The Ketchup Song
Encyclopedia
"The Ketchup Song" is the English
title of the song "Aserejé", performed by the Andalusian-Spanish
pop
group Las Ketchup
, which was an international hit in 2002. The song exists in three versions, Spanish
, a version in a mixture of English
and Spanish
, described as "Spanglish
", and a version in Portuguese
. The chorus is identical in the three versions. This song reached #1 in the UK
charts, as well as 26 other charts worldwide.
It was also the Dutch
best-selling single of the 2000-2010 decade.
, stared at each other in delight exclaiming, "Wow, this is fantastic!". At first the intention was to arrange a distribution deal with ShakeTown Music but on hearing the song they realised its international potential and so negotiated for Las Ketchup to sign with Sony.
rap hit "Rapper's Delight
" by Sugarhill Gang. The first verse of Rapper's Delight: "I say the hip hop, the hippie...", pronounced phonetically in Spanish the way it would sound to someone who does not understand English, becomes the chorus of The Ketchup Song. Although technically meaningless and sometimes referred to as gibberish, the chorus is a more-or-less phonetic pronunciation of the first verse almost in its entirety.
I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie:Aserejé ja de jé de jebe
do the hip hip hop, a you don't stop:tu de jebere sebiunouva
the rockin' to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie:majabi an de bugui
to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat:an de buididipí
The song had a distinctive accompanying dance known as "The Ketchup Dance". It is performed in 180 beats per minute and in the key D# minor.
, a version of song was sung in Portuñol
and featured a Brazilian "girl band", named Rouge
, alongside Las Ketchup. This pushed the album's sales up and eventually led to over 2 million copies sold in Brazil alone.
The song was used in the Christian De Sica
s 2002 film Natale sul Nilo, as Soundtrack
.
The song was sung by Corry Konings and Johan Heuser with the song is "De Hup Hop Song" in 2002.
The song was remade in La Vida Mickey 2 by Walt Disney Records
. In 2004, this song was included on the popular children's album series, Kidz Bop 4
.
The popular German political comedy program Die Gerd-Show
took the music and made a parody to the lyrics, called "Der Steuersong" (The Tax Song) for the taxation policies of the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder
.
This song is an example of a mondegreen
, in this case one in which the lyrics of the original song are reinvented because of a linguistic difference.
Charo
performed the song in a promotion for the American morning show Today Show and later released it to YouTube.
The song was the 50th best-selling single of the 2000 decade in UK.
Most recently, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
ranked the song at #52 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, asking, "How could such an inoffensive condiment inspire a song that unfolds in so many different, annoying ways?"
with a new remix and video.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
title of the song "Aserejé", performed by the Andalusian-Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
pop
Pop 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...
group Las Ketchup
Las Ketchup
Las Ketchup is a Latin Grammy Award nominated 4-girl group composed of sisters Lola Muñoz, Pilar Muñoz, Lucía Muñoz and Rocío Muñoz from Córdoba in Andalucia, Spain. They are the daughters of Juan Muñoz, a flamenco guitarist known as Tomatito , which is not the same as famous and virtuoso flamenco...
, which was an international hit in 2002. The song exists in three versions, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, a version in a mixture of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, described as "Spanglish
Spanglish
.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
", and a version in Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
. The chorus is identical in the three versions. This song reached #1 in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
charts, as well as 26 other charts worldwide.
It was also the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
best-selling single of the 2000-2010 decade.
Background
Las Ketchup was first introduced to Columbia through Shaketown Music, a small record label in Córdoba, Andalusia who sent out the group's demo to a number of different record companies. The demo featured the songs “Asereje” and “Kusha Las Payas”. When A&R Javier Portugués and Columbia director Raúl López listened the demo they, Portugués later told HitQuartersHitQuarters
HitQuarters is an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It is noted for in-depth interviews with industry figures, with past subjects including Simon Cowell, Martin Kierszenbaum, Jason Flom, Diane Warren, Peter Edge, Ron Fair and RedOne, as well as its A&R...
, stared at each other in delight exclaiming, "Wow, this is fantastic!". At first the intention was to arrange a distribution deal with ShakeTown Music but on hearing the song they realised its international potential and so negotiated for Las Ketchup to sign with Sony.
Lyrics and music
The song tells the story of a pimp-like "afro-gipsy, rastafari" character named Diego who walks into a crowded nightclub at midnight, and the DJ, as he sees Diego walk in, plays the "twelve-o'clock anthem", "the song he desires most", which happens to be the 19791979 in music
See also:Record labels established in 1979* 1979 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1979.-January–February:*January 1...
rap hit "Rapper's Delight
Rapper's Delight
"Rapper's Delight" is a 1979 single by American hip hop trio The Sugarhill Gang. While it was not the first single to feature rapping, it is generally considered to be the song that first popularized hip hop in the United States and around the world. The song's opening lyric "I said a hip hop, a...
