Low (Flo Rida song)
Encyclopedia
"Low" is the debut single by American rapper Flo Rida
, featured on his debut album Mail On Sunday
and also featured on the soundtrack to the 2008 film Step Up 2: The Streets. The song features T-Pain
and was co-written with T-Pain. There is also a remix in which the hook is sung by Flo Rida rather than T-Pain. An official remix was made which features rapper Pitbull
and T-Pain.
The now-iconic single was a hit worldwide and the longest running number-one single of 2008. With five million paid digital downloads, it was certified six-times platinum by the RIAA, and was the most downloaded single of 2000s
decade, measured by paid digital downloads. The song was named 3rd on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. "Low" spent ten consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, the longest-running number-one single of 2008.
It was also performed live with the band Simple Plan
at the 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards
.
on November 6, 2007, and reached number one for the week of December 30, 2007 - January 5, 2008. The song generated the second greatest one-week digital sales in the history of Billboard Magazine
's Digital Songs chart (behind Flo Rida's "Right Round
"), with 467,000 digital copies in one week. "Low" was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks and remained in the top ten of the chart for 23 weeks, making it both T-Pain
and Flo Rida
's most successful single to date.
The song was dethroned on the Hot 100 by Usher
's "Love in This Club
" featuring Young Jeezy. As the first number one on the Hot 100 of 2008, "Low" held the top position longer than any song did in 2008 (see List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (U.S.)), and is the longest running Hot 100 number one since Beyoncé
's "Irreplaceable
." The song is also the longest-running number one in the history of the Billboard Hot Digital Songs
chart, topping the chart for 13 weeks, and also on the now-defunct Pop 100
chart, where it ruled for 12 weeks. "Low" was the best-selling digitally-downloaded song of all time, with U.S. digital sales of over 5,000,000. (It has since been surpassed by The Black Eyed Peas
' "I Gotta Feeling
.") The song stayed on the Hot 100 for 39 weeks, before dropping out in June 2008. Digital sales, as of August 2011, now stand at over 6,000,000.
The physical release of the single occurred in the UK week beginning 24 March 2008. On July 20, 2008, the song moved up to No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart
, several months after its official release. Although it failed to reach number one in the UK, it amassed 53 weeks inside the UK Top 75 (making it the joint 20th longest runner of all time), and 75 weeks inside the Top 100.
The song was ranked at #23 on Billboard' s All Time Hot 100 for the 50th anniversary of the chart. The song was also was ranked the number-one song for 2008 in Billboard
's ranking of the Top Hot 100 Hits of 2008. On December 28, 2008, it was listed at No. 11 for the UK Singles Chart year-end countdown and was named highest-selling single in Australia in 2008.
. A Harmonic minor melody is played over the E♭ minor, and at different times different instrumentation cycles, i.e. sometimes only the synthesizer plays, sometimes only the bass, sometimes only the vocals. Flo Rida uses a style that is common in 1990s hip-hop party music.
The song makes references to a "Shawty
" in a club who is wearing Apple Bottom jeans
and boots with fur. "Shawty" also wears baggy sweat pants and Reebok
s with the straps. The lyrics repeatedly suggest that Shawty is extremely attractive and possesses great skill in dancing provocatively. In particular, the song describes one of her more memorable dance sequences as giving her buttocks (colloquially referred to as a booty) a smack prior to "getting low".
, DJ Khaled
, Cool & Dre
, Briana Evigan
, & Torch & Gunplay of Triple C's. Also, T-Pain
and Flo Rida
are in a nightclub in a few scenes. The music video reached the #1 spot on 106 & Park for 5 days and 22 days on TRL
. The music video was also nominated at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards
for Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video, but lost to Chris Brown's "With You
" (Best Male Video) and Lil Wayne
's Lollipop
(Best Hip-Hop Video) videos. The song has around 83 million views on youtube.
group Brokencyde
released a cover of this song on "THA $C3N3 MiXTaPe" in 2008. Travis Barker
, drummer from Blink 182 added a drum version cover of the song.
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...
, featured on his debut album Mail On Sunday
Mail on Sunday (album)
-Charts:-External links:*...
and also featured on the soundtrack to the 2008 film Step Up 2: The Streets. The song features T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
and was co-written with T-Pain. There is also a remix in which the hook is sung by Flo Rida rather than T-Pain. An official remix was made which features rapper Pitbull
Pitbull (rapper)
Armando Christian Pérez , better known by his stage name Pitbull, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter and record producer. His first recorded performance was from the Lil Jon album Kings of Crunk in 2002, after which he released his debut album in 2004 titled M.I.A.M.I. under TVT Records...
and T-Pain.
