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Slave to the Music (Twenty 4 Seven song)

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"Slave to the Music"
CD Maxi
Single by Twenty 4 Seven
from the album Slave to the Music
Released
  • 13 August 1993 (International)
  • 1994 (US)
Recorded1992
GenreEurodance
Length4:01
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Twenty 4 Seven singles chronology
"It Could Have Been You"
(1992) 		"Slave to the Music"
(1993) 		"Is It Love"
(1993)
Music video
"Slave to the Music" on YouTube

"Slave to the Music" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Twenty 4 Seven, released on 13 August 1993 by Indisc, ZYX Music and Possum, as the third single and first song from their second studio album, Slave to the Music (1994). The song was written by the group with co-producer Ruud van Rijen and peaked within the top 10 in at least eight countries. It peaked at number two in Australia and Zimbabwe. The music video was directed by Fernando Garcia, Steve Walker and Leontine Willese.

Background and release

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Twenty 4 Seven formed in 1989 by Dutch producer Ruud van Rijen, consisting of singer Nancy "Nance" Coolen and rapper Ricardo Overman (a.k.a. MC Fixxit). Tony Dawson-Harrison (a.k.a. Captain Hollywood) shortly after took over as new front man and rapper of the project. They had success with the singles "I Can't Stand It" and "Are You Dreaming?". In 1993, after Harrison left the group and went solo, rapper/singer Stacey Seedorf (a.k.a. Stay-C) was recruited into the act. After releasing the single "It Could Have Been You", which was unsuccessful on the charts, Seedorf was unsatisfied with it and decided to introduce producer Ruud van Rijen to a song he had written, "Slave to the Music".[1] At first, van Rijen was unsure if Seedorf could write a song, but after hearing it the next day, he was amazed and thought it would be a hit.[1]

Stay-C was inspired by German project N.U.K.E. and their 1992 single "Nana", which he had played as a DJ. Van Ruud had made an instrumental and Stay-C's new lyrics fitted perfectly. They then went into studio with Nance and recorded "Slave to the Music". After it was recorded with Nance, Stay-C and van Rijen came up with the idea that they wanted some backing on the song. But since Nance by then had left the studio, van Rijen had to perform it by himself.[1] After the release of the single, it was a struggle to get it played on radio. After a few months, Stay-C started to loose his faith in that the song would be successful and started thinking about leaving Twenty 4 Seven. But then the song entered the Dutch tipparade, before climbing on the charts in Europe, Australia, Israel and South-Africa.

Chart performance

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"Slave to the Music" was a massive hit on several continents, remaining one of the group's most successful songs. In Europe, it was a top-10 hit in Denmark (4),[2] Finland (7),[3] Germany (8),[4] the Netherlands (5),[5] Norway (5),[6] and Sweden (4).[7] Additionally, it was a top-20 hit in Switzerland (14) and a top-30 hit in Flemish Belgium (23). It didn't chart on the UK Singles Chart in the United Kingdom. The single debuted on the Eurochart Hot 100 at number 84 on 28 August 1993,[8] after charting in Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands. It peaked at number 20. Elsewhere, the single charted in Africa, Oceania and West Asia, peaking at number two in Australia and Zimbabwe,[9][10] and number 17 in Israel.[2] In Australia, it was held off reaching the top spot by Danish Cut 'N' Move's "Give It Up" and stayed within the ARIA Single Top 50 for 19 weeks, with two of them as number two.[9]

"Slave to the Music" was awarded with a gold record in Germany and Poland, with a sale of 250,000 and 15,000 singles. In Australia, the song earned a platinum record, after a sale of 70,000 units.

Music video

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The accompanying music video for "Slave to the Music" was released in September 1993 by Garcia Media Production, a studio company of Garcia Media based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It was directed by Fernando Garcia, Steve Walker and Leontine Willese,[11] featuring group members Stay-C & Nance Coolen performing in front of different coloured backgrounds. During the making, a green screen was used. The video also features scenes with a jumping toad and a dancing boy called Dion. "Slave to the Music" was later made available on YouTube in 2013, and by early 2024, the video had generated more than 3.5 million views.[12]

Track listing

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Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "The story behind Twenty 4 Seven's "Slave To The Music" by Stacey Seedorf". Muzikxpress. YouTube. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Twenty 4 Seven featuring Stay-C and Nance - Slave to the Music" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 50. 11 December 1993. p. 2. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  4. ^ a b "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 40, 1993" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music". VG-lista.
  7. ^ a b "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music". Singles Top 100.
  8. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 35. 28 August 1993. p. 23. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  10. ^ a b * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  11. ^ "Twenty 4 Seven - Slave to the Music VIVA VHS". YouTube. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Twenty 4 Seven - Slave To The Music (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  14. ^ "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 10/10/93". Billboard. 109 (5). Nielsen Business Media: 49. 10 October 1993. ISSN 0006-2510.
  15. ^ "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music". Swiss Singles Chart.
  17. ^ "1994 Australian Singles Chart". aria. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1994" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  19. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1993" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  21. ^ "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1993". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  22. ^ "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music". VG-lista.
  23. ^ "1994 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  24. ^ "Twenty 4 Seven feat. Stay-C and Nance – Slave to the Music". Singles Top 100.
  25. ^ "Certification for every country in the world" (PDF). IFPI. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  26. ^ "1994 Australian Awards". ARIA. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  27. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Slave To The Music')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
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