7 Seconds (song)

"7 Seconds"
Single by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry
from the album The Guide (Wommat) and Man
B-side "Mame Bamba"
Released 7 June 1994
Format 12" vinyl, CD single, CD maxi
Recorded Power Station, Stockholm, Power Play Studios, New York[1]
Genre World, trip hop, afrobeat
Length 5:07
Label Chaos Recordings / Columbia
Songwriter(s) Neneh Cherry, Youssou N'Dour, Cameron McVey, Jonathan Sharp
Producer(s) Christian Falk,[2] Booga Bear, Jonny Dollar
Youssou N'Dour singles chronology
"Shaking the Tree"
(1989) Shaking the Tree1989		 "7 Seconds"
(1994) 7 Seconds1994		 "So Many Men"
(2002) So Many Men2002
Neneh Cherry singles chronology
"Buddy X"
(1993) Buddy X1993		 "7 Seconds"
(1994) 7 Seconds1994		 "Love Can Build a Bridge"
(1995) Love Can Build a Bridge1995
Music video
"7 Seconds" on YouTube

"7 Seconds" is a song composed by Youssou N'Dour, Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey and Jonathan Sharp. It was released in 1994 as a single performed by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry. It achieved much success, reaching the top chart position in numerous countries. It also won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song of 1994.[3]

Recording

All instruments on the single were produced and arranged by Swedish music producer Christian Falk, who also played bass on the track.[2] It was included on Neneh Cherry's album Man (1996). The song is trilingual as N'Dour sings in 3 languages: French, English and the West African language Wolof. Cherry sings only in English.[4] The song also appeared on N'Dour's album, The Guide (Wommat), released shortly after the single.

The title and refrain of the song refers to the first moments of a child's life; as Cherry put it, "not knowing about the problems and violence in our world".[5]

Music video

The black and white music video was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui.[6] It features people of different ethnicities walking by while the two are singing. When they sing the chorus, different kinds of people's faces appear.

Chart performance

7 Seconds reached the top three in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, Russia and Poland, and climbed to the top position in France, Switzerland, Finland, Iceland and Italy. It stayed at No. 1 for 16 consecutive weeks on the French Singles Chart,[7] which was the record for the most weeks at the top at the time. The single also remained at the top position on the Italian Singles Chart for nine consecutive weeks in the autumn of that year.[8]

Formats and track listings

  • CD maxi
  1. "7 Seconds" – 4:10
  2. "Mame Bamba" by Youssou N'Dour – 4:57
  3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) – 6:24
  4. "7 Seconds" (Dub Mix) – 6:07
  • CD maxi (7 June 1994)
  1. "7 Seconds" – 4:10
  2. "Life (Adouna)" by Youssou N'Dour – 4:57
  3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) – 6:24
  4. "7 Seconds" – 6:07
  • CD maxi (7 June 1994)
  1. "7 Seconds" (radio edit) – 4:06
  2. "Life (Adouna)" by Youssou N'Dour – 4:02
  3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) – 6:23
  4. "7 Seconds" (dub mix) – 6:07
  • UK CD single (660508-2)
  1. "7 Seconds" (radio edit)
  2. "7 Seconds" (LP version)
  3. "7 Seconds" (new old mix)
  4. "7 Seconds" (dub mix)
  5. "7 Seconds" (hip hop mix)
  • US CD single (Chaos/Columbia 42K 77482)
  1. "7 Seconds" (album version) – 5:07
  2. "7 Seconds" (new old mix) – 5:44
  3. "7 Seconds" (hip hop mix) – 6:24
  4. "7 Seconds" (dub mix) – 6:08
  5. "Mame Bamba" by Youssou N'Dour – 5:00

Charts and sales

References

  1. ↑ "Images for Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  2. 1 2 Christian Falk. "Christian Falk", Sommar & Vinter i P1, 26 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Pride, Dominic (November 5, 1994), "Brandenburg Gate Setting For First MTV Euro Awards", Billboard, vol. 106 no. 45, p. 10 .
  4. ↑ "Neneh Cherry Online – Bio". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "Neneh Cherry Online – Biography". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  6. ↑ "mvdbase.com – Youssou N'Dour – "7 seconds [version 1]"". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  7. 1 2 "lescharts.com – Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds" (in French). Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  8. ↑ "I singoli più venduti del 1994" (in Italian). Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "australian-charts.com – Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  10. ↑ "Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds – austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ↑ "RPM Magazine – Top 100 Canadian Singles, October 17, 1994". Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  13. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1994-10-29). Billboard.
  14. ↑ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  15. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (21.07.1994 - 27.07.1994)" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  16. ↑ "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  17. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia – Settimana del 03/09/94" (in Italian). Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  18. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 28, 1994" (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  19. ↑ "charts.org.nz – Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  20. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com – Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  21. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1995-01-07). Billboard.
  22. ↑ "swedishcharts.com – Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  23. ↑ "Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds – hitparade.ch" (in German). Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  24. ↑ "Chart Stats – Youssou N'Dour Featuring Neneh Cherry – 7 Seconds". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  25. ↑ "allmusic ((( Youssou N'Dour > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  26. ↑ "Statistik 1994 – austriancharts.at" (in German). Archived from the original on 8 August 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  27. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40: Single top 100 over 1994" (PDF) (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  28. ↑ "Disque en France – Classement Singles – année 1994" (in French). Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  29. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1994". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  30. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994 – hitparade.ch" (in German). Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  31. ↑ "Gold & Platin Datenbank online search results" (in German). IFPI Austria – Verband der Österreichischen Musikwirtschaft. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  32. ↑ "Certifications Singles Or – année 1994" (in French). Disque en France. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  33. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('7 Seconds')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  34. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community – Awards 1994" (in German). Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  35. ↑ "Certified Awards". Retrieved 12 September 2018.

Further reading

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