Bodies (Robbie Williams song)
Encyclopedia
"Bodies" is the lead single
from British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams
's eighth studio album Reality Killed the Video Star
and was released on 12 October 2009 by EMI
. It received its premiere on The Chris Moyles Show
on BBC Radio 1
after an interview with Williams on Friday 4 September 2009 at 8am. It is Williams' first single release as a solo artist since "She's Madonna
" in March 2007. "Bodies" entered the UK singles chart at number 2, selling 89,000 copies in its first week and attaining his best first-week sales since "Rock DJ
". Williams was beaten to number 1 by Alexandra Burke
, whose single "Bad Boys
" (featuring rapper Flo Rida
) was released on the same day and sold 187,000 in the same week. The cover art was photographed by Julian Broad.
Digital EP
for "Bodies" was filmed in the Mojave Desert
, directed by Williams' frequent collaborator Vaughan Arnell
and features Williams' then girlfriend, and eventual wife (m. 2010), Ayda Field
. It had its official premiere on 9 September 2009.
called the song "[It's] a confident, dignified comeback single with a big chorus" commenting that the song is "better than: 'Let Me Entertain You
' , as good as: 'Rock DJ
', not as good as: 'Feel
'." and adding that: "Bodies is not a comeback single that takes many chances - it is, career wise, Robbie's most important single since 'Angels' and there's obviously a certain amount of brand rebuilding needed. But nor is it a comeback single that attempts to pretend the last three years haven't happened. [...] Bodies sounds like Robbie and Trevor Horn bringing out the best in each other - in this case 'the best' equalling a big comeback single from Britain's best male popstar."
Digital Spy
gave the single four stars (out of five) and said that: "With an Ian Brown
-esque funky strut, some monkish chanting and plenty of electro squelches, he hasn't completely ditched the not-so-successful experimentation of his last LP, but this time around he counterbalances it with a whopping great chorus that will have even Gary Barlow
green with envy. [...] Packed full of his usual raised eyebrow cheekiness and with a barmy-but-bloody-massive bridge, we're still not entirely sure what the Robster's actually singing about. However, by the time he's launched into the choir-backed crescendo, on which he hollers like a hyperactive preacher, we're too sold to care. Welcome back Robbie - and don't leave it so long next time."
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
's eighth studio album Reality Killed the Video Star
Reality Killed the Video Star
Reality Killed the Video Star is the eighth solo studio album by the British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released in November 2009. The album was produced by Trevor Horn and recorded between September 2008 and August 2009 in London and Los Angeles. It debuted in the top ten of 22 national...
and was released on 12 October 2009 by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
. It received its premiere on The Chris Moyles Show
The Chris Moyles Show
The Chris Moyles Show is the current BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in the UK, and has been since Chris Moyles became the station's breakfast show presenter on 5 January 2004. From 2004 to 2007, the show was broadcast 6:55–10:00 am each weekday, but since 15 October 2007 it has started from...
on 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...
after an interview with Williams on Friday 4 September 2009 at 8am. It is Williams' first single release as a solo artist since "She's Madonna
She's Madonna
"She's Madonna" is the third and final international single released from Robbie Williams's seventh studio album Rudebox. A collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys, it is a love song to pop star Madonna and was released on 5 March 2007. A promotional copy was released to European radio in late January...
" in March 2007. "Bodies" entered the UK singles chart at number 2, selling 89,000 copies in its first week and attaining his best first-week sales since "Rock DJ
Rock DJ (song)
"Rock DJ" is a song by English pop singer Robbie Williams from his fourth album, Sing When You're Winning released in the summer of 2000. The song heavily musically samples Barry White's 1977 song "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" and also contains a sample of "Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe...
". Williams was beaten to number 1 by Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke is a British R&B and pop recording artist who rose to fame after winning the fifth series of British television series The X Factor in 2008...
, whose single "Bad Boys
Bad Boys (Alexandra Burke song)
"Bad Boys" is a song by British recording artist Alexandra Burke. The song is her second single after winning the fifth series of The X Factor, and the lead single from her debut album, Overcome. The song features American rapper Flo Rida. It was written by Flo Rida, Melvin K. Watson Jr, Larry...
" (featuring rapper Flo Rida
Flo Rida
Tramar Dillard , better known by his stage name Flo Rida , is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a #1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from...
) was released on the same day and sold 187,000 in the same week. The cover art was photographed by Julian Broad.
Track listing
International CD Single- "Bodies" — 4:04
- "Bodies" (Body Double Remix) — 6:14
Digital EP
- "Bodies" — 4:04
- "Bodies" (Body Double Remix) — 6:14
- "Bodies" (Fred Falke Remix) — 6:53
- "Bodies" - Cahill Refix Edit - 3:50
Lyrics
The song's cryptic lyrics, with a wide variety of religious references included, have been subject to a lot of speculation. In an October 2010 interview with Q magazine, Williams referred to the lyrics as "fucking gibberish" that he considered pointless. He also stated that "Who knows what I was going on about? I was fucking stoned."Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Bodies" was filmed in the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, directed by Williams' frequent collaborator Vaughan Arnell
Vaughan Arnell
Vaughan Arnell is a British music videos and television commercials director. Although having done films for high profile clients in the tv commercial field, including Nestlé and Levi's, he is mostly known for his music video work. He is a frequent collaborator of music artist Robbie Williams...
and features Williams' then girlfriend, and eventual wife (m. 2010), Ayda Field
Ayda Field
Ayda Field is an American television actress. Field was born in Los Angeles, California, to a Turkish father and American mother.-Early life:...
. It had its official premiere on 9 September 2009.
Critical reception
PopjusticePopjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
called the song "[It's] a confident, dignified comeback single with a big chorus" commenting that the song is "better than: 'Let Me Entertain You
Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams song)
"Let Me Entertain You" is a song written by Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers. Released as the fifth and last single from Williams' debut album, Life Thru A Lens. It has no connection to the songs by Queen or Shakespears Sister carrying the same title. In March 1998, the track became a top three hit...
' , as good as: 'Rock DJ
Rock DJ (song)
"Rock DJ" is a song by English pop singer Robbie Williams from his fourth album, Sing When You're Winning released in the summer of 2000. The song heavily musically samples Barry White's 1977 song "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" and also contains a sample of "Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe...
', not as good as: 'Feel
Feel (Robbie Williams song)
"Feel" is a song by British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams. It was released on December 2, 2002 as the lead single from his fifth studio album, Escapology...
'." and adding that: "Bodies is not a comeback single that takes many chances - it is, career wise, Robbie's most important single since 'Angels' and there's obviously a certain amount of brand rebuilding needed. But nor is it a comeback single that attempts to pretend the last three years haven't happened. [...] Bodies sounds like Robbie and Trevor Horn bringing out the best in each other - in this case 'the best' equalling a big comeback single from Britain's best male popstar."
Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
gave the single four stars (out of five) and said that: "With an Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
-esque funky strut, some monkish chanting and plenty of electro squelches, he hasn't completely ditched the not-so-successful experimentation of his last LP, but this time around he counterbalances it with a whopping great chorus that will have even Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...
green with envy. [...] Packed full of his usual raised eyebrow cheekiness and with a barmy-but-bloody-massive bridge, we're still not entirely sure what the Robster's actually singing about. However, by the time he's launched into the choir-backed crescendo, on which he hollers like a hyperactive preacher, we're too sold to care. Welcome back Robbie - and don't leave it so long next time."
Chart performance
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart 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... |
4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
5 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) | 2 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
2 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
1 |
| Finnish Singles Chart Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
2 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
8 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
1 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
1 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
3 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
1 |
| Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
53 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
30 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
19 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 16 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
4 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| 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 ... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs | 6 |
Certifications and sales
| Country | Certification (if any) | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Gold | 35,000+ |
| Germany | Gold | 150,000+ |
| Switzerland | Platinum | 20,000+ |
| United Kingdom | Silver | 240,000+ |
Year-end charts
| End of year chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 16 |
| German Singles Chart IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
15 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
40 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 21 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 16 |
| 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 ... |
80 |
| European Hot 100 | 36 |
| Year-end Chart (2010) | Position |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 47 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart | 15 |
Chart procession and succession
Release history
| Country | Release date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 4 September 2009 | Airplay Airplay * Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay... |
Virgin Records Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny... , EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
| Australia | 9 October 2009 | CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |
Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis... , EMI |
| Germany | |||
| Austria | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| United Kingdom | 11 October 2009 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Virgin Records, EMI |
| France | 12 October 2009 | CD single | |
| United Kingdom | |||
| Mexico | 13 October 2009 | Digital download | EMI |
External links
- RobbieWilliams.com — Robbie Williams official website