Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Finally (CeCe Peniston song)

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Format
  
7" 12" CS MCS CD MCD

Genre
  
House Dance

Recorded
  
1991 (1991)

Length
  
4:08 (album version)

B-side
  
"We Got a Love Thang" (UK) Remix

Released
  
September 23, 1991 (1991-09-23)

"Finally" is a 1991 song by American musician CeCe Peniston from her debut album, Finally. A dance mix of this song was made, and this remixed version was used in many dance music compilations. "Finally" became Peniston's first (and biggest) hit song, peaking at number five on the US Hot 100 in January 1992 and becoming her only US top-ten hit to date. Prior to that, it was also successful on the US Dance chart, where it spent two weeks at number one in late 1991. In addition, the song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart in a remixed version.

Contents

Background an release

Peniston grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and began writing pop lyrics already at school. The words of "Finally" were purportedly penned during a chemistry class, while thinking about dating in college. In 1989 and 1990 she won the Miss Black Arizona pageant and took the Miss Galaxy pageant a short time later.

Her music career began in January 1991, when Felipe "DJ Wax Dawg" Delgado, her friend and a record producer based also in Phoenix, asked Peniston to record back-up vocals for Tonya Davis, a black female rapper known as Overweight Pooch after her childhood nickname. After the Overweight Pooch’s album flopped on the market, Manny Lehman (a DJ and executive producer) had noticed the powerful voice of the back-up vocalist, Peniston. He offered record producer Delgado a chance to produce a track for Peniston herself as a solo artist. Delgado called hometown friend and music producer, Rodney K. Jackson to help co-produce the Peniston’s single, which was soon to be recognized as "Finally".

Peniston was 21 years old when "Finally" was released. The song burst on to the US club scene in the fall of 1991, where it became an instant dance anthem peaking, in October, at the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play for two weeks, while achieving a respectful starting position (at No.#29) overseas. Following this Peniston completed her first album, Finally in just two months. The album made its debut to critical acclaim and Peniston celebrated a year-long run of awards success including the Billboard award for Best New Artist (dance) and three ASCAP awards amongst numerous others. The song "Finally" has sold over 3 million copies to date.

When asked about "Finally" in an 2012 interview, Peniston said:

"It was actually a poem that I had turned into a song, and it was the very first song that I had written. I was doing backup for someone else, and they asked if I had something else and I was like yeah, something I’ve written, and I didn’t know if they’d like it. You know, you don’t really understand your gifts at that point, so when he said I have a hit, I was just like okay. At the time I didn’t understand what it means to have a number one song, I really had no idea. They said you have a hit on your hands and you’re going to have to go to Europe. All of a sudden I was traveling the world, one show turned into two, that little girl from Arizona was going everywhere! You know, I had been here and there, a couple of trips, but nothing at all like this. It was overwhelming."

New versions of "Finally" were released in 1997 and 2011.

Composition

The remix of this song is based on the piano riff from the house music classic "Someday" by CeCe Rogers from 1987.

Music video

The music video of "Finally" was directed by Claude Borenzweig.

Impact and legacy

DJ Magazine ranked it number 64 in their list of Top 100 Club Tunes in 1998.

VH1 placed "Finally" at #29 in their list of 100 Greatest Dance Songs [1]

MTV Dance placed "Finally" at #28 in their list of The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems Of All Time in November 2011.

Heart TV ranked the song number 3 in their list of 55 Biggest 90's Club Classics in March 2017.

Credits and personnel

Management
  • Executive producers – Manny Lehman, Mark Mazzetti
  • Recording studio – Aztec Studios, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Publishing – Wax Museum Music, Mainlot Music (BMI), Polygram Music
  • Sampling

  • In 2000 Ham & DNA sampled it in the song "About U"
  • In 2003 Girl Talk sampled it in the song "Touch 2 Feel"
  • In 2012 DJ Earl sampled it in the song "Tru Love"
  • In 2013 Figgy sampled it in the song "Can't Hide"
  • In 2015 Mr Belt & Wezol sampled it in their song "Finally"
  • In 2016 DJ Mustard feat. Travi$ Scott sampled it in the song "Whole Lotta Lovin'"
  • Finally 1997

    In 1997, "Finally" was remixed by Eric Kupper to enhance the overseas issue of Peniston's album Finally, which was re-released in Europe and Japan along with her greatest collection, The Best Of CeCe Peniston .