The now-iconic single was a hit worldwide and the longest running number-one single of 2008. With five million paid digital downloads, it was certified six-times platinum by the RIAA, and was the most downloaded single of 2000s
2000s in music
For music from a year in the 2000s, go to 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 2000s....
decade, measured by paid digital downloads. The song was named 3rd on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade. "Low" spent ten consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, the longest-running number-one single of 2008.
It was also performed live with the band Simple Plan
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian pop punk band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier , Jeff Stinco , Sébastien Lefebvre , David Desrosiers and Chuck Comeau...
at the 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards
2008 MuchMusic Video Awards
The 2008 MuchMusic Video Awards were held in Toronto, Ontario at MuchMusic's headquarters on June 15, 2008 with the rain-soaked Red carpet arrivals that started at 8:00pm ET, but was slightly delayed by rainstorms that soaked the crowds and artists, the awards started at 9:00 and ended at 11:00...
.
Chart performance
The song debuted at number 91 on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on November 6, 2007, and reached number one for the week of December 30, 2007 - January 5, 2008. The song generated the second greatest one-week digital sales in the history of Billboard Magazine
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Digital Songs chart (behind Flo Rida's "Right Round
Right Round
“Right Round” is a song performed by American rapper Flo Rida featuring pop singer Kesha from R.O.O.T.S., his second studio album. It was released to radio as the album's lead single on January 27, 2009 and was digitally released on February 10 by Poe Boy Entertainment and Atlantic Records...
"), with 467,000 digital copies in one week. "Low" was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for ten weeks and remained in the top ten of the chart for 23 weeks, making it both T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
and 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...
's most successful single to date.
The song was dethroned on the Hot 100 by Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
's "Love in This Club
Love in This Club
"Love in This Club" is a song by American R&B singer Usher. Featuring rapper Young Jeezy, it was released on February 22, 2008 as the lead single from Usher's fifth studio album, Here I Stand. The song was written by Usher, Polow da Don, Young Jeezy, Darnell Dalton, Ryon Lovett, Lamar Taylor and...
" featuring Young Jeezy. As the first number one on the Hot 100 of 2008, "Low" held the top position longer than any song did in 2008 (see List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (U.S.)), and is the longest running Hot 100 number one since Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
's "Irreplaceable
Irreplaceable
"Irreplaceable" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles for her second studio album, B'Day . The song was written by Knowles, Shaffer "Ne-Yo" Smith, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, and produced by Stargate and Knowles...
." The song is also the longest-running number one in the history of the Billboard Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart, topping the chart for 13 weeks, and also on the now-defunct Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
chart, where it ruled for 12 weeks. "Low" was the best-selling digitally-downloaded song of all time, with U.S. digital sales of over 5,000,000. (It has since been surpassed by The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
' "I Gotta Feeling
I Gotta Feeling
"I Gotta Feeling" is the second single from The Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album The E.N.D., produced by the French DJ David Guetta. The song was released on May 21, 2009 and debuted at number two on the Canadian and Billboard Hot 100 on the week of June 27, 2009, behind the group's "Boom Boom...
.") The song stayed on the Hot 100 for 39 weeks, before dropping out in June 2008. Digital sales, as of August 2011, now stand at over 6,000,000.
The physical release of the single occurred in the UK week beginning 24 March 2008. On July 20, 2008, the song moved up to No. 19 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 ...
, several months after its official release. Although it failed to reach number one in the UK, it amassed 53 weeks inside the UK Top 75 (making it the joint 20th longest runner of all time), and 75 weeks inside the Top 100.
The song was ranked at #23 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's ranking of the Top Hot 100 Hits of 2008. On December 28, 2008, it was listed at No. 11 for the UK Singles Chart year-end countdown and was named highest-selling single in Australia in 2008.
Music and lyrics
Several of T-Pain's motifs are present in this song, including autotune, call and answer during the chorus, and use of electronic drums. Flo Rida has sexually charged (but not explicit) lyrics, for example he refers to a girl's buttocks as "birthday cakes" which "stole the show". T-Pain also relies heavily on synthesizer. The music revolves around one chord, E♭ minorE flat minor
E minor or e-flat minor is a minor scale based on E-flat, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. In the harmonic minor, the D is raised to D. Its key signature consists of six flats ....
. A Harmonic minor melody is played over the E♭ minor, and at different times different instrumentation cycles, i.e. sometimes only the synthesizer plays, sometimes only the bass, sometimes only the vocals. Flo Rida uses a style that is common in 1990s hip-hop party music.
