American boy

American boy
Estelle feat. Kanye West
publication	March 24, 2008 (see publication )
length	4:41 (Album Version) 4:02 (Radio Edit)
Genre (s)	Disco Dance-Pop Contemporary R&B Hip-Hop
text	Estelle , Kanye West , John Stephens , Keith Harris, will.i.am , Caleb Speir, Josh Lopez, Kweli Washington
music	will.i.am
Publisher (s)	Atlantic Records
Award (s)	Grammy Award for Best Rap / Sung Collaboration ( 2009 )
album	Shine

American Boy is a song by British R&B artist Estelle in collaboration with American rapper Kanye West . The song was released on March 24, 2008 as the second single from their music album Shine . At the Grammy Awards 2009 , the song was awarded a Grammy in the “Best Rap / Sung Collaboration” category, and the song was also nominated for a Grammy in the main “Song of the Year” category.

The song was listed by Pitchfork Media at number 238 of the "500 best songs of the 2000s decade".

background

In February 2008, singer Estelle explained how the song came about to British R&B songwriter Pete Lewis: “We'd hang out in the studio and make jokes. Then John Legend said to me, “Why don't you write a song about meeting an American boy?” So I replied, “Well, that's very easy because I have a lot of male friends in New York City .” So I created ignorant a new ladies anthem! And Kanye added his own kind of humor. At first he thought, "How am I supposed to rap over a dance beat?" But then he did it! "

The song was written by Kanye West, Keith Harris, Estelle, will.i.am , John Stephens , Caleb Speir, Josh Lopez and Kweli Washington and produced by will.i.am. The song uses passages from Impatient from will.i.ams album Songs About Girls from 2007.

Cover versions and parodies

Many cover versions and parodies of the song were made:

• "Arab Friend" by Bago Dago .
• "Canadian Boy" by Famous and Andreena Mill
• “Cantonese Boy” by Only Won and Larissa Lam .
• "Chinese Boy" by Dave Soul.
• "Armenian Boy" by Hamish & Andy .
• "Egyptian Boy" by EgyptianG.
• "Somerset Boy" by Chris Moyles .
• "Fake American Boy" by Peven Everett.
• "Jamaican Boy" by Bost & Bim ft. Brisa Roché & Lone Ranger .
• "American Boy" John McCain
• "Hungarian Boy" by Ben & Tony.
• "Malaysian Boy".

Music video

The music video for American Boy was shot in black and white and shows various dance scenes between Estelle and Kanye West. Also, many musicians have guest appearances on the music video, including John Legend , Cardinal Offishall , Taz Arnold from Sa-Ra , Naledge and Double-O from Kidz in the Hall , Danger Mouse , Consequence , Hi-Tek , Ryan Leslie , TI , Brandon Hines , Terrence J from 106 & Park , LL Cool J and more. Directed by Syndrome . The music video was nominated for "Best British Music Video" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards .

reception

American Boy became Estelle's biggest hit of her career in the global charts. In total, the single was in the charts in 18 countries. In the UK, the song debuted at number 72 on the UK charts. In the following week, the song fell off the charts and later went straight back to number 1 on the charts. This made the single Estelle's first number one hit in her home country, the song stayed at the top of the chart for four weeks. American Boy stayed in the charts for 22 weeks and became the UK's sixth best-selling single of 2008. In Ireland the song reached number 2.

In the United States, the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 98, making it the artist's first single to be placed in the United States. After a few weeks, the song was also a great success in the US and reached number 9 in the official charts, making her first top ten hit in the States and her commercial breakthrough. In the American download charts, the song reached number 8. In Canada, the single also reached number 9. In the United States, the song sold over 1,500,000 copies and was twice honored with a platinum record.

The single was also a chart success in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Brazil and Switzerland and achieved top ten placements in these countries.

Charts and chart placements

Chart placements Charts Top ranking Weeks Chart placements  Germany (GfK) 5 (19 weeks) 19th  Austria (Ö3) 7th (26 weeks) 26th  Switzerland (IFPI) 5 (41 weeks) 41  United Kingdom (OCC) 1 (44 weeks) 44  United States (Billboard) 9 (30 weeks) 30th

Annual charts Charts (2008) placement Annual charts (2008)  Germany (GfK) 51  Austria (Ö3) 34  Switzerland (IFPI) 23  United Kingdom (OCC) 6th  United States (Billboard) 39

Awards for music sales

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	platinum	70,000
Denmark (IFPI)	platinum	15,000
Germany (BVMI)	gold	150,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	gold	7,500
United States (RIAA)	2 × platinum	2,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	2 × platinum	1,200,000
All in all	2 × gold 6 × platinum	3,442,500

Main article: Kanye West / Music Sales Awards

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 500-201 . Pitchfork. August 17, 2009. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
2. ↑ Estelle interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' February 2008 . Bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
3. ↑ Unsupported Browser or Operating System . Musicnotes.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
4. ^ Boys Noize's Sample-Based Music . WhoSampled. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
5. ↑ Arab friend חבר ערבי . YouTube. November 16, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
6. ↑ Music Video: Cantonese Boy - Parody of Estelle's American Boy ( Memento from February 11, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ Dave Soul Feat Estelle - Chinese Boy (American Boy Parody) . YouTube. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
8. ↑ Hamish & Andy - Armenian Boy . YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
9. ↑ Egyptian Boy - American Boy Parody . YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
10. ↑ Chris Moyles - Somerset Boy . YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
11. ↑ MySpaceTV Videos: Fake American Boy by Peven Everett. January 31, 2008, accessed April 3, 2019 . 
12. ↑ Bost & Bim ft. Brisa roché & Lone Ranger - Jamaican Boy . YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
13. ↑ Vice President - Sarah Palin ft. John McCain (Parody of American Boy by Estelle ft. Kanye West) . YouTube. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
14. ↑ Music video for "American Boy" - Estelle feat. Kanye West . Stereogum.com. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
15. ^ Estelle Chart History ( Memento of January 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Billboard.com , June 26, 2008.
16. ↑ Up for Discussion Jump to Forums: TI Sets New Record With Hot 100 No. 1 jump . Billboard.com. May 12, 2007. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
17. ↑ Canadian Hot 100 26/2008 , acharts.us , June 24, 2008.
18. ↑ Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy. officialcharts.de, accessed on March 17, 2019 . 
19. ↑ Steffen Hung: Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy . austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
20. ↑ Steffen Hung: Estelle feat. Kanye West - American Boy . hitparade.ch. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
21. ↑ UK Singles Chart . Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
22. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mn0000361014/awards
23. ↑ Top 100 single annual charts 2008. officialcharts.de, accessed on March 17, 2019 . 
24. ↑ Singles 2008 hit parade. Austriancharts.at, accessed on March 17, 2019 . 
25. ^ Swiss annual hit parade 2008. hitparade.ch, accessed on March 17, 2019 . 
26. ↑ http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2008.pdf
27. ^ Billboard Hot 100 Year-End 2008 . Retrieved March 29, 2012.
28. ↑ ARIA Charts> Accreditations> 2008 Singles . Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved July 10, 2011.
29. ↑ ifpi.dk
30. ^ IFPI . Federal Association of the Music Industry . Retrieved October 13, 2013.
31. ↑ nztop40.co.nz
32. ^ RIAA Gold & Platinum . Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved July 10, 2011.
33. ↑ bpi.co.uk