Magic! hit #1 with “Rude”

Rude Magic!

Writer(s): Nasri Atweh, Adam Messinger, Mark Pellizzer, Ben Spivak, Alex Tanas (see lyrics here) Released: October 10, 2013 First Charted: April 20, 2014 Peak: 13 US, 11 BA, 13 DG, 16 RR, 13 AC, 15 A40, 17 AA, 19 MR, 11 UK, 6 CN, 2 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.2 UK, 9.88 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2210.0 video, 1242.15 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Magic! proved to have the magic touch right out of the gate with their debut single, “Rude,” from their first album, Don’t Kill the Magic. The song was a #1 hit in the U.S. and UK and hit the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Sweden. It was only the sixth song by a Canadian band to top the Hot 100, the others being “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies, “American Woman” by the Guess Who, “how You Remind Me” by Nickelback, and “When I’m with You” by Sheriff. SF Nasri Atweh, the group’s lead singer, is also part of the songwriting and production duo The Messengers along with Adam Messinger. Among their songs are Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never,” Chris Brown’s “Next 2 You,” and Pitbull’s “Feel This Moment.” SF Atweh described the song as “this picture in my head of a guy asking a father for his marriage blessing and getting rejected. It’s fun soulful, easy, and you know the hook right away.” SF The song originated after Nasri had an unpleasant encounter with a drunken girlfriend. He told Rolling Stone, “It was a rough night, and she was mean. The next day I was just writing, ‘Why you gotta be so rude? Don’t you know I’m human too?’” SF 4Music said of the song, “One listen and you’ll be hooked” WK while Renowned for Sound called it “lighthearted fun.” WK On the flip side, Time magazine called it the worst song of 2014, criticizing its “sanitized reggae-fusion sound.” WK Canadians seemed to like the song just fine, giving it the Juno Award for Single of the Year. Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Magic! SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 2/15/2021; last updated 7/22/2023.