LMFAO hit #1 again with “Sexy and I Know It”

Sexy and I Know It LMFAO

Writer(s): Stefan Kendal, Gordy David, Jamahl Listenbee, Erin Beck, George M. Robertson, Kenneth Oliver (see lyrics here) Released: September 16, 2011 First Charted: July 30, 2011 Peak: 12 US, 2 RR, 15 DG, 27 A40, 5 UK, 14 CN, 19 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.2 UK, 10.77 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 983.90 video, 423.92 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: LMFAO was an electronic dance duo comprised of Redfoo (Motown founder Berry Gordy’s youngest son) and Sky Bluu (Gordy’s grandson). They released their first album, Party Rock, in 2009. It generated three minor Billboard Hot 100 entries, none of which got past #51. However, their second album, 2011’s Sorry for Party Rockin’, went all the way to #5 on the Billboard album chart and reached sales of 1.7 million worldwide, thanks to a pair of #1 songs. “Party Rock Anthem” was their big breakthrough hit, reaching #1 in July 2011. After “Champagne Showers” failed to dent the Billboard Hot 100, it looked like LMFAO might have already come and gone. Then, however, “Sexy and I Know It” was released as the third single. It reached the top 10 within a month and by November was at #2. It looked like it might peak there, getting stuck behind Rihanna’s “We Found Love” for seven weeks, but finally in January 2012 “Sexy and I Know It” reached the pole position. The duo rap “in a comically boastful manner” SF “about how girls can’t resist their unorthodox style.” SF It is reminiscent of the 1992 #1 hit “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred. SF The video features Redfoo and some of the LMFAO crew dancing in Speedos. Redfoo said the song was inspired by “people who obviously think they are [attractive] but by normal standards are not, like the hairy old men in a Speedo on the beach with huge bellies, sunglasses, and a cigar.” SF No Ripcord offered a brutal review of the song, calling it “a repetitive, dull, bone-headed track, devoid of imagination, wit and charm.” NR Entertainment Weekly offered a somewhat nicer take, saying “as blithely brainless disco squiggles go, it does make the booties bounce.” EW Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for LMFAO EW Entertainment Weekly NR No Ripcord SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 6/24/2023; last updated 4/1/2024.

 

LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” hit #1

Party Rock Anthem LMFAO with Lauren Bennett & GoonRock

Writer(s): Jamahl Listenbee, Stefan Gordy, Skyler Gordy (see lyrics here) Released: January 25, 2011 First Charted: February 12, 2011 Peak: 16 US, 11 RR, 12 BA, 16 DG, 15 A40, 79 RB, 14 UK, 13 CN, 110 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 1.29 UK, 18.87 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2425.73 video, 689.09 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details. j

About the Song: “Party Rock Anthem” is a club banger by Los Angeles electroc-hop duo LMFAO which was comprised of Redfoo (the son of Motown founder Berry Gordy) and SkyBlu (Redfoo’s nephew). The song spotlights shuffling, which Redfoo explained as a particular style of dance which caught his eye so they made a song about it. SF Redfoo described the song as “a party track that actually talks about how to party. It’s like an instruction to dance. We were excited about it when we finished it, especially as it took over a year to make.” SF Because of his father and time hanging out with legends like Smokey Robinson, Redfoo learned the value of a lyric. He changed the original chorus from “I feel it in my soul tonight, everybody’s gonna have a good time” to “Party rock is in the house tonight, everybody just have a good time.” The latter, he said, “made it a command, to focus people on what to do now that we’re together. Our lyrics are very calculated, even if they appear simple.” SF Jamahl Listenbee (GoonRock) was a childhood friend of Redfoo who co-wrote and co-produced the song. He said the original plan was to give the song to Flo Rida. He said the aim of the song was to “make everyone feel good in the club.” SF The song also features Lauren Bennett, a British singer who appeared on the X Factor in the UK in 2006 and became part of the girl group Paradiso Girls, an “ill-fated attempt by Jimmy Iovine to create a European spin-off of…The Pussycat Dolls.” SF The song spent 68 weeks on the Hot 100 – only four songs have spent more time on the chart. “Party Rock Anthem,” however, had the longest run for a #1 song. SF It took 47 weeks to exit the Hot 100 after peaking at #1. SF The song’s 29 weeks in the top 10 also put it in rare company; only five songs have spent more time in the top 10. WK It topped the charts in more than a dozen countries and is the best-selling single of all-time in Australia. WK The video parodies 28 Days Later, a British zombie movie from 2002. Redfoo and SkyBlu wake up from a party-induced coma to find that party rocking has taken over the world. Mickey Finnegan, the director, explained that “there’s been an epidemic…as soon as the song came out, everyone got possessed and all they want to do is shuffle.” SF Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for LMFAO SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Last updated 4/1/2024.