"Scatman's World" is a song by American musician Scatman John, a.k.a. John Paul Larkin, released in June 1995 by RCA Records as the second single from his album of the same name (1995). Co-written by John, the song was the follow-up to the international hit "Scatman (Ski Ba Bop Ba Dop Bop)" and reached number-one in Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary and Spain. Its music video was directed by Zowie Broach.

Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary for Dotmusic, James Masterton said, "Now he is back with the followup in pretty much the same vein. Without the novelty value of the first hit it will be interesting to see if this manages to top the Number 3 peak of its predecessor."[1] James Hyman from Music Week's RM Dance Update wrote, "Currently number one in Germany and hitting hard across the rest of Europe, more novelty Euro from a 53-year-old former jazz singer and pianist. Semi-social scat-raps reside over a backing track not too dissimilar from his previous 'Scatman' single as well as Village People's 'Go West'."[2] Helen Lamont from Smash Hits commented, "It's a happy tune, catchy too. If you listen to the words, however, you'll notice he's trying to teach us something. There's a groovy bit of chorus and then each verse contains a "helpful" lecture, on subjects from the state of humanity to world pollution."[3]

Chart performance

"Scatman's World" was successful on the singles charts in Europe, peaking at number one in Belgium (in both Flanders and Wallonia) (6 and 9 weeks), Finland, France (1 week), Germany (3 weeks), Hungary and Spain.[4][5][6][7] On the Eurochart Hot 100, it became John's second number-one hit in August 1995, after 8 weeks on the chart and with 3 weeks as number one in total.[8] The single was a top-10 hit in Austria (4), Denmark (3), Iceland (9), Ireland (7), Italy (2), the Netherlands (3), Norway (4), Sweden (10), Switzerland (3), and the UK. In the latter, it peaked at number 10 in its second week at the UK Singles Chart, on September 3, 1995.[9] It stayed for seven weeks within the chart. Outside Europe, "Scatman's World" charted on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada and on the ARIA singles chart in Australia, peaking at numbers 21 and 84.[10][11]

The single earned a gold record in Belgium (25,000), France (250,000) and Switzerland (25,000). In Germany, it was awarded with a platinum record after 500,000 units were sold.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Scatman's World" was directed by Zowie Broach.[12] It begins with a news reporter standing "outside the world of Scatman" and declaring how people appear happy upon leaving such an establishment. He turns to a child and asks why they are visiting, only for the child to declare that they are bored and that there is nothing to do; confusing the news reporter. The footage cuts to the child suddenly submerged in water as they see Scatman John, who stands in front of many backgrounds in different locations (through chroma key), as he sings about the problems of the world, and invites the viewer to escape into his utopian fantasy world called Scatland. There are locations in London including Liverpool Street station, London Bridge and Oxford Circus. The song satirises the divide in the modern world between cultures and races while expressing hope that there will be a place they can live in harmony.

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Scatman's World"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[37] Gold 25,000*
France (SNEP)[38] Gold 250,000*
Germany (BVMI)[39] Platinum 500,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[40] Gold 25,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Scatman's World"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Europe June 1995 CD RCA [7]
United Kingdom August 21, 1995
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [41]

References

  1. ^ Masterton, James (August 27, 1995). "Week Ending September 2nd 1995". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Hyman, James (August 19, 1995). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 33. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Lamont, Helen (August 30, 1995). "Singles". Smash Hits. p. 60. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Scatman John – Scatman's World" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Scatman John – Scatman's World" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Scatman John – Scatman's World" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "Scatman John – Scatman's World" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 34. August 26, 1995. p. 12. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Scatman's World", UK Singles Chart Official Charts Company (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
  10. ^ a b "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2866." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 21 Jan 1996". ARIA. Retrieved July 20, 2017 – via Imgur. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  12. ^ "Scatman John - Scatman's world". YouTube. August 22, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  13. ^ "Scatman John – Scatman's World" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  14. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 28. July 15, 1995. p. 15. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
  15. ^ "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 30. July 29, 1995. p. 15. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  16. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  17. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 34. August 26, 1995. p. 12. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
  18. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (30.07.1995 – 05.08.1995)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). July 29, 1995. p. 20. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  19. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Scatman's World". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  20. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 31. August 5, 1995. p. 11. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Single top 100 over 1995" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  22. ^ "Scatman John – Scatman's World" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  23. ^ "Scatman John – Scatman's World". VG-lista. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 (03 September 1995-09 September 1995)". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  25. ^ Spanish peak
  26. ^ "Scatman John – Scatman's World". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  27. ^ "Scatman John – Scatman's World". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  28. ^ 1995 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at Archived September 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved September 10, 2008)
  29. ^ 1995 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved September 10, 2008)
  30. ^ 1995 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved September 10, 2008)
  31. ^ "1995 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. December 23, 1995. p. 14. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  32. ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1995" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  33. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  34. ^ "Jaaroverzichten - Single 1995". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  35. ^ "Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  36. ^ 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived March 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved September 10, 2008)
  37. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 1995". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  38. ^ "French single certifications – Scatman John – Scatman" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  39. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Scatman John; 'Scatman')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  40. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Scatman')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  41. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. August 19, 1995. p. 31.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scatman%27s_World_(song)
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