U Got 2 Let the Music

"U Got 2 Let the Music" is a song by Italian Eurodance group Cappella, released in 1993 as the fourth single from their second studio album, U Got 2 Know (1994). The track samples "Sounds Like a Melody" by German musical group Alphaville and charted in various countries around the world, including the UK, where it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the 36th-best-selling single of 1993 in the UK. In Germany, the song became 1993's biggest selling record.[1] In Austria, Finland and Switzerland, it peaked at number one. Its accompanying music video received heavy rotation on MTV Europe in January 1994.[2] "U Got 2 Let the Music" was re-released in 1998, 2004 and 2006, in remixed versions.

"U Got 2 Let the Music"
Single by Cappella
from the album U Got 2 Know
B-side"Remix"
Released1993
GenreHi-NRG
Length3:32
Songwriter(s)
  • Gianfranco Bortolotti
  • Pierangelo Feroldi
  • