Ignition (Remix)

"Ignition (Remix)"
Standard artwork (U.S. CD single pictured)
Single by R. Kelly
from the album Chocolate Factory
B-side	"Apologies of a Thug" "What Do I Do"
Released	September 25, 2002 (cd single) November 5, 2002 (remix cd single) January 22, 2003 (radio)
Recorded	2002
Genre	R&B,[1] Hip-Hop
Length	3:16 (original version) 3:09 (remix) 6:25 (full version)
Label	Jive
Writer(s)	R. Kelly
Producer(s)	R. Kelly
Certification	Platinum (BPI) Platinum (ARIA) Platinum (RIANZ)
R. Kelly singles chronology
"The World's Greatest" (2002) "Ignition (Remix)" (2003) "Snake" (2003)
Chocolate Factory track listing 24 tracks Track list "Chocolate Factory" "Step in the Name of Love" "Heart of a Woman" "I'll Never Leave" "Been Around the World" "You Made Me Love You" "Forever" "Dream Girl" "Ignition" "Ignition (Remix)" "Forever More" "You Knock Me Out" "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)" "Imagine That" "Showdown" "Snake" "Who's That" Loveland bonus disc "Loveland" "What Do I Do" "Heaven I Need a Hug" "The World's Greatest" "Far More" "Raindrops" "Apologies of a Thug" (Europe bonus track)

"Ignition (Remix)" is a song written and produced by American R&B singer R. Kelly. It was released on 2002 and 2003 as the lead single from his sixth studio album Chocolate Factory (2003). It is viewed as one of his most well-known songs and has been popular in the United States, Europe and Oceania.

"Ignition (Remix)" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside the United States, the song topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.^[2] It was later included on the updated version of Rolling Stone's 500 greatest songs of all time in 2010 at number 494. The song was listed at #19 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s.

Background

The original song "Ignition" was first recorded in 2002 after the alleged Kelly sex tape was a hot topic in the media. The original "Ignition" was originally going to be one of the songs on his forthcoming album at that time called Loveland; the album got leaked later on, and Kelly decided to turn Loveland to Chocolate Factory, record mostly new songs and remix some of the songs on that album. "Ignition" was one of the songs he decided to remix after people in the studio liked the end part of the song, which would later become the intro to the remix.

Song structure

The song is sometimes called simply "Ignition" colloquially and for marketing purposes, including as the title of one of its releases as a single and on the Billboard charts. While it shares the song title with the original version of "Ignition", the remix version is most commonly referred to in writing to avoid confusion with the original. The two songs share some instrumental elements (guitars and percussion) but are otherwise completely different.

The original "Ignition" was released first to urban contemporary radio stations although it never officially charted on Billboard in this manner at first. At the end of the song, Kelly gives the listeners "a lil' preview of the remix", which includes only the first verse then fades out. The "remix to Ignition" was released weeks later to urban and top 40 pop stations which gained the most attention. While many stations never played the original but opted for the remix only, others played both "Ignition"(s) merged at six minutes total; it was structured that way on the Chocolate Factory album.

The song contains a minor sample from the intro of his own hit song Fiesta (Remix). Additionally, the original version opens with the same spoken-word intro that originally appeared in his earlier hit You Remind Me of Something.

Music video

The music video was shot in a club where Kelly is seen wearing a Celtics jersey. The club is meant to be the inside of a stretch Club Jeep limousine. He is also seen in a different part of the club wearing a white fur coat. Nick Cannon is also featured in the music video as the DJ. David N. Feldman also makes a cameo as the dancing white hipster. The music video is directed by Bille Woodruff, who has directed numerous other videos for Kelly.

Live performances

Kelly often performs "Ignition (Remix)" at events and concerts; he has sung this song three times at the BET Awards show to date (2003, 2004 and 2013).

In 2013, R. Kelly surprised the crowd at the music festival Coachella coming in to the stage and performing a mash-up between "Ignition (Remix)" and "1901" with French rock band Phoenix; a year later, Kelly again surprised the crowd, but this time at Lollapalooza with Chance the Rapper.

Chart performance

"Ignition (Remix)" was a huge success for Kelly. In the United States, it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks behind 50 Cent's "In da Club" and became his most successful song in the United States in the 2000s.

In the United Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart, where it remained for four weeks, becoming Kelly's second number-one song in Britain after "I Believe I Can Fly" in April 1997.^[2] In April 2013, "Ignition (Remix)" re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number forty three, ten years after its initial release.

"Ignition (Remix)" also topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland.

The song also peaked at number two on the 2003 Billboard Year-End Chart, behind yet again "In da Club". Due to the success of this song and other songs by Kelly the same year, made him also number two on the "Year End Best Artist" chart, behind 50 Cent.^[3]

Reception

The remix has received positive reviews from both the critics and fans alike.^[4] The song featured in the The Pitchfork 500 for the years 2003-2006.

