Released February 21, 2005 Recorded 2004 Length 3:55 | Format CD single Genre Hip hop soul Label SRC, Universal | |
"Lonely" (also known as "Mr. Lonely") is a song by Senegalese-American R&B and hip hop singer Akon; it appears on his debut album, Trouble. The single was released in 2005 and was his first worldwide hit. It reached number one in several countries, including in the United Kingdom and Germany (where it stayed there for eight weeks), and Australia. It was also highly popular in France where it reached number two, and in the United States when it peaked at #4. An edited version was on Radio Disney and on Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 8.
Contents
Background
When Akon was signed by Universal imprint SRC Records it was "Lonely" that had immediately caught the attention of SRC A&R Jerome Foster and convinced him of Akon's talents. On hearing the demo track he had said, "This kid is official - this is a huge record." Despite offering the album's best option in terms of commercial breakthrough, SRC Records chose "Locked Up" over "Lonely" as the first single because SRC wanted to break Akon in the streets first and work towards a cross-over. According to Foster in an interview with HitQuarters, ""Locked Up" is a street record. I thought that was the place for us to start to get a fan-base knowing that we had a record like "Lonely", which was more commercial, to follow it."
The song uses sped-up samples from Bobby Vinton's song "Mr. Lonely", providing a vocal sound similar to Alvin and the Chipmunks, a sound/technique made famous by producers such as RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Newcleus and Kanye West. The song is written by Akon, Bobby Vinton, and Gene Allan. The lyrics are sung mainly by Akon as well as Bobby Vinton doing parts of the choruses.
Music video
A music video was produced to promote the single. The video was directed by Gil Green. Actress Katerina Graham starred in the video as Akon's love partner. A competition winner from Blackpool, Daniel Ellwood, also starred in the video.
Track listing
- "Lonely" (Clean Version) - 3:58
- "Trouble Nobody" (Explicit) - 3:21
- "Lonely" (UK Radio Edit) - 3:33
- "Trouble Nobody" (Clean) - 3:21
- "Kill The Dance (Got Something For Ya)" (Feat. Kardinal Offishall) - 2:54
- "Lonely" (Video) - 3:58
- "Lonely" (Clean Version) - 3:58
- "Lonely" (Instrumental Version) - 3:58
- "Belly Dancer (Bananza)" (Snippet) - 1:31
Charts and certifications
The song was a #1 hit in several countries including Australia, Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium and Switzerland. The song reached #2 in France, Norway and Sweden. The song also reached #19 in Finland. As of August 2014, it is the 106th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 294,000 units sold.