Shy Guy

"Shy Guy"
Artwork for European release
Single by Diana King
from the album Tougher Than Love and Bad Boys: Music From The Motion Picture
Released 7 March 1995 (CD, LP)
14 March 1995 (cassette)
Format
Recorded 1994
Genre
Length 4:20 (album version)
3:40 (single version)
Label Sony
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Andy Marvel
Diana King singles chronology
"Stir It Up"
(1994)		 "Shy Guy"
(1995)		 "Ain't Nobody"
(1995)

"Stir It Up"
(1994)		 "Shy Guy"
(1995)		 "Ain't Nobody"
(1995)
Music video
"Shy Guy" on YouTube

"Shy Guy" is a song by Jamaican recording artist and songwriter Diana King for the movie soundtrack album Bad Boys. It also appeared on King's debut studio album Tougher Than Love (1995). The song was written by King herself with the help of Andy Marvel and Kingsley Gardner. It was produced by Marvel. The song was released by Sony Music worldwide in 1995 as the lead single on the Tougher Than Love album. The song received positive reviews from music critics. Many said it was a definite highlight of the album and some said it was one of the best reggae fusion songs of its time. Allmusic said the song was a highlight of both the soundtrack and King's debut album.[1][2] The song also received charting success, but was mostly known as a one hit wonder. The song peaked at number thirteen in the United States and went to number two in the UK. It topped the charts in Finland and Sweden. The song contains a sample from “School Boy Crush” by Average White Band.

Chart performance

"Shy Guy" was released as the lead single on both King's album and the soundtrack of Bad Boys. The song received charting success worldwide. The song debuted at number thirty-five on the Australian Singles Chart, but later peaked at number three there, and staying there for three consecutive weeks. The song later debuted at number twenty-eight on the New Zealand Singles Chart. After seventeen weeks, it peaked at number three for one week. It is currently the 75th Best Selling Single in New Zealand's history.[3] The song peaked at number thirteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number twenty-one on the U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling over 500,000 copies there.

The song also had success in Europe. It debuted at number six on the Swiss Singles Chart, then peaked at number five for three consecutive weeks. It debuted at number thirty on the Austrian Singles Chart, and rose to peak at number six for one week. The song later debuted at number twenty-seven on the French Singles Chart, and rose to peak at number four, staying there for two consecutive weeks. The song was certified silver in France, selling over 125,000 copies there. The song also reached number one on two charts. It debuting at number twenty-seven in Sweden, before rising to peak at number one for one week, while in Finland, the song was at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. It also peaked at number two in Norway, staying there for seven consecutive weeks. The song debuted at number four on the UK Singles Chart, before peaking at number two. It was certified Silver in the United Kingdom.

Critical reception

Music & Media wrote about the song: "Miss King provides prospect for the no-hopers. Move over fly guys, Diana wants a shy guy. Within the context of a mix of ragga and swingbeat, she joyfully sings and raps about the timid type."[4]

The Gavin Report wrote: "Diana's artistry will be discovered by the masses who hear this song via the airwaves and the soundtrack of the new Will Smith and Martin Lawrence film, Bad Boys. Hot tune, hot movie and a lot of airplay—that'll work!"[5]

Network 40 wrote: "Reggae flava with ultra-smooth vocals lead us to a hook we can't forget."[6]

Music videos

Two music videos were made: one in black and white, directed by Marcus Nispel,[7] for the Tougher Than Love album; the other, directed by Michael Bay,[8] for the Bad Boys soundtrack with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence appearing in it. That video features King dancing and singing to the song in a very cold-looking environment, but through the chorus she is seen dancing on a runway looking stage.

Covers and samples

In 1998, a cover version of the song called Jeito Sexy became the first hit of Brazilian band Fat Family.[9]

In December 2008, Mýa recorded a cover version of "Shy Guy" with the words in English rather than in the patois that King's version was recorded in. This was included on Mýa's 2008 Japan-only album Sugar & Spice but was not released as a single.

Lyric McFarland sang the song in the Blind Auditions for Season 2 of The Voice Australia. It earned her a mentorship from Joel Madden.

DTwinz sang the song in the Blind Auditions for series 4 of the UK series The Voice UK. They managed to turn 3-chairs and chose Rita Ora as their coach.

In 2016, the Belgian singer Unicq released her own bilingual French / English version under the title "Mercy (Shy Guy)". The single reached number 76 on the SNEP chart, the French official singles chart.[10]

The chorus of the 2016 song "Don't Hurt Me" by DJ Mustard and Nicki Minaj contains an interpolation of "Shy Guy".

Track listings

Charts and sales

References

  1. ↑ "AllMusic - Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands". AllMusic.
  2. ↑ "AllMusic - Record Reviews, Streaming Songs, Genres & Bands". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Best Of All Time - Singles 12 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media (20 May 1995, page 13). Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  5. ↑ Sholin, Dave (10 March 1995). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2045. p. 62. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Crossover" (PDF). Network 40 (24 February 1995, page 26). Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  7. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/videos/diana-king/976811/shy-guy.jhtml
  8. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/videos/diana-king/976809/shy-guy.jhtml
  9. ↑ CliqueMusic - Fat Family (in Portuguese) Cliquemusic. UOL Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  10. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "lescharts.com - Unicq - Mercy (Shy Guy)". lescharts.com.
  11. ↑ austriancharts.at. Austria Top 40. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  12. ↑ australian-charts.com. Australian Charts. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  13. ↑ ultratop.be. Belgian Charts. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  14. ↑ ultratop.be. Belgian Charts. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  15. ↑ "Canadian Top Singles peak".
  16. ↑ finnishcharts.com. Finnish Charts. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  17. ↑ lescharts.com. lescharts.com. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  18. ↑ "Diana King singles, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  19. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (2.9.1995 - 8.9.1995)" (PDF) (in Icelandic). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  20. ↑ Irishcharts.ie Irish chart (Retrieved 4 October 2008)
  21. ↑ "Indice per Interprete: K". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  22. 1 2 "Single top 100 over 1995" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  23. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Diana King – Shy Guy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  24. ↑ charts.org.nz. New Zealand RIANZ Charts. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  25. ↑ norwegiancharts.com. Norwegian Charts. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  26. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 16 July 1995 - 22 July 1995". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  27. ↑ swedishcharts.com. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  28. ↑ swisscharts.com. The Official Swiss Charts. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  29. ↑ everyHit.com Archived 19 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine.. UK Top 40 Hit Database. Retrieved 10 November 2007.
  30. ↑ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 allmusic.com Billboard charts Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  32. ↑
    • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
  33. ↑ 1995 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved 4 October 2008)
  34. ↑ 1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved 4 October 2008)
  35. ↑ 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved 4 October 2008)
  36. ↑ 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived 14 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 30 January 2009)
  37. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1995". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  38. ↑ 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived 23 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 4 October 2008)
  39. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". Archived from the original on 15 August 2009. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  40. ↑ French certifications Disqueenfrance.com Archived 12 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 4 October 2008)
  41. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Shy+Guy')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 4 October 2008.
  42. ↑ UK certifications Bpi.co.uk Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 3 October 2008)
  43. ↑ U.S. certifications riaa.com Archived 26 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved 4 October 2008)
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