Legacy

A portion of Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies, a 2003 compilation of home movies which Jackson recorded throughout his life and narrated, showed him dancing to "Ignition (Remix)" in the back of Brett Ratner's car during a 2003 vacation in Miami, Florida.^[5] Kelly, who claimed to have been unsuccessfully asked by Jackson to write a song similar to "Ignition (Remix)" for Jackson's use, later stated in 2009 after having seen the clip on the Web that "I cried when I first saw it on YouTube[...]I've written a lot of songs, I've been around the world, and I've won all kinds of awards and everything else, but[...]nothing told me, I didn't know I had made it until I saw Michael Jackson in the back of that car singing and dancing to my song 'Ignition'. That's when it became official. I've been in the business for over 20 years, but that's when it became official to me that Kels is here, baby."^[6]

The popular comedy central sketch comedy show Chappelle's Show had a famous skit featuring a parody of the song called "Piss On You (Remix)" which made fun of the R. Kelly sex tape and legal trials that were making headlines at the time. The original "Piss On You" instead samples another R. Kelly song, the 2001 single "Feelin' on Yo Booty" from the album TP-2.com.

The remix was included on the updated version of Rolling Stone 's 500 greatest songs of all time in 2010 at number 494.^[4] The song was listed at #19 on Pitchfork Media's top 500 songs of the 2000s.

In March 2013, a petition was launched on We the People requesting that the U.S. national anthem be changed from "The Star-Spangled Banner" to "Ignition (Remix)".^[7] Referencing the song's lyrics, the petition stated that "We, the undersigned, would like the Obama administration to recognise the need for a new national anthem, one that even a decade after its creation, is still hot and fresh out the kitchen."^[8]

In 2014, British singer Robbie Williams featured an a cappella version of "Ignition (Remix)" as part of his 'Swing Both Ways' arena tour. Beside Robbie Williams, numerous other artists have covered this song including Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars.

Uses in pop culture

In media, film and television

• The song is in Love Don't Cost a Thing. (2003)
• The song is featured in the film Soul Plane. (2004)
• In 30 Minutes or Less, the song is played at the strip club.
• The song is in the episode "The Gang Group Dates" on the comedy sitcom show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
• The song is featured in the Ubisoft Just Dance series of games, on The Hip Hop Dance Experience. (2012)
• The song has been covered on both The Tonight Show and Chappelle's Show.

Samples

• "Piss on You (Remix)", by Dave Chappelle on his show Chappelle's Show (2003)
• "Ignition", by Urban Legends on the album Urban Legendz #4 (2003)
• "Don't Matter", by Akon on his album Konvicted (2006)

Cover versions and adaptions

• In 2006, K.I.Z. covered the song.
• In 2010, Bonnie "Prince" Billy covered the song.
• In 2011, Alain Clark covered the song on the album De Wereld Draait Door Recordings.
• In 2011, Joseph Gordon-Levitt covered the remix live in front of a crowd.
• In 2011, The Dartmouth Aires covered the song on the talent show The Sing-Off.
• In 2012, Young the Giant covered "Remix to Ignition."^[9]
• In 2012, Jinja Safari covered the song for the album Triple J: Like a Version, Volume 8.
• In 2013, Rixton made a cover of this song which they later would perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and countless other shows.
• In 2013, Jake Roche and his band Rixton covered the song and released an official music video of the band performing it.^[10]
• In 2013, Tyler Hilton and Teddy Geiger covered the song on their live show.
• In 2013, James Dalby covered the song on YouTube, which later became viral.^[11]
• In 2013, British band The Vamps covered the song as a mash-up with "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High" on BBC Radio 1.
• In 2014, Darren Criss covered this song for the "Fox Fanfronts 2014".
• In 2014, The Ragtime Gals (Jimmy Fallon and others) did a barbershop quartet version of this song which they performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.^[12]
• In 2014, A Great Big World covered the song on the show On Air with Ryan Seacrest; this also happens to be Ryan Seacrest's favorite song.^[13]
• In 2014, "Catfish and the Bottlemen" covered the song for 'Like a Version' on the Australian radio show Triple J.
• In 2014, Jess Glynne has covered the song on BBC 1Xtra Live Lounge and other radio stations.^[14][15]
• In 2014, Robbie Williams did his own barbershop version of "Ignition (Remix)" as a part of his set on The Swing Tour Live concert.
• In 2014, Timeflies covered the song on their After Hours Tour.
• In 2014, Chase Rice covered the song on his album release party.
• In 2014, Paradise Fears covered the song on their show.
• in 2014, AJR sang a mash-up of "All About That Bass" and "Ignition (Remix)", in New York City.^[16]
• In 2014, Maroon 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine covered this song on The Voice coaches concert; the song is also one of his favorite songs.^[17]
• In 2015, Phoebe Ryan made her own version of the song with a music video.^[18]
• In 2015, Postmodern Jukebox covered the song with Rayvon Owen on vocals.^[19]

Formats and track listings

• Digital download

1. "Ignition (Remix)" – 3:07

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.^[20]

Charts

Ignition (Viceroy Remix)

"Ignition (Viceroy Remix)"
Single by Viceroy & R. Kelly
Released	2 December 2014
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2002(vocals) 2014(song)
Length	3:43
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	R. Kelly
Producer(s)	Viceroy
Viceroy singles chronology
"Ignition (Viceroy Remix)" (2014) '
R. Kelly singles chronology "Bump & Grind 2014" (2014) "Ignition (Viceroy Remix)" (2014) "Backyard Party" (2015)

"Ignition (Viceroy Remix)" or "Ignition (Viceroy "Jet Life" Remix)" is a 2014 remix to "Ignition (Remix)", the song was released on iTunes as a single.^[45] The remix was made by "Viceroy" as it says on the title. The song was uploaded to R. Kelly's Vevo the same day and also on his Spotify account.^[46]

Formats and track listings

• Digital download^[47]

1. "Ignition (Viceroy Remix)" – 3:43

References

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics