beautiful girl", JoJo speaks from a girl's prospective.

Chart performance

The song debuted at number thirty-nine on the Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 chart one month after its release.
Chart (2007) Peak
position
US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Rhythmic Top 40
39

Parodies

  • Chris Moyles
    Chris Moyles
    Christopher David Moyles is an English radio and television presenter and author, who currently presents The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1 and Chris Moyles' Quiz Night on Channel 4....

     and Comedy Dave from BBC Radio 1
    BBC Radio 1
    BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

     have produced a popular parody, Sean Krapston - A Suicidal song.

  • Kel Mitchell
    Kel Mitchell
    Kel Johari Mitchell is an American actor, comedian, singer, rapper, screenwriter, producer, parodist, dancer and musician. He was best known for his work as a regular cast member of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That, his portrayal of Kel Kimble on the Nickelodeon sitcom Kenan & Kel,...

     has produced a song on his MySpace called "Scariest Girl".

  • Panamanian reggae group Comando Tiburón made a parody of the song in Spanish, called "No Llores Más" (Don't cry no more).

Use in media

This song is also featured in the 2008 monster film Cloverfield
Cloverfield
Cloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...

, and on The CW's Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl (TV series)
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...

. The "suicidal" version of the song, which ends differently from the single mix is also featured in the video game SingStar Hottest Hits.

See also

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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