Lonely (Akon song)

"Lonely" (also known as "Mr. Lonely") is a song by Senegalese-American singer and rapper 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.

"Lonely (Mr. Lonely)"
Single by Akon
from the album Trouble
ReleasedFebruary 21, 2005
FormatCD single
Recorded2004
Genre
Length3:55
LabelSRC, Universal
Songwriter(s)Akon, Bobby Vinton, Gene Allan
Producer(s)Akon, Disco D
Akon singles chronology
"Ghetto"
(2004)		 "Lonely (Mr. Lonely)"
(2005)		 "Baby, I'm Back"
(2005)
Alternative cover
European cover

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]

The song uses sped-up samples from Bobby Vinton's song "Mr. Lonely", providing a vocal sound similar to Alvin and the Chipmunks, a sound/technique 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 Allan. The lyrics are sung mainly by Akon as well as Bobby Vinton doing parts of the choruses. The song's tempo is 90 beats per minute in common time.

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
  1. "Lonely" (Clean Version) - 3:58
  2. "Lonely" (Instrumental Version) - 3:58
  3. "Belly Dancer (Bananza)" (Snippet) - 1:31

Charts and certifications

The song was a number-one hit in several countries including Australia, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium and Switzerland. The song reached number two in France, Norway and Sweden. The song also reached number 19 in Finland.[4] As of August 2014, it is the 106th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 294,000 units sold.

Certifications

[46]

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Belgium (BEA)[48] Gold 15,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[49] Platinum 20,000*
Germany (BVMI)[50] Gold 150,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[51] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Platinum 450,000[53]
United States (RIAA)[54] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Interview With Knobody". HitQuarters. Sep 27, 2005. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved Jul 1, 2010.
  2. "Lonely: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  3. "Lonely: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
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  5. "Australian-charts.com – Akon – Lonely". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
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  7. "Ultratop.be – Akon – Lonely" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Akon – Lonely" (in French). Ultratop 50.
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  16. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Lonely". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  18. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 27, 2005" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Akon – Lonely" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  20. "Charts.nz – Akon – Lonely". Top 40 Singles.
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  24. "Swisscharts.com – Akon – Lonely". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
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  35. "Rádiós Top 100 - hallgatottsági adatok alapján - 2005". Mahasz. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
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  39. "Romanian Top 100: Top of the Year 2005" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on April 10, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
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  48. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2005". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  49. "Brazilian single certifications – Akon – Lonely" (in Portuguese). Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  50. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Akon; 'Lonely')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
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  53. Myers, Justin (15 May 2015). "Number 1 today in 2005: Akon is Lonely at the top". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
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