" by Sugarhill Gang. The first verse of Rapper's Delight: "I say the hip hop, the hippie...", pronounced phonetically in Spanish the way it would sound to someone who does not understand English, becomes the chorus of The Ketchup Song. Although technically meaningless and sometimes referred to as gibberish, the chorus is a more-or-less phonetic pronunciation of the first verse almost in its entirety.
I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie:Aserejé ja de jé de jebe
do the hip hip hop, a you don't stop:tu de jebere sebiunouva
the rockin' to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie:majabi an de bugui
to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat:an de buididipí
The song had a distinctive accompanying dance known as "The Ketchup Dance". It is performed in 180 beats per minute and in the key D# minor.
Reception and adaptations
For the release in BrazilBrazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, a version of song was sung in Portuñol
Portuñol
Portuñol or Portunhol is the code-switching of Portuguese and Spanish.The word portunhol is a portmanteau of the words Portugués/Português and Español/Espanhol ....
and featured a Brazilian "girl band", named Rouge
Rouge (pop group)
Rouge was a commercially successful girl group, formed in the first season of the Brazilian reality show Popstars, broadcast by SBT in 2002...
, alongside Las Ketchup. This pushed the album's sales up and eventually led to over 2 million copies sold in Brazil alone.
The song was used in the Christian De Sica
Christian De Sica
Christian De Sica is an Italian actor, director and scriptwriter.- Life :De Sica was born in Rome, Italy, the second son of Italian director Vittorio De Sica and Spanish actress María Mercader. After attending liceo classico in Rome, he worked in a hotel in Venezuela, where he began his career as...
s 2002 film Natale sul Nilo, as Soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
The song was sung by Corry Konings and Johan Heuser with the song is "De Hup Hop Song" in 2002.
The song was remade in La Vida Mickey 2 by Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records
Walt Disney Records is a family music record label owned by the Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Records was formed in 1956 as Disneyland Records. Before that time, Disney recordings were licensed out to a variety of other labels such as . It was Walt Disney’s brother Roy O...
. In 2004, this song was included on the popular children's album series, Kidz Bop 4
Kidz Bop 4
Kidz Bop 4 is the fourth album in the Kidz Bop series. The album was released on August 12, 2003, and certified Gold by the RIAA on November 12, 2003.-Track listing:#"Sk8er Boi" – 3:16#"Jenny from the Block" – 2:39#"Miss Independent" – 3:25...
.
The popular German political comedy program Die Gerd-Show
Die Gerd-Show
Die Gerd-Show was a German satirical radio show broadcast by Eins Live . Reaching over 9 million listeners at its peak, it generated several top 20 hits in the German music charts thanks to the impressionist talents of its creator, Elmar Brandt, as well as enough controversy over the show's good...
took the music and made a parody to the lyrics, called "Der Steuersong" (The Tax Song) for the taxation policies of the former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
.
This song is an example of a mondegreen
Mondegreen
A mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase as a result of near homophony, in a way that gives it a new meaning. It most commonly is applied to a line in a poem or a lyric in a song...
, in this case one in which the lyrics of the original song are reinvented because of a linguistic difference.
Charo
Charo
María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Gutiérrez de los Perales Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Hinojosa Rasten , better known as Charo, is a Spanish-American actress, comedienne, and flamenco guitarist, best known for her flamboyant stage presence, her provocative outfits, and her trademark phrase...
performed the song in a promotion for the American morning show Today Show and later released it to YouTube.
The song was the 50th best-selling single of the 2000 decade in UK.
Most recently, Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
ranked the song at #52 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, asking, "How could such an inoffensive condiment inspire a song that unfolds in so many different, annoying ways?"
Track listings
The single was re-released again for ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
with a new remix and video.
Peak positions
| Chart (2002/03) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. 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... |
54 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Tracks Top 40 Tracks Top 40 Tracks is a defunct airplay chart from Billboard Magazine. It was created in 1998, when Billboard Magazine changed the airplay profile of The Hot 100 Airplay to include more R&B, Country, and Rock stations to its profile . To preserve the notion of the former chart, Top 40 Tracks was... |
39 |
| US Tropical Songs (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... ) |
1 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart | 1 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 1 |
| French Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| End of year chart (2003) | Position |
| Australian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 23 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 62 |
| French Singles Chart | 24 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 45 |
| UK Singles Chart | 171 |
Decade-end charts
| (2000–2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 11 |
| German Singles Chart | 8 |