Lonely (Akon song)

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"Lonely (Mr. Lonely)"
Single by Akon
from the album Trouble
Released February 21, 2005
Format CD single
Recorded 2004
Genre Hip hop soul
Length 3:55
Label SRC, Universal
Writer(s) Akon, Bobby Vinton, Gene Allen
Producer(s) Disco D
Akon singles chronology
"Ghetto"
(2004)		 "Lonely"
(2005)		 "Baby, I'm Back"
(2005)
Music video
"Lonely" on YouTube
Alternative cover
European cover

"Lonely" (also known as "Mr. Lonely") is a song by Senegalese-American R&B and hip hop singer Akon; it appears on his debut album, Trouble. The single was released in 2005 and was his first worldwide hit. It reached number one in several countries, including in the United Kingdom and Germany (where it stayed there for eight weeks), and Australia. It was also highly popular in France where it reached number two, and in the United States when it peaked at #4. An edited version was on Radio Disney and on Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 8.

Background

When Akon was signed by Universal imprint SRC Records it was "Lonely" that had immediately caught the attention of SRC A&R Jerome Foster and convinced him of Akon's talents.[1] On hearing the demo track he had said, "This kid is official - this is a huge record."[1] Despite offering the album's best option in terms of commercial breakthrough, SRC Records chose "Locked Up" over "Lonely" as the first single because SRC wanted to break Akon in the streets first and work towards a cross-over.[1] According to Foster in an interview with HitQuarters, ""Locked Up" is a street record. I thought that was the place for us to start to get a fan-base knowing that we had a record like "Lonely", which was more commercial, to follow it."[1]

Writing and inspiration

The song uses sped-up samples from Bobby Vinton's song "Mr. Lonely", providing a vocal sound similar to Alvin and the Chipmunks, made famous by producers such as RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Newcleus and Kanye West. The song is written by Akon, Bobby Vinton, and Gene Allen. The lyrics are sung mainly by Akon as well as Bobby Vinton doing parts of the choruses.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. The video was directed by Gil Green. Actress Katerina Graham starred in the video as Akon's love partner. A competition winner from Blackpool, Daniel Ellwood, also starred in the video.

Track listing

UK CD1[2]
  1. "Lonely" (Clean Version) - 3:58
  2. "Trouble Nobody" (Explicit) - 3:21
UK CD2[3]
  1. "Lonely" (UK Radio Edit) - 3:33
  2. "Trouble Nobody" (Clean) - 3:21
  3. "Kill The Dance (Got Something For Ya)" (Feat. Kardinal Offishall) - 2:54
  4. "Lonely" (Video) - 3:58
US CD single[4]
  1. "Lonely" (Clean Version) - 3:58
  2. "Lonely" (Instrumental Version) - 3:58
  3. "Belly Dancer (Bananza)" (Snippet) - 1:31

Charts

The song was a #1 hit in several countries including Australia, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium and Switzerland. The song reached #2 in France, Norway and Sweden. The song also reached #19 in Finland.[5] As of August 2014, it is the 106th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 294,000 units sold.

Chart positions

Chart succession

Preceded by Irish Singles Chart number-one single
May 5, 2005 – May 26, 2005		 Succeeded by
"Axel F" by Crazy Frog
UK Singles Chart number-one single
May 8, 2005 – May 21, 2005		 Succeeded by
"Lyla" by Oasis
Preceded by
"Cowboy" by Ch!pz
 German Singles Chart number-one single
May 27, 2005 – July 15, 2005		 Succeeded by
"Maria" by US5
Preceded by New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart number-one single
June 13, 2005 – July 11, 2005		 Succeeded by
"Axel F" by Crazy Frog
Preceded by Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single
July 10, 2005 – July 17, 2005
Preceded by
"Axel F" by Crazy Frog
 Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single
August 14, 2005		 Succeeded by
"Ghetto Gospel" by 2Pac featuring Elton John

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Akon – Lonely". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  7. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Akon – Lonely" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  8. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Akon – Lonely" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Akon – Lonely" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Akon – Lonely". Tracklisten.
  12. ↑ "Akon – Chart history" European Hot 100 for Akon.
  13. ↑ "Akon: Lonely" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Akon – Lonely" (in French). Les classement single.
  15. ↑ "Musicline.de – Akon Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  16. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  17. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  18. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 21, 2005". Irish Singles Chart.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Akon – Lonely" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  20. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Akon – Lonely". Top 40 Singles.
  21. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Akon – Lonely". VG-lista.
  22. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Akon – Lonely". Singles Top 60.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Akon – Lonely". Swiss Singles Chart.
  24. ↑ "Akon: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  25. ↑ "Akon – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Akon.
  26. ↑ "Akon – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Akon.
  27. ↑ "Akon – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Akon.
  28. ↑ [1]
  29. ↑ [2] Archived January 20, 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/documents/2000sDecadeChartssingles.pdf
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ http://www.swisscharts.com/search_certifications.asp?search=akon
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Lonely in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

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