Released August 11, 1998 Recorded 1997 Label Squint, Columbia | Format CD single Genre Pop rock, jangle pop | |
Length 3:19 (single version)
3:30 (album version) | ||
"Kiss Me" is a song recorded by American pop rock band Sixpence None the Richer from their 1997 self-titled album. Released as a single in 1998, it reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was a worldwide success; it reached number four on both the UK Singles Chart and the New Zealand Singles Chart, as well as peaking atop the Australian singles chart and the Canadian Singles Chart, making it the group's highest-charting single across the world.
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The song is also the group's best-selling single in the United States, peaking at number two for one week behind TLC's "No Scrubs". Despite only reaching second place, the song had great longevity on the chart, spending 16 weeks in the Top Ten and 35 weeks on the chart. At the end of 1999, Billboard ranked the song as the sixth best-selling single of 1999, ahead of a number of other No. 1 hits and the second highest rank for a song that didn't make it to the top, behind Whitney Houston, Faith Evans, and Kelly Price's "Heartbreak Hotel", which ranked at No. 4. It became the main theme song for the teen film She's All That starring Rachael Leigh Cook.
Single release
The year after the release of the album Sixpence None the Richer, "Kiss Me" was released as a single on August 11, 1998. Exactly three months after the debut release of the single, The WB's popular teen drama Dawson's Creek played "Kiss Me" as background music in two of its episodes from Season 2. In January 1999, Miramax used "Kiss Me" as the main theme song of its teen romantic comedy film She's All That. The film's box office success helped "Kiss Me" to gain widespread mainstream attention and chart success. "Kiss Me" climbed to No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 list, and stayed in the Top 10 for 16 straight weeks. "Kiss Me" was also included on the first soundtrack on Songs from Dawson's Creek, released on April 27, 1999 which made No. 7 on the album charts. Later that year, the BBC used the song as a closing theme during its broadcast coverage of Prince Edward's royal wedding upon the request of the British Royal Family.
The song also featured in the film How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
"Kiss Me" was used in the episode "Simprovised" of Fox animated series The Simpsons.
Sixpence None the Richer version
The original music video, also directed by album/single producer Steve Taylor, pays tribute to French filmmaker François Truffaut and his film Jules et Jim, made in black and white and recreating many of the classic scenes from the film. Two alternate versions of the video were also released later, which featured the band sitting on a park bench, performing and watching scenes from either She's All That or Dawson's Creek on a portable television or projected on an outdoor screen. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook appeared in the She's All That version of the video. The Dawson's Creek version of the video became VH1's number-one video for the entire month of May 1999.
"Kiss Me" as performed by Debbie Scott was featured in the Music and Rhythm Game "Pump It Up: Exceed", which included a music video of a young girl and her pet cat.
New Found Glory version
New Found Glory's music video revolves around a large group of teenagers who construct a tree house out of mattresses, and throw a raucous garden party involving pillow fights and kissing, while the members of the band, along with the members of Paramore perform the song around them. While the bands perform, a young man, played by drummer Chase Dodds of the band Classic Addict, sets off on a mission to kiss as many girls as possible during the party, keeping a tally on his inner left forearm in black pen. After narrowly avoiding kissing a man (whom he mistakes for a girl because of his long hair), Chase attempts to kiss Paramore's lead singer, Hayley Williams, only to have her recognize the tally on his arm, and slap him in the face, knocking him to the ground. He is then set upon by all the girls he has kissed at the party, who then proceed to strip him of his shirt, and tie him to a nearby tree with duct tape. One of the girls tapes his mouth shut, before writing "kiss me" on his chest in black pen. The girls then rejoin the party, leaving Chase tied to the tree.
In this version, to make it more suitable to be sung from a male point of view, the line "You'll wear those shoes and I will wear that dress" is changed to "I'll wear those shoes and you will wear that dress".
Track listing
- "Kiss Me" (radio remix)
- "Kiss Me" (album edit)
- "Sad But True"
- "Kiss Me" (live in Hollywood)
- "Kiss Me" (radio remix)
- "Love"
- "Kiss Me" (radio remix)
- "Sad But True"
- "Kiss Me" (live in Hollywood)
- "Kiss Me" (Japanese version)
- "Kiss Me" (LP version)
- "Kiss Me" (acoustic version)
- "I Can't Catch You" (Ben Grosse Remix)
- "Love" (Ben Grosse Remix)
- "Kiss Me" (instrumental edit)
Covers
The song has been covered by Avril Lavigne, Katie Melua, UK R&B singer Nathan, Lava Lava on their album "Tour Demo", and New Found Glory on their album From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II. The New Found Glory version has been released as a single with a music video.
It has also been covered by Singaporean Olivia Ong on her album A Girl Meets Bossa Nova 2, and by American Jewel. A cover by Debbie Scott appeared in the game Pump It Up Exceed. A cover of the song was put in the game Karaoke Revolution. The song was covered on the eighth series of The X Factor by Janet Devlin in Week 7.