Praise You

For the Mary Mary song, see Shackles (Praise You).

"Praise You"
Single by Fatboy Slim
from the album You've Come a Long Way, Baby
B-side	"Sho Nuff"
Released	4 January 1999 (1999-01-04)
Genre	Big beat[1] pop[1]
Length	5:23 (album version) 3:48 (radio edit)
Label	Skint (UK) Astralwerks (US)
Songwriter(s)	Norman Cook Camille Yarbrough
Producer(s)	Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim singles chronology
"Gangster Tripping" (1998) "Praise You" (1999) "Right Here, Right Now" (1999)
Music video
"Praise You" by Fatboy Slim on YouTube
Audio
"Praise You" (album version) by Fatboy Slim on YouTube

"Praise You" is a song by British big beat musician Fatboy Slim. It was released as the third single from his second studio album, You've Come a Long Way, Baby (1998), on 4 January 1999. It reached number one on the UK Singles Chart and in Iceland, number four in Canada, number six in Ireland, and number 36 in the United States. As of 1999, it had sold over 150,000 units in the US.[2]

Samples

A total of nine samples are used in the song. The song features a prominent vocal sample from the opening of "Take Yo' Praise"[3] by Camille Yarbrough, as well as a prominent piano sample from the track "Balance and Rehearsal" from a test album entitled Sessions released by audio electronics company JBL in 1973. That recording session was for "Captain America", sung by Hoyt Axton; a snippet of Axton's vocals humming the "Captain America" melody can be heard in the album version of "Praise You".

"Praise You" also features a guitar sample from the opening of "It's a Small World" from the Disneyland Records-released album Mickey Mouse Disco, the theme from the cartoon series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,[4] the electric piano riff from "Lucky Man" by Steve Miller Band, a guitar swell from "You Should Be High Love" by Billy Squier, and the drum beats from "What'd I Say" by Rare Earth, "Joe Bell" by Isaac Hayes, and "Running Back To Me" by Ruby.

In a 2021 interview with the website WhoSampled, Yarbrough said that she liked "Praise You" and its use of her vocals, feeling that Cook kept the essence of "Take Yo' Praise".[5]

Music video

The accompanying video for "Praise You" was directed by Spike Jonze with Roman Coppola.[6] Jonze starred in the film, under the pseudonym Richard Koufey, along with a fictional dance group: The Torrance Community Dance Group.[6] The video intro described it as "A Torrance Public Film Production".[7]

The video was shot[8] guerrilla-style—that is, on location without obtaining permission from the owners of the property—in front of puzzled onlookers outside the Fox Bruin Theater in Westwood, Los Angeles, California.[9] In the video, a heavily disguised Jonze and the dance group, acting as a flash mob, dance to "Praise You", much to the chagrin of a theatre employee who turns off their portable stereo. One of the actor-dancers in the fictional dance group, Michael Gier, documented the making of the "Praise You" video on his website.[9]

The "Praise You" video was made only because Jonze, unable to work with Fatboy Slim on the video for "The Rockafeller Skank", recorded and sent his own solo dance video of "Skank" as a gift; Jonze's 'alternative' music video was so well received by Norman Cook that Jonze's fictional Torrance Community Dance Group was green-lighted for the official video for "Praise You".[10] Cook has said he liked this music video more than the one for "The Rockafeller Skank", which he hated.[11]

Cook himself is briefly seen in the video as one of the many onlookers, with the clearest view shown at the conclusion of the video, while Jonze claims his "b-boy moves" came from living in New York. Cook curiously peers over Jonze to catch a glimpse of the camera before walking off to the right.

The video reportedly cost only US$800 to produce.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

The video won three major awards at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards: Breakthrough Video, Best Direction (awarded to "Torrance Community Dance Group"), and Best Choreography (awarded to "Richard Koufey & Michael Rooney"). It was also nominated for, but did not win, Best Dance Video. The group also put on a dance performance to the song at the awards.[20] In 2001, it was voted number one of the 100 best videos of all time, in a poll to mark the 20th anniversary of MTV.[21]

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1999	MTV Video Music Award[22]	Best Dance Video	Nominated
		Breakthrough Video	Won
		Best Direction	Won
		Best Choreography	Won
	MTV Europe Music Award	Best Video	Nominated
2000	Grammy Award	Best Dance Recording	Nominated

Track listings

UK and Australian CD single[23][24] "Praise You" (radio edit) "Praise You" "Sho Nuff" "The Rockafeller Skank" (Mulder's Urban Takeover remix) UK 12-inch single[25] A. "Praise You" AA. "Sho Nuff" UK cassette single[26] "Praise You" (radio edit) "The Rockafeller Skank" (Mulder's Urban Takeover remix)

European CD single[27] "Praise You" (radio edit) "Praise You" (full version) US CD, 12-inch, and cassette single[28][29][30] "Praise You" "Sho Nuff" "The Rockafeller Skank" (Mulder's Urban Takeover remix) Japanese CD single[31] "Praise You" (full version) "Sho Nuff" "The Rockafeller Skank" (Mulder's Urban Takeover remix) "Praise You" (radio edit) "How Can You Hear Us?"

Personnel

Personnel are sourced from Sound on Sound.[32]

• Fatboy Slim – Studio Electronics SE-1 and Roland TB-303 synthesizers, Akai S950 samplers, Atari ST programming
• Camille Yarbrough – sampled lead vocals

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1999) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[33] 28 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[34] 31 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[35] 2 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[36] 4 Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[37] 39 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[38] 9 Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[39] 15 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[40] 8 Germany (GfK)[41] 55 Hungary (Mahasz)[42] 10 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[43] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[44] 6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[45] 32 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[46] 46 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[47] 11 Poland (Music & Media)[48] 5 Scotland (OCC)[49] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[50] 32 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[51] 44 UK Singles (OCC)[52] 1 UK Dance (OCC)[53] 1 UK Indie (OCC)[54] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[55] 36 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[56] 19 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[57] 2 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[58] 5 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[59] 22 Chart (2018–2019) Peak position US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[60] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1999) Position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[61] 30 UK Singles (OCC)[62] 69 UK Airplay (Music Week)[63] 22 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[64] 53 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[65] 97 US Maxi-Singles Sales (Billboard)[66] 9 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[67] 10 Chart (2019) Position US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[68] 30

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[69]	Gold	30,000^*
Italy (FIMI)[70]	Gold	35,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[71]	2× Platinum	1,200,000^‡
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	4 January 1999	12-inch vinyl CD cassette	Skint	[72]
Japan	20 February 1999	CD		[73]
United States	23 February 1999	12-inch vinyl CD cassette	Astralwerks	[74]
	9 March 1999	Contemporary hit radio		[75]

Other versions

• In 2017, Hannah Grace and the London Contemporary Voices Choir recorded a version of the song for a Lloyds Bank advertising campaign.[76][77][78][79] Grace’s version includes an extra refrain which includes lyrics from Camille Yarborough's original song.[80][81]
• In 2018, a remix by Purple Disco Machine was released,[82] which made it to number one on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.[83]
• In 2023, British singer Rita Ora released a re-worked version of the song, titled "Praising You", featuring Fatboy Slim, which later became an international hit after it was used in the film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken.[84]

Usage in media and pop culture

• In the 1999 film Cruel Intentions, the song is playing in the scene when Sebastian and Annette drive back from doing charity work at the nursing home. It was also featured in the film’s official soundtrack album released by Arista/Virgin Records.

• The season 3 finale of the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan uses the song during a montage that pays tribute to cast member David Strickland, who had committed suicide earlier in the season.^[citation needed]
• In November 2017, an American TV advertisement for Forevermark Diamonds featured a cover of the Hannah Grace version, sung by Jon Kenzie.[85]
• Meal delivery service Grubhub used an instrumental version of the song in a 2020 animated TV commercial.[86]
• In 2020, a TV commercial for Advil features Grace's version.[87]
• In season 3, episode 20 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at minute 29:50, the song plays during the Sunnydale High School prom.^[citation needed]
• In The Story of Tracy Beaker Series 1, Episode 13 when Cam discovers Tracy has broken into her flat.
• In the Derry Girls Season 3 finale Halloween (which revolves around a Fatboy Slim concert), the song plays at the end, with a female vocal-led rendition after Claire's father dies in hospital, and the subsequent funeral procession.
• In the 2024 documentary The Blue Angels, the song plays over a montage of the various components of the Blue Angels maintenance and support team.[88]

References

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