Konichiwa Bitches
Encyclopedia
"Konichiwa Bitches" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn
, taken from her self-titled fourth studio album
. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2007 as the first international single from the album. The term "Konichiwa Bitches" originates from a sketch with American comedian Dave Chappelle
. The song was met with positive reviews, and features a more hip hop
sound than Robyn's previous singles. An accompanying music video premiered in February 2007 and features scenes that are literal representations of the song's lyrics. "Konichiwa Bitches" reached number ninety-eight on the UK Singles Chart
and number sixty-seven in Australia.
watched Chappelle's Show
with Dave Chappelle
on MTV
. He performed a sketch in which the world's different races tried to decide what famous people belonged to which race. Robyn said, "In the end this member of the group comes up and they're supposed to decide if he's Asian or black and at the end the Asians get him. He goes up on stage and says 'Koni-chi-WAA Bitches', and it's like the most funny thing I know. It's funny and fiesty and cool." She chose to name a song after that, and call her own label Konichiwa Records
. When writing the song, Robyn recalled that she and Åhlund "were calling each other, hitting each other off with new lines." She said, "It was almost like a competition for a while like who could be the craziest. And we would call each other like, listen to this one!"
The song was released as a CD single in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2007 as the first single from the international 2007 edition of Robyn's self-titled fourth studio album. Fans who had signed up for Robyn's newsletter could also download a remix of the track for free. She said, "It's a version me and Klas Åhlund made in the beginning of the recording of the album, and it's been sitting in his computer until now waiting for somewhere to be played." "Konichiwa Bitches" was also released as a double A-side
alongside "Cobrastyle" in Australia. "Konichiwa Bitches" charted at number 153 on the UK Singles Chart
in April 2007. On the chart issue dated 11 August 2007, the album's second single, "With Every Heartbeat
" debuted at number five and "Konichiwa Bitches" entered the top 100 at number ninety-eight. In Australia, the song peaked at number sixty-seven on the issue dated 24 September 2007.
song, with "cheeky" and "girly" hip hop
elements. The song features Robyn rapping over a "simple, ruthlessly catchy beat", that is "laced with some grin-inducing sound effects and laugh-out-loud lyrical turns." It features lines such as "I'll hammer your toe like a pediatrician / Saw you in half like I'm a magician", and "I'm so very hot that when I rob your mansion/You ain't call the cops you call the fire station." Tamar Anitai of MTV Buzzworthy
said that Robyn "references both balls and the c-word and employs the word "bitches" as clear as day in the song's title."
Ben Norman of About.com
described the song as "Ridiculous and weird, yet flawless in every way," and called it "perhaps the most brilliant song of her career." Heather Phares of Allmusic wrote that it has "a title that could very well have been the first thing she said to her old bosses once she got her own label set up." Phares also said that Robyn "sounds equally empowered and irresistible, and doesn't hesitate to tell off labels, trifling boys, or anyone else who stands in the way of what she wants." Michaelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club
considered the song "one of the few genuinely funny hip-hop send-ups of recent years." Jess Harvell of Pitchfork
wrote, that it "suffers from a bad Dave Chappelle joke title, but redeemed by the fact that it's 2:35 of boasting so compressed you'll rewind it three or four times in a row." Jaime Gill of Yahoo! Music UK called the song "the kind of minimal, oddball pop that Pharrell Williams
made before his spectacular loss of form." Aidin Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle
named the song the seventh best pop song of 2008.
account on 12 February 2007. In an interview with British newspaper Metro, Robyn was asked about the costumes in the video, and she said "I liked all of them. I had so much fun doing that video. I did it with my friends and we all dressed up. I kept all the costumes. They’re in my living room right now. It’s a bit chaotic. There was a very beautiful hat shaped like the planet Saturn I wore at a gig, so I’m making my way through them. I’ve got enough costumes for fancy dress parties for the rest of my life."
The video begins with an exterior shot of a playhouse in a pink landscape, with people dressed as trees and clouds standing around it. Inside the house, a monkey in pyjamas is playing the drums while being berated over an oversized foam telephone by Robyn. She demonstrates the kind of beat she requires for her song, and the monkey starts playing the song and a title sequence starts. The video is a literal representation of the lyrics, and features Robyn in different outfits and disguises.
