The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)

"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" is the debut single by Spanish pop group Las Ketchup, taken from their debut studio album Hijas del Tomate (2002). It was released on 10 June 2002, and became an international hit later that year.

For the song by Stompin' Tom Connors, see Ketchup Song (Stompin' Tom Connors song).

"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)"
Single by Las Ketchup
from the album Hijas del Tomate
Language
Released10 June 2002 (2002-06-10)
Recorded2002
StudioLolmang
Genre
Length3:32
Label
Songwriter(s)Manuel Ruiz
Producer(s)Manuel Ruiz
Las Ketchup singles chronology
"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)"
(2002)		 "Kusha Las Payas"
(2002)
Music video
"The Ketchup Song (Asereje) (Spanglish Version)" on YouTube

In addition to the original Spanish version, the song exists in forms with Spanglish and Portuguese verses, although the nonsensical chorus is identical in all three versions. This song reached number one in the United Kingdom, as well as in 26 other countries worldwide. As of 2006, the song had sold over 7 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.[1]

The song tells the story of a pimp-like gypsy (afrogitano) with mystical qualities. The song's dance routine was a popular novelty dance in the early 2000s.

Background

Las Ketchup was first introduced to Columbia Records through Shaketown Music, a small record label in Córdoba, Andalusia, who sent out the group's demo to a number of different record companies.[2] The demo featured the songs "Asereje" and "Kusha Las Payas". When A&R Javier Portugués and Columbia director Raúl López listened to the demo, they stared at each other in delight exclaiming, "Wow, this is fantastic!"[2] At first the intention was to arrange a distribution deal with ShakeTown Music but upon hearing the song they realised its international potential and so negotiated for Las Ketchup to sign with Sony.[2]

Composition

The song is written in the key of E♭ minor and follows the chord progression of E♭m–D♭–C♭–A♭m–B♭7 in the chorus. The pre-chorus uses an altered chord (B minor), or a modal interchange, as the cadence.[3] According to Pandora.com, the song features "mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, humorous lyrics, and electric guitar riffs".[4]

Content

"The Ketchup Song" is about a man named Diego who enters a nightclub. The DJ, a friend of Diego's, plays Diego's favorite song, "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, and Diego dances and sings along to the song, imitating its chorus with Spanish gibberish.[5]

"Aserejé" is therefore a meaningless word,[5] with the chorus "Aserejé, ja, de je, de jebe tu de jebere ..." being a somewhat incorrect imitation of the Rapper's Delight's "I said a hip-hop, the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop ..."[6]

Music video

The music video was shot at Palm Beach, Estepona in Spain, at Chiringuito bar.

The video starts with the female band members laying out a carpet on the ground and putting the bar stools on display to set up their musical show. They then serve people exotic beverages at the beach bar. A male bar attendant with dreadlocks enthusiastically pours drink in a glass and juggles a bottle around. Meanwhile, more and more beach-goers are shown drawing in to the bar, to watch the trio's performance. In some shots of the video, the trio would be performing near wooden window frames which are laid individually on the sandy beach.

During the song's chorus, the band members perform their signature dance moves of this song, alongside other visitors who also joyously participate. The band is then assisted to stand up on a table, where they execute their Aserejé dance in front of a larger, jubilant crowd who gleefully jive in to the dance. By the end of the video, the crowd becomes jam-packed and in multitudes, with the young and old dancing to the song near the beach bar.[7]

Dance routine

For the first dance move, the hands must be held open facing down and continuously waving them over another two times for six beats. The second involves tossing the thumb over the shoulder twice, right before spinning one's arm around each other while raising from the waistline to face level. The last move of the dance involves placing the back of one's hand on the forehead and the palm of the other hand on the back of the head while knocking one's knees together a couple of times.[8]

The song and its dance moves were featured in the 2012 game Just Dance 4.

Critical reception

Andy Thomas from Drowned in Sound gave the song a 9 out of 10, stating, "The Ketchup Song is better than the Macarena...", while acknowledging that the song is "not smart, it's not clever, and it's not going to get a single positive review outside of the teeny bop press." Thomas described the song's band members (Las Ketchup) as "three slightly odd-looking women from Spain who are the proud exponents of this year's Macarena. It's got dance moves (wiggle your hands, thumb a lift, raise your arms, knock your knees together) and a sunny video where the trio serve drinks in a beach bar."[9]

Commercial performance

The song reached the top of the charts in virtually every country it charted, except for the Billboard chart, where it peaked at number 54. In France, the song reached number-one for eleven weeks and eventually sold 1,310,000 copies, making it the best-selling single of 2002, and the second best-selling of the 21st century in the country, behind "Un Monde parfait" by Ilona Mitrecey.[10] Furthermore, the song was the 50th best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK.[11]

Controversy

Although the band has explained that "aserejé" is a meaningless word derived from the theme of the 1979 hip hop song "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang,[5][12] rumors spread through e-mail that the gibberish lyrics included hidden demonic references that would lead the listener to Satanism and heresy.[13]

The phrases from the Spanish lyrics which were claimed to be references to Satanism include:

  • "Aserejé", which can be broken down into the Spanish phrase "a ser hereje", meaning "a heretical being".[13]
  • "Ja, de je, de jebe tu de jebere" – "Ja" would here be the beginning of the Tetragrammaton referring to Jehova (God). The phrase would therefore be "Jehova, deja tu ser" ("Jehova (God), let go of your being").[12]
  • "Y donde más no cabe un alma" ("where there isn't room for a soul"), supposedly referring to hell.[13]
  • "Y el DJ que lo conoce toca el himno de las 12" ("the DJ who knows him plays the midnight hymn"), referring to Satanic rituals which occur at midnight.[13]