The song makes references to a "Shawty
Shawty (slang)
In hip-hop slang, the word shorty or shawty , has multiple meanings. In the 1980s and 1990s, the word meant "newcomer", particularly a newcomer to rap music or to certain aspects of street life or gang life. It also simply referred to someone who was younger and greener than the speaker...
" in a club who is wearing Apple Bottom jeans
Apple Bottoms
Apple Bottoms is a fashion and lifestyle brand for women launched in 2003 by rap artist Nelly, Yomi Martin and Ian Kelly. The brand was initially a denim label, but has since expanded to include other women's and girl's clothing, perfume and accessories....
and boots with fur. "Shawty" also wears baggy sweat pants and Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
s with the straps. The lyrics repeatedly suggest that Shawty is extremely attractive and possesses great skill in dancing provocatively. In particular, the song describes one of her more memorable dance sequences as giving her buttocks (colloquially referred to as a booty) a smack prior to "getting low".
Music video
The video of "Low" was directed by Bernard Gourley and contains certain clips from Step Up 2 The Streets. It also contains cameos from Rick RossRick Ross (rapper)
William Leonard Roberts II , better known by his stage name Rick Ross, is an American rapper. He derived his stage name from the drug trafficker "Freeway" Ricky Ross, to whom he has no connection...
, DJ Khaled
DJ Khaled
Khaled bin Abdul Khaled , better known by his stage name DJ Khaled, is an American record producer, radio personality, DJ, and record label executive. He is a radio host for the Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR and the DJ for the hip hop group Terror Squad. In 2006, Khaled released his...
, Cool & Dre
Cool & Dre
Cool & Dre are a team of hip hop producers from Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon.-Epidemic Records:...
, Briana Evigan
Briana Evigan
Briana Barbara-Jane Evigan is an American actress and dancer. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Andie West in Step Up 2: The Streets and Cassidy Tappan in Sorority Row. She started dancing at the age of 9 and is still dancing as part of her career today.-Early life:Evigan was born in Los...
, & Torch & Gunplay of Triple C's. Also, T-Pain
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
and 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...
are in a nightclub in a few scenes. The music video reached the #1 spot on 106 & Park for 5 days and 22 days on TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
. The music video was also nominated at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards
2008 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008 live from Paramount Pictures Studios , honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were announced on the MTV program FNMTV after being selected through viewer online voting at...
for Best Male Video and Best Hip-Hop Video, but lost to Chris Brown's "With You
With You (Chris Brown song)
"With You" is a pop/R&B song by Chris Brown, nominated for 2008 MTV Video Music Awards and written by Johntá Austin, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund, and produced by Stargate...
" (Best Male Video) and Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
's Lollipop
Lollipop (Lil Wayne song)
"Lollipop" is the first single from Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III. The track features the late R&B artist Static Major and is produced by Deezle and Jim Jonsin. The song was released digitally on March 13, 2008. The song is Lil Wayne's & Static Major's most successful to date,...
(Best Hip-Hop Video) videos. The song has around 83 million views on youtube.
Cover versions
Albuquerque, New Mexico based CrunkcoreCrunkcore
Crunkcore is a musical genre that combines crunk hip-hop with elements of screamo...
group Brokencyde
Brokencyde
Brokencyde is an American crunkcore musical group from Albuquerque, New Mexico, founded in 2006.-History:Brokencyde was founded by singers Se7en and Mikl. The name of the band supposedly originated from the idea that their music was "broken inside" due to personal problems. After the band began...
released a cover of this song on "THA $C3N3 MiXTaPe" in 2008. Travis Barker
Travis Barker
Travis Landon Barker is an American musician, producer and entrepreneur, most noted as the drummer for the American pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the alternative rock band +44, the rap rock band The Transplants, and the alternative rock band Box Car Racer. He was a frequent collaborator with...
, drummer from Blink 182 added a drum version cover of the song.
Certification
In the United States, "Low" has been certified 6x Platinum by the RIAA. The song was certified 2x Platinum in New Zealand on September 28, 2008, selling over 30,000 copies. In Canada, it was certified 3x Platinum in digital downloads and 4x Platinum in RingtonesCharts
| Chart (2007-08) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| 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... |
54 |
| Chart (2009) | Position |
| Hungarian Singles Chart | 146 |
| 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 ... |
148 |
Decade-end charts
| Chart (2000–2009) | Rank |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
3 |
| 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 ... |
81 |
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (U.S.)
- List of R&B number-one singles of 2008 (U.S.)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2008 (Canada)
- List of number-one singles in Australia in 2008
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
- List of number-one singles of 2008 (Ireland)
External links
- "Low" Music Video at MTVMTVMTV, 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....