Tamara Anitai of MTV Buzzworthy noted the video's Pee Wee's Playhouse-like theme. Anna Pickard of The Guardian
spoke of the video, saying, "Yes, the first time, you will spend the whole time saying, "WHAT?" But then you will watch it another dozen times and it will make your whole life better. Trust me." Aidin Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle wrote of the video, "More unexpectedly filthy funk from Sweden, this time from a woman who employs a man in a monkey suit as her drummer, favors hot pink bodysuits and isn't afraid to rap."
Source
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
, taken from her self-titled fourth studio album
Robyn (album)
Robyn is the fourth studio album by Swedish recording artist Robyn. It was released by Konichiwa Records on 27 April 2005 in Sweden. The album represented a change in Robyn's musical style, and featured pop and electronic dance music; inspirations were electronic duo The Knife and rock band...
. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2007 as the first international single from the album. The term "Konichiwa Bitches" originates from a sketch with American comedian Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His...
. The song was met with positive reviews, and features a more hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
sound than Robyn's previous singles. An accompanying music video premiered in February 2007 and features scenes that are literal representations of the song's lyrics. "Konichiwa Bitches" reached number ninety-eight on 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 ...
and number sixty-seven in Australia.
Background and release
"Konichiwa Bitches" originates from when Robyn and Klas ÅhlundKlas Åhlund
Klas Frans Åhlund is a Swedish songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. He is the founding member of the Swedish rock band Teddybears...
watched Chappelle's Show
Chappelle's Show
Chappelle's Show is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedian Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show as well as starring in various skits. Chappelle, Brennan and Michele Armour were the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 22,...
with Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His...
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....
. He performed a sketch in which the world's different races tried to decide what famous people belonged to which race. Robyn said, "In the end this member of the group comes up and they're supposed to decide if he's Asian or black and at the end the Asians get him. He goes up on stage and says 'Koni-chi-WAA Bitches', and it's like the most funny thing I know. It's funny and fiesty and cool." She chose to name a song after that, and call her own label Konichiwa Records
Konichiwa Records
Konichiwa Records is a record label founded by Swedish pop singer Robyn. The label has no other artists signed. The word "Konichiwa" is an incorrect romanization of the Japanese greeting こんにちは meaning "Good Day" ....
. When writing the song, Robyn recalled that she and Åhlund "were calling each other, hitting each other off with new lines." She said, "It was almost like a competition for a while like who could be the craziest. And we would call each other like, listen to this one!"
The song was released as a CD single in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2007 as the first single from the international 2007 edition of Robyn's self-titled fourth studio album. Fans who had signed up for Robyn's newsletter could also download a remix of the track for free. She said, "It's a version me and Klas Åhlund made in the beginning of the recording of the album, and it's been sitting in his computer until now waiting for somewhere to be played." "Konichiwa Bitches" was also released as a double A-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
alongside "Cobrastyle" in Australia. "Konichiwa Bitches" charted at number 153 on 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 ...
in April 2007. On the chart issue dated 11 August 2007, the album's second single, "With Every Heartbeat
With Every Heartbeat
"With Every Heartbeat" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn with Swedish producer Kleerup. It was released on 30 July 2007 in the United Kingdom as the second single from the international edition of Robyn's self-titled fourth studio album, Robyn...
" debuted at number five and "Konichiwa Bitches" entered the top 100 at number ninety-eight. In Australia, the song peaked at number sixty-seven on the issue dated 24 September 2007.
Composition and critical reception
"Konichiwa Bitches" was written and produced by Robyn and Klas Åhlund. It is a popPop 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...
song, with "cheeky" and "girly" hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
elements. The song features Robyn rapping over a "simple, ruthlessly catchy beat", that is "laced with some grin-inducing sound effects and laugh-out-loud lyrical turns." It features lines such as "I'll hammer your toe like a pediatrician / Saw you in half like I'm a magician", and "I'm so very hot that when I rob your mansion/You ain't call the cops you call the fire station." Tamar Anitai of MTV Buzzworthy
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
said that Robyn "references both balls and the c-word and employs the word "bitches" as clear as day in the song's title."
Ben Norman of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
described the song as "Ridiculous and weird, yet flawless in every way," and called it "perhaps the most brilliant song of her career." Heather Phares of Allmusic wrote that it has "a title that could very well have been the first thing she said to her old bosses once she got her own label set up." Phares also said that Robyn "sounds equally empowered and irresistible, and doesn't hesitate to tell off labels, trifling boys, or anyone else who stands in the way of what she wants." Michaelangelo Matos of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
considered the song "one of the few genuinely funny hip-hop send-ups of recent years." Jess Harvell of Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
wrote, that it "suffers from a bad Dave Chappelle joke title, but redeemed by the fact that it's 2:35 of boasting so compressed you'll rewind it three or four times in a row." Jaime Gill of Yahoo! Music UK called the song "the kind of minimal, oddball pop that Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams , commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music...
made before his spectacular loss of form." Aidin Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
named the song the seventh best pop song of 2008.
Music video
The music video for "Konichiwa Bitches" was directed by Johan Sandberg, Fredrik Skogkvist and Henrik Timonen. It premiered via Skogkvist's YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
account on 12 February 2007. In an interview with British newspaper Metro, Robyn was asked about the costumes in the video, and she said "I liked all of them. I had so much fun doing that video. I did it with my friends and we all dressed up. I kept all the costumes. They’re in my living room right now. It’s a bit chaotic. There was a very beautiful hat shaped like the planet Saturn I wore at a gig, so I’m making my way through them. I’ve got enough costumes for fancy dress parties for the rest of my life."
The video begins with an exterior shot of a playhouse in a pink landscape, with people dressed as trees and clouds standing around it. Inside the house, a monkey in pyjamas is playing the drums while being berated over an oversized foam telephone by Robyn. She demonstrates the kind of beat she requires for her song, and the monkey starts playing the song and a title sequence starts. The video is a literal representation of the lyrics, and features Robyn in different outfits and disguises.
Tamara Anitai of MTV Buzzworthy noted the video's Pee Wee's Playhouse-like theme. Anna Pickard of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
spoke of the video, saying, "Yes, the first time, you will spend the whole time saying, "WHAT?" But then you will watch it another dozen times and it will make your whole life better. Trust me." Aidin Vaziri of San Francisco Chronicle wrote of the video, "More unexpectedly filthy funk from Sweden, this time from a woman who employs a man in a monkey suit as her drummer, favors hot pink bodysuits and isn't afraid to rap."
Formats and track listings
- Australian digital download
- "Konichiwa Bitches" – 2:36
- Digital EP
- "Konichiwa Bitches" – 2:38
- "Konichiwa Bitches" (Menta Remix) – 5:21
- "Konichiwa Bitches" (TrentemøllerTrentemøllerAnders Trentemøller is a Danish electronic music producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Copenhagen, Denmark.-History:...
Remix) – 6:25 - "Konichiwa Bitches" (Oscar the Punk Remix) – 5:31
- German digital EP
- "Konichiwa Bitches" – 2:38
- "Konichiwa Bitches" (Menta Remix) – 5:21
- "Konichiwa Bitches" (Trentemøller Remix) – 6:25
- "Konichiwa Bitches" (Oscar the Punk Remix) – 5:31
- "Konichiwa Bitches" (Clean Version) – 2:37
- Konichiwa Bitches / Cobrastyle
- "Konichiwa Bitches" – 2:36
- "Cobrastyle" – 4:12
- "Konichiwa Bitches" (Trentemøller Remix) – 6:25
- "Cobrastyle" (Muscles Remix) – 3:52
- UK CD single
- "Konichiwa Bitches" – 2:36
Credits and personnel
- Music and lyrics – Robyn and Klas Åhlund
- ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
– Robyn and Klas Åhlund - MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
– Robyn, Klas Åhlund, Henrik Jonsson and Ollie Olsson - Mastering – Björn Engelman
- Sound effects – Frippe Jonsäter and Ljunligan
Source
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|
Release history
| Country | Release date | Format(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 26 March 2007 | CD single | Konichiwa Records Konichiwa Records Konichiwa Records is a record label founded by Swedish pop singer Robyn. The label has no other artists signed. The word "Konichiwa" is an incorrect romanization of the Japanese greeting こんにちは meaning "Good Day" .... |
| Germany | 18 June 2007 | Digital EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... |
Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound London, commonly referred to as simply Ministry of Sound or MoS, is a nightclub based in London, United Kingdom and an associated record label. It was ranked fourth in the 2010 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll 2010. As well as the nightclub in London, there is another in Egypt and... |
| Belgium | 13 August 2007 | Universal Music Group Universal Music Group Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations... |
|
| Australia | 3 September 2007 | 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... |
Konichiwa Records |
| 15 September 2007 | Digital EP |
External links
- Music video for "Konichiwa Bitches" at VevoVevoVevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...