One Mexican television station banned the song.[13]

Track listings
CD maxi
No.TitleLength
1."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Spanglish Version)3:32
2."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Spanish Version)3:32
3."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Chiringuito Club Single Edit)3:41
4."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Motown Club Single Edit)3:41
CD maxi
No.TitleLength
1."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Crystal Sound Xmas mix)3:50
2."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Karaoke Version)3:44
3."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Chiringuito Club mix)5:30
4."The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (video – Crystal Sound Xmas mix) 

Charts and sales

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[65] 3× Platinum 210,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[66] 2× Platinum 60,000*
Belgium (BEA)[67] 5× Platinum 250,000*
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[68] 2× Platinum 16,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[69] Platinum 15,483[69]
France (SNEP)[70] Diamond 1,750,000[71]
Germany (BVMI)[72] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[73] 2× Platinum 40,000^
Italy (FIMI)[74] 3× Platinum 155,000[75]
Japan (RIAJ)[76] Platinum 50,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[77] Platinum 60,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[78] 2× Platinum 20,000*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[79] 6× Platinum 360,000*
Sweden (GLF)[80] 4× Platinum 120,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[81] 3× Platinum 120,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[82] Platinum 600,000^

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

Rouge version
"Ragatanga"
Single by Rouge with Las Ketchup
from the album Rouge
Language
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish
ReleasedAugust 31, 2002 (2002-08-31)
Recorded2002
GenreDance-pop
Length3:18
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick Bonadio (Portuguese version only)
Rouge singles chronology
"Não Dá pra Resistir"
(2002)		 "Ragatanga"
(2002)		 "Beijo Molhado"
(2003)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

"Ragatanga" is a song by the Brazilian girl group pop Rouge. It is an adapted version in Portuguese of the song "The Ketchup Song", of the group Las Ketchup. Columbia Records and Sony released "Ragatanga" on August 31, 2002, only in Brazil and Portugal in the same year as the original, as the second single from the debut single from the band's debut studio album, self-titled Rouge (2002). It was among the most successful songs of that year in Brazil and is the biggest success of the group, and there were records that the song reached to play more than fifteen times a day on Brazilian radio stations.

Background and composition

In selecting the tracks for the group's first album, Liminha went to a meeting with Sony representatives from around the world and commented that he needed a repertoire for a group that would release in Brazil, receiving from Spain the song "Asereje", sung Las Ketchup. But the song, however, hardly came on the album. "The list of songs was ready when I heard about Ragatanga," said Alexandre Schiavo, vice president of marketing for Sony Music Brasil.[83]

Hence, Rick Bonadio made a version and transformed it into Ragatanga, whose refrain, "Aserehe ra de re De hebe tu de hebere seibiunouba mahabi", does not mean anything, according to Schiavo. In Schiavo's explanation, it's the crap that people who do not know English usually sing. "The thing that Las Ketchup teenagers invented," he says. Bonadio says: "the secret of a good version is to have fidelity to the original, not to try to invent".[84] The Brazilian version has a mix of Spanish and Portuguese, since it counts on the participation of Las Ketchup.[83]

Commercial performance

"Ragatanga" became a viral success in Brazil, winning the charts quickly and quickly. The song reached the first position of the radios, remaining for 11 consecutive weeks in the first place.[85]

Legacy

"Ragatanga" was a resounding hit in Brazil, making Rouge not only popular in Brazil, but in some parts of the world. The single was taken as the song that boosted sales of the band's first album. In two months in the stores, the album reached the mark of 730,000 sold copies and became favorite to the title of commercial champion of 2002.[86] Besides, the song did not leave the top of the charts. The song was also considered as the reason for the tickets for the group's debut on 14 November 2002, at ATL Hall in Rio de Janeiro, to be exhausted. By that time, the album had already reached the mark of 950 thousand copies.[87]

Billboard magazine, which features the biggest names in the music world, brought a photo story of the Rouge in the October 2002 issue. The report showed production details, a crossover of hits on the radio, and talks a little about the first tour they did for Brazil. In addition to talking about the hits "Ragatanga" and "Não Dá pra Resistir", he also spoke about the international career, in which Rouge performed in Argentina with great success, and the intention to launch the group's CD in Chile and Peru.

Music video

On 31 August, he premiered the music video for "Ragatanga".[88] The video for "Ragatanga" is simple, counting on the girls dancing the choreography of the song, on a giant stage, while the lyrics of the chorus are displayed in the clip. The participation of the band Las Ketchup in the video clip, is obtained from the original music video. The choreography was also imported from Spain, but according to the girls, "We added a new movement, which is the sign of asking for a ride."[86]

Track listing

CD single

  1. "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Album Version)
  2. "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Radio Edit)
  3. "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Memê's Da Carnival Beat Remix)
  4. "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Cuca Rnb Mix)

CD single (Remixes)

  1. "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Memê's Summer Heat Mix) – 4:09
  2. "Ragatanga (Aserejé)" (Da Carnival Beat Mix) – 4:09

Charts
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Brazil (Brasil Hot 100 Airplay)[89] 1

Covers and other versions

In 2012, singer Kelly Key made a cover of the song, for the collection Festa Kids (2012). The re-recording was harshly criticized by Internet users for making the song "bland". In 2013, in a concert held in a nightclub in São Paulo, singer Wanessa summoned Li Martins, to sing some songs, among them "Ragatanga".[90] Still in 2013, the song "Ramón" by girl band Girls (formed and produced by the same producer of Rouge, Rick Bonadio), included in the first studio album of the band, was compared to "Ragatanga" due to its Latin rhythm and the protagonist of the song, which is already being considered the new Diego. The song was also covered in Japanese by the girl group, Soltomatina.[91]

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See also
  • List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s

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