    The new remixed version of the song entitled "Classic Funk Mix" (a.k.a. "Finally '97") successfully re-entered the British charts, peaking on September 13 at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart, meaning Peniston had three chart entries with one and the same title (in March 92, in September 97).

    Additional credits
  • Recording studio – Hysteria Recording
  • Publishing – PolyGram Music
  • Producer, engineering, programming, keyboards, guitar and bass – Eric Kupper
  • Remixing – Kupper, George Mitchell and Steven Doherty (as Sharp)
  • Design – Alex
  • Track listings and formats
    1. "Finally" (Classic Funk Radio Mix) – 3:26
    2. "Finally" (Classic Funk Mix) – 7:13

    Finally 2008

    In the summer of 2008, the song was remixed by Kam Denny, an Australian DJ and producer, and Paul Zala, also electro house DJ based in Melbourne. Subtitled as "Kam Denny & Paul Zala Remix", or rather "Vandalism Remix", the promotional single was released in Australia on Bimbo Rock, a local indie dance/electro label formed by TV Rock. The new adaptation gained underground house music popularity entered the local Club Tracks Chart, topping for four weeks at number one.

    Additional credits
  • Producers and remixing – Kam Denny and Paul Zala
  • Charts

    Finally 2011

    At the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of "Finally," Peniston made a number of additional remixes of the song for Paul Oakenfold, featuring Joyriders, and supported also by music video. Originally, the song was to be attached to her cancelled studio album CeCe.

    Additional credits
  • Executive producer – Paul Oakenfold
  • Vocals – Peniston (re-recorded)
  • Performer – Joyriders
  • Producers and remixing – Roman Hunter, Digitalchord, Zen Freeman, Remy Le Duc, Mikael Nordgren (as Tiger Stripes), Chuckii Booker (as DJ Cii)
  • Vocal production – Kevin Lewis
  • Track listings and formats
    1. "Finally" (Roman Hunter Airplay Mix) – 2:58
    1. "Finally" (Roman Hunter Remix) – 7:03
    2. "Finally" (Digitalchord Remix) – 7:00
    3. "Finally" (Zen Freeman & Remy Le Duc Remix) – 6:03
    4. "Finally" (Tiger Stripes Remix) – 7:22
    5. "Finally" (DJ Cii Remix) – 2:31
    1. "Finally" (Tiger Stripes Radio Edit) – 3:15

    The song features in the 1998 film Bimboland produced by Ariel Zeitoun. The 7-inch Choice Mix was used in the 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and featured on its soundtrack album. The song is also featured in the stage musical based on the film.

    For her ninth tour Showgirl: The Homecoming Tour that resumed on November 11, 2006 at Sydney Entertainment Centre (ended on January 23, 2007), Kylie Minogue used elements of Peniston's song when performing her 2000 comeback single "Spinning Around", co-written by Paula Abdul.

    In November 2009, pop musician Lady Gaga used excerpts of "Finally" for the opening of The Monster Ball Tour in her song "Dance in the Dark".

    In July 2014, British singer Matt Fishel included a cover version of the song on his virtual EP Cover Boy. The accompanying video won the category for Best Lyric Video at the 2014 LGBT-based RightOutTV Music & Video Award.

    The song was also used in an advertisement for Ariel detergent in the Philippines, along with modified lyrics to promote the product. The commercial has since spawned numerous parodies poking fun at the campy nature of the commercial and the song used, with numerous people and fictional characters lip-syncing to the tune.

    References

    Finally (CeCe Peniston song) Wikipedia