I Wanna Sex You Up
| "I Wanna Sex You Up" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Color Me Badd | ||||
| from the album C.M.B. and New Jack City soundtrack | ||||
| Released | March 2, 1991 | |||
| Format | 7" single, 12" maxi, CD maxi, Cassette | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Genre | New jack swing | |||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Label | Giant Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Dr. Freeze[1] | |||
| Producer(s) | Dr. Freeze | |||
| Color Me Badd singles chronology | ||||
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"I Wanna Sex You Up" is a song by Color Me Badd in 1991, released as the first single from their debut album C.M.B.. It achieved a huge success in the US, UK and New Zealand, where it reached #1 on the charts. It spent four weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, but topped both the Billboard R&B and Dance charts.
Charts and rankings
The song spent three weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100, behind both "More Than Words" by Extreme and "Rush Rush" by Paula Abdul. It was the 10th best-selling single of 1991 in the UK, and in 1992 the song won the group a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo and Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Song of the Year. It was ranked #40 on Blender's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever"[2] and VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s".
Samples
The "to the tick tock ya don't stop" soundbite is sampled from Doug E. Fresh's "La Di Da Di." The bassline and the "I know you not gonna sing that song!" soundbite are sampled from Betty Wright's "Tonight is the Night." The chorus melody is from the Shuggie Otis song "Strawberry Letter 23".
A sample of "I Wanna Sex You Up" has been used in the Kardinal Beats remix of "Tick Tock" by Lemar.[3]
Appearances in other media
Television
The song has been used in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, and a 1991 episode of the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives.
The music video played on an episode of Beavis & Butt-Head, in which Beavis calls Color Me Badd a "Super Suck Group", referring to group members Sam Watters, Mark Calderon, and Bryan Abrams as Kenny G, George Michael, and Snow respectively. Butt-Head also commented that if he "sang like a wuss" that he would get chicks.
It was performed by members of the Glee cast in the episode "Acafellas", and subsequently released as a bonus track on Glee: The Music, Volume 1, which was sold at Target.
Jimmy Fallon's The Ragtime Gals did a barbershop quarter rendition of the song for Late Night (NBC).
Films
- New Jack City
- You Don't Mess with the Zohan
- Nothing Like the Holidays
- The Sitter
- CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story
- 'No Strings Attached (film)"
The alternate hit version also appeared on the New Jack City soundtrack.
Track listings
- 7" single
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix) — 4:05
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix) — 3:38
- 12" maxi
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix) — 3:38
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out - long version) — 5:13
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (instrumental) — 4:04
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix) — 4:05
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (freeze mix) — 4:06
- CD maxi
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix) — 3:39
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix - long version) — 5:14
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (Instrumental) — 4:04
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix) — 4:05
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (freeze mix) — 4:07
- Cassette
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix)
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix)
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix)
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix)
Official Versions
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (album version) — 4:06
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (freeze mix) — 4:07
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (Instrumental) — 4:04
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (master mix) — 4:05
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix) — 3:39
- "I Wanna Sex You Up" (smoothed out mix - long version) — 5:14
Personnel
- Co-producer : Howie Tee, Spyderman
- Engineer : Angela Piva, Warren Woods
- Mastered by Eddy Schreyer
- Mixed by Dr. Freeze, Howie Tee
- Producer : Dr. Freeze
Cover versions
- Bruno Mars has done live covers on several tour dates and on his New Year's Eve performance (2013/2014) at The Chelsea in Las Vegas.
- Jimmy Fallon and his barbershop quartet, the "Ragtime Gals" covered the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2013.
Charts
Peak positions |
End of year charts
Certifications
|
See also
- R&B number-one hits of 1991 (USA)
- List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK)
- List of number-one singles in 1991 (NZ)
References
- ↑ C.M.B. (liner notes). Color Me Badd. Giant Records. 1991. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ↑ The 50 Worst Songs Ever! Watch, Listen and Cringe! from Blender.com
- ↑ RCA. "Lemar – Tick Tock". Retrieved 2007-07-01.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "I Wanna Sex You Up", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000). Mississauga, Ont.: Music Data Canada
- 1 2 "Single top 100 over 1991" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- 1 2 3 Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 10, 2008)
- ↑ 1991 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved August 10, 2008)
- ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1991". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ↑ Australia certifications (Retrieved May 8, 2012)
- ↑ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved August 10, 2008)
- ↑ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved August 10, 2008)
External links
| Preceded by "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)" by Cher |
UK Singles Chart 9 June 1991 - 29 June 1991 (3 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Any Dream Will Do" by Jason Donovan |
| Preceded by "More Than Words" by Extreme |
New Zealand Singles Chart 14 July 1991 - 28 July 1991 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "More Than Words" by Extreme |
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