The Power (Snap! song)
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| “The Power” | |||||
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| Single by Snap! from the album "World Power" |
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| B-side | Remix | ||||
| Released | 1990 (original version) 1996 (remix version) |
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| Format | CD maxi 7" single 12" maxi |
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| Genre | Electronic music | ||||
| Length | 3:47 (7" single version) 8:14 (12" single version) 6:01 (12" jungle fever remix '90) |
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| Label | Ariola Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | Benito Benites/John "Virgo" Garrett III/Toni C. | ||||
| Producer | Snap! | ||||
| Certification | Platinum (US) Platinum (UK) Platinum (Germany) |
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| Snap! singles chronology | |||||
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"The Power" is an electronic pop hit song for the group Snap!. It was released as a single in 1990.
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[edit] Background
Written by Michael Muenzing and Luca Anzilotti under the pseudonyms Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III and produced by Snap!, the third single by the Frankfurt-based dance rap group was their biggest hit. Featuring a rap by Turbo B and vocals by Penny Ford (Jackie Harris in the video). The single became a massive international hit.
The song opens with the somewhat enigmatic line in Russian: “Американская фирма Transceptor Technologies приступила к производству компьютеров «Персонaльный спутник»” (meaning “The American company Transceptor Technologies has started production of the ‘Personal Companion’ computer”). “Personal Companion” was a computer-like device for the blind and visually impaired released in 1990, it was controlled by voice and could, among other functions, automatically download articles from USA Today by a built-in modem. It was made by Transceptor Technologies of Ann Arbor, Michigan. [1]
Benites and Garrett III first released the song in 1990 on the Wild Pitch Records label in the United States calling themselves "Power Jam (featuring Chill Rob G)". However, they failed to legally clear samples in the song. The song contained samples from "Let the Words Flow" by Chill Rob G, "Love's Gonna Get You" by Jocelyn Brown, and "King Of The Beats" by Mantronix. The song was re-recorded in the U.S. in response to the unlicensed samples with Durron Butler, aka Turbo B replacing the acapella vocal of Chill Rob G, and for this new version they adopted the name Snap!.
The song was covered in 2002 by the German crossover band, H-Blockx.[2]
[edit] Chart performances
It became a hit first in Germany where it peaked at #2 and was certified platinum, then in the UK where it peaked at #1 on the UK singles chart for two weeks in March 1990 and where it was also certified platinum. It then crossed over to the USA, by entering the charts just based on import sales. After being released regularly in the U.S. it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on both the Hot Dance Club Play and Billboard Hot Rap charts, as well as peaking at #4 on the U.S. R&B chart. Finally it was certified platinum in the U.S. There has been some controversy that the line "I've got the power" vocal was sampled from the song Love's Gonna Get You, a dance single recorded by Jocelyn Brown in 1985. SNAP! could prove that the line was resung by Penny Ford.
[edit] Media appearances
The song has made many appearances in film, television and other media. It is also popular as a sporting event anthem. For example, it is played at times at hockey games throughout North America as home teams go on a power-play.
- Coyote Ugly (film)
- Underdog Movie DVD Commercial
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie soundtrack.
- Bruce Almighty soundtrack
- The Pacifier soundtrack
- The Fisher King as DJ Jack Lucas' show's theme music
- Sung in the second episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and used later in a scene when Will goes to a pool hall.
- The Perfect Weapon (1991) soundtrack.
- Pampers training pants commercial
- Hotels.com commercial
- Energizer batteries commercial
- Toyota power steering commercial ('90s)
- I Love The 90s
- A scene in Hudson Hawk
- A striptease scene in Brigada.
- T-Mobile commercial
- Neuf Telecom commercial (France, 2006)
- Jet's Theme in UK Gladiators
- Darts player Phil Taylor's Entrance Theme
- Three Kings (film)
- Marock (film)
- Turkcell commercial (Turkey, 2007)
- Terri Powers's entrance theme in Ladies Professional Wrestling Association.
- Le Sancy commercial (India, 1992).
[edit] Track listings
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[edit] Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany[3] | Gold | 1990 | 150,000 |
| Netherlands[4] | Gold | 1990 | 40,000 |
| Sweden[5] | Gold | August 1, 1990 | 10,000 |
| UK[6] | Silver | April 1, 1990 | 200,000 |
| U.S.[7] | Platinum | July 17, 1990 | 1,000,000 |
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart[8] | 13 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[8] | 3 |
| Dutch Top 40[9] | 1 |
| French Singles Chart[8] | 15 |
| German Singles Chart[10] | 2 |
| Irish Singles Chart[11] | 5 |
| Italian Singles Chart[12] | 4 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[8] | 3 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[8] | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[8] | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart[13] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[14] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play[14] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[14] | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles[14] | 1 |
| Chart (1996)1 | Peak position |
| Finnish Singles Chart[15] | 12 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[15] | 40 |
1 "The Power '96"
| Preceded by "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor |
Dutch Top 40 number-one single April 14, 1990 - May 5, 1990 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Kingston Town" by UB40 |
| UK number-one single March 31, 1990 - April 7 1990 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Vogue" by Madonna |
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| Preceded by "Dub Be Good to Me" by Beats International |
Swiss number-one single May 6, 1990 - May 27, 1990 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Vogue" by Madonna |
| Preceded by "Vogue" by Madonna |
Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single June 2, 1990 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Dub Be Good to Me" by Beats International |
[edit] See also
List of number-one dance hits (United States)
[edit] References
- ^ Abledata.com
- ^ Gunrecords.de
- ^ German certifications musikindustrie.de (Retrieved December 9, 2008)
- ^ Dutch certifications nvpi.nl (Retrieved December 9, 2008)
- ^ Swedish certifications Ifpi.se (Retrieved December 9, 2008)
- ^ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk (Retrieved December 9, 2008)
- ^ U.S. certifications riaa.com (Retrieved December 9, 2008)
- ^ a b c d e f "Lescharts.com". http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Snap%21&titel=The+Power&cat=s. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
- ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 15, 1990". http://www.radio538.nl/web/show/id=44685/chartid=5137. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
- ^ "Charts-surfer.de". http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ "Irishcharts.ie". http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ "Hit parade Italia"]. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe1990.htm. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
- ^ "Chartstats.com". http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=17415. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ a b c d "Billboard.com Snap! chart history". http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=5704&model.vnuAlbumId=190279. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
- ^ a b ""The Power '96" at lescharts.com". http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Snap%21+feat%2E+Einstein&titel=The+Power+%2796&cat=s. Retrieved on 2008-10-28.
