Desert Rose (Sting song)

"Desert Rose"
Single by Sting featuring Cheb Mami
from the album Brand New Day
Released	1 January 2000 (UK)[1]
Format	12", CD
Recorded	1999
Genre	Pop rock, synthpop, world
Length	4:45 (album version) 3:55 (radio edit)
Label	A&M
Writer(s)	Sting (English) Cheb Mami (Arabic)
Producer(s)	Sting and Kipper
Sting singles chronology
"Brand New Day" (1999) "Desert Rose" (2000) "After the Rain Has Fallen" (2000)

"Desert Rose" is a song by British recording artist Sting from his album Brand New Day (1999). Riding a wave of pre-9/11 interest in Latin and Arabic cultures,^[2] the song peaked at No. 3 in Switzerland, No. 4 in Italy, No. 15 in the UK, and No. 17 in the US. The song is noted for Sting's duet performance with Algerian raï singer Cheb Mami, creating a distinct world music feel to the song.

Music video

The music video features Sting taking a trip through the Mojave Desert in a Jaguar S-Type driven by a masked female chauffeur (a possible reference to the Green Hornet's sidekick Kato) and then going to a nightclub in Las Vegas to perform the song with Cheb Mami. After shooting the video, Sting's manager Miles Copeland III approached a music licensing maven, Lloyd Simon, to work with Jaguar on a collaboration, and the auto company featured the video in their prominent television advertisements during the year 2000.^[3]

Remixes

Also included on the single releases were club remixes by Victor Calderone. One remixed version of the song was used in an alternative edit of the video, which included more sexually explicit footage.

Track listings

UK CD1 (497 240-2)

1. "Desert Rose (radio edit)" – 3:55
2. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" (live at the Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles) – 4:27
3. "Fragile" (live at the Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles) – 4:10
4. "Desert Rose" video (CD-ROM)

UK CD2 (497 241-2)

1. "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix radio edit)" – 4:47
2. "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)" – 9:21
3. "Desert Rose (Filter Dub Mix)" – 5:21
4. "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)" video (CD-ROM)

UK 12" (497 241-1)

1. "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)"
2. "Desert Rose (Filter Dub Mix)"
3. "Desert Rose" (original)

US CD (0694973212)

1. "Desert Rose (radio edit)" – 3:54
2. "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix radio edit)" – 4:44
3. "Brand New Day (Murlyn Extended Mix)" – 5:01
4. "Brand New Day (Murlyn Radio Mix)" – 3:54

Europe CD (497 233-2)

1. "Desert Rose (radio edit)" – 3:54
2. "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix)" – 9:20
3. "Desert Rose (Melodic Club Mix radio edit)" – 4:44
4. "Brand New Day (Murlyn Mix)" – 5:01
5. "Brand New Day" video (CD-ROM)

Charts

Chart (2000) Peak position Australia (ARIA Singles Chart)[4] 67 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 6 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[6] 11 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 7 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[8] 2 France (SNEP)[9] 6 Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 7 Ireland (IRMA)[11] 27 Italy (FIMI)[12] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 29 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 3 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[15] 15 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 17 U.S. Billboard Pop 100[16] 19 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[16] 5 U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[16] 22 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks[16] 3 End of year chart (2000) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[17] 50 Other versions In 2007, instrumental group John Tesh Project released their version from the album "A Passionate Life."[18][19] Appearances in popular culture The song is played on XM Satellite Radio during technical difficulties. The song is used in the Brazilian soap opera O Clone. The song is available in the CD O Clone International. The song was parodied on a 2001 episode of Saturday Night Live, with Jimmy Fallon as Sting, and Rachel Dratch as Cheb Mami. During the sketch, Sting (Fallon) is trying to introduce a new song, while Mami (Dratch) and the backing band keep interrupting with "Desert Rose". In the 2001 Hindi movie Dil Chahta Hai, the character Akash, played by Aamir Khan can be seen listening to the song after falling out with his best friend. In Family Guy, Peter buys a "Sounds of the Rainforest" CD that consists of sounds of trees being sawed down. A worker can be heard insulting Sting's environmental activism, saying "That song (Desert Rose) sucks!" In 2000, the band Mo'Rockin produced a cover of the song on their album, Sands of Time. The 2000 Japanese television drama Yasha used Desert Rose as their opening theme song. The 2000 Iranian film Party prominently features the song in an underground club scene. President Barack Obama switched out the Presidential Anthem of the United States, "Hail to the Chief", for many other songs, one of which is a version of "Desert Rose" that is played by a pianist.[20] References "Sting Discography: Desert Rose, CD". sting.com. Retrieved 12 June 2014. Dan Irwin (31 August 2008). "SULTAN RULES: Internationally known artist entertains crowd at Syrian picnic". New Castle News. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014. Sultan cited the success of Sting's "Desert Rose," a 1999 song that climbed to No. 17 on the U.S. charts, as evidence that Western music was ready not only for a Latin influence, but also an Arabic one. Sting rides again Chicago Tribune Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. "Austriancharts.at – Sting feat. Cheb Mami – Desert Rose" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. "Ultratop.be – Sting feat. Cheb Mami – Desert Rose" (in Dutch). Ultratip. "Ultratop.be – Sting feat. Cheb Mami – Desert Rose" (in French). Ultratop 50. Canadian peak "Lescharts.com – Sting feat. Cheb Mami – Desert Rose" (in French). Les classement single. "Musicline.de – Sting feat. Cheb Mami Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. "placement". irishcharts.ie. Note: Sting must be searched manually. "Italiancharts.com – Sting feat. Cheb Mami – Desert Rose". Top Digital Download. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sting feat. Cheb Mami – Desert Rose" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. "Swisscharts.com – Sting feat. Cheb Mami – Desert Rose". Swiss Singles Chart. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=27934 http://www.billboard.com/artist/1496522/sting/chart "Billboard Top 100 - 2000". Retrieved 2010-08-31. "A Passionate Life overview". Allmusic.com. whosampled.com. Whossamplesd http://www.whosampled.com/cover/80786/John-Tesh-Desert-Rose-Sting-Cheb-Mami-Desert-Rose/. Retrieved 16 March 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help) Knoller, Mark (2009-01-30). "Does It Matter If The President Doesn’t Wear A Jacket Or Tie In The Oval Office?". CBS News. Retrieved 2009-02-05. External links Sting - Desert Rose on YouTube Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics