Kiss Me (Sixpence None the Richer song)

"Kiss Me"
Single by Sixpence None the Richer
from the album Sixpence None the Richer
Released	August 11, 1998 (See release history)
Format	CD single
Recorded	1997
Genre	Pop rock, jangle pop
Length	3:19 (single version) 3:30 (album version)
Label	Squint, Columbia
Writer(s)	Matt Slocum
Producer(s)	Steve Taylor
Sixpence None the Richer singles chronology
"Angeltread" (1995) "Kiss Me" (1998) "There She Goes" (1999)
Alternative covers U.S. commercial single

"Kiss Me" is a song recorded by American pop rock band Sixpence None the Richer from their 1997 self-titled album. Released as a single in 1998, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a worldwide success; it reached number four on both the UK Singles Chart and the New Zealand Singles Chart, as well as peaking atop the Australian singles chart and the Canadian Singles Chart, making it the group's highest-charting single across the world.

The song is also the group's best-selling single in the United States, peaking at number two for one week behind TLC's "No Scrubs". Despite only reaching second place, the song had great longevity on the chart, spending 16 weeks in the Top Ten and 35 weeks on the chart. At the end of 1999, Billboard ranked the song as the sixth best-selling single of 1999, ahead of a number of other No. 1 hits and the second highest rank for a song that didn't make it to the top, behind Whitney Houston, Faith Evans, and Kelly Price's "Heartbreak Hotel", which ranked at No. 4. It became the main theme song for the teen film She's All That starring Rachael Leigh Cook.

Single release

The year after the release of the album Sixpence None the Richer, "Kiss Me" was released as a single on August 11, 1998. Exactly three months after the debut release of the single, The WB's popular teen drama Dawson's Creek played "Kiss Me" as background music in two of its episodes from Season 2. In January 1999, Miramax used "Kiss Me" as the main theme song of its teen romantic comedy film She's All That. The film's box office success helped "Kiss Me" to gain widespread mainstream attention and chart success. "Kiss Me" climbed to No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 list, and stayed in the Top 10 for 16 straight weeks. "Kiss Me" was also included on the first soundtrack on Songs from Dawson's Creek, released on April 27, 1999 which made No. 7 on the album charts. Later that year, the BBC used the song as a closing theme during its broadcast coverage of Prince Edward's royal wedding upon the request of the British Royal Family.

The song also featured in the film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.

Music videos

Sixpence None the Richer version

The original music video, also directed by album/single producer Steve Taylor, pays tribute to French filmmaker François Truffaut and his film Jules et Jim, made in black and white and recreating many of the classic scenes from the film. Two alternate versions of the video were also released later, which featured the band sitting on a park bench, performing and watching scenes from either She's All That or Dawson's Creek on a portable television or projected on an outdoor screen. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook appeared in the She's All That version of the video. The Dawson's Creek version of the video became VH1's number-one video for the entire month of May 1999.

"Kiss Me" as performed by Debbie Scott was featured in the Music and Rhythm Game "Pump It Up: Exceed", which included a music video of a young girl and her pet cat.

New Found Glory version

New Found Glory's music video revolves around a large group of teenagers who construct a tree house out of mattresses, and throw a raucous garden party involving pillow fights and kissing, while the members of the band, along with the members of Paramore perform the song around them. While the bands perform, a young man, played by drummer Chase Dodds of the band Classic Addict, sets off on a mission to kiss as many girls as possible during the party, keeping a tally on his inner left forearm in black pen. After narrowly avoiding kissing a man (whom he mistakes for a girl because of his long hair), Chase attempts to kiss Paramore's lead singer, Hayley Williams, only to have her recognize the tally on his arm, and slap him in the face, knocking him to the ground. He is then set upon by all the girls he has kissed at the party, who then proceed to strip him of his shirt, and tie him to a nearby tree with duct tape. One of the girls tapes his mouth shut, before writing "kiss me" on his chest in black pen. The girls then rejoin the party, leaving Chase tied to the tree.

In this version, to make it more suitable to be sung from a male point of view, the line "You'll wear those shoes and I will wear that dress" is changed to "I'll wear those shoes and you will wear that dress".

Track listing

US Christian retail single

1. "Kiss Me" (radio remix)
2. "Kiss Me" (album edit)
3. "Sad But True"
4. "Kiss Me" (live in Hollywood)

US mainstream retail single

1. "Kiss Me" (radio remix)
2. "Love"

UK CD single

1. "Kiss Me" (radio remix)
2. "Sad But True"
3. "Kiss Me" (live in Hollywood)

Japanese CD single

1. "Kiss Me" (Japanese version)
2. "Kiss Me" (LP version)
3. "Kiss Me" (acoustic version)
4. "I Can't Catch You" (Ben Grosse Remix)
5. "Love" (Ben Grosse Remix)
6. "Kiss Me" (instrumental edit)

Release history

Country	Release date
United States	August 11, 1998
Europe	May 17, 1999
Oceania	May 17, 1999

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1998–99) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[1] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[2] 7 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] 7 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[4] 12 Canada (RPM)[5] 1 France (SNEP)[6] 32 Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 7 Ireland (IRMA)[8] 6 Italy (FIMI) 8 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[9] 12 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10] 4 Norway (VG-lista)[11] 8 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 13 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 6 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 4 US Billboard Hot 100[15] 2 Chart (2016) Peak position Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[16] 75

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position Australia (ARIA)[17] 19 Canada (RPM) 4 New Zealand (RIANZ) 4 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 8 US Billboard Hot 100[18] 6 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[19] Platinum 70,000 Belgium (BEA)[20] Gold 25,000 New Zealand (RMNZ)[21] Gold 7,500 United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Gold 400,000 United States (RIAA)[23] (physical) Gold 700,000[24] United States (RIAA)[23] (digital) Gold 500,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

Covers

The song has been covered by Jason Walker, Avril Lavigne,^[25] Katie Melua, UK R&B singer Nathan, Lava Lava on their album "Tour Demo", and New Found Glory on their album From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II. The New Found Glory version has been released as a single with a music video.^[26]

It has also been covered by Singaporean Olivia Ong on her album A Girl Meets Bossa Nova 2, and by American Jewel. A cover by Debbie Scott appeared in the game Pump It Up Exceed. A cover of the song was put in the game Karaoke Revolution. The song was covered on the eighth series of The X Factor by Janet Devlin in Week 7.

References

1. "Australian-charts.com – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
2. "Austriancharts.at – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
3. "Ultratop.be – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
4. "Ultratop.be – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me" (in French). Ultratop 50.
5. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archive Canada". Retrieved 2016-01-31.
6. "Lescharts.com – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me" (in French). Les classement single.
7. "Musicline.de – Sixpence None the Richer Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
8. "Search for Irish peaks".
9. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Sixpence None the Richer search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
10. "Charts.org.nz – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". Top 40 Singles.
11. "Norwegiancharts.com – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". VG-lista.
12. "Swedishcharts.com – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". Singles Top 100.
13. "Swisscharts.com – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". Swiss Singles Chart.
14. "Sixpence None the Richer: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
15. "Sixpence None the Richer – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Sixpence None the Richer.
16. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
17. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-1999.htm
18. "Billboard Top 100 - 1999". Retrieved August 28, 2010.
19. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
20. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 1999". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
21. "New Zealand single certifications – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". Recorded Music NZ.
22. "British single certifications – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Kiss Me in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
23. "American single certifications – Sixpence None the Richer – Kiss Me". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
24. "Best-Selling Records of 1999". Billboard (BPI Communications Inc.) 112 (4): 63. January 22, 2000. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
25. "Avril Lavigne at fifteen doing a cover of Kiss Me in a video by RomanLine Ent.". YouTube.
26. "Discography - New Found Glory - From the Screen to Your Stereo, Vol. 2". Billboard.com. 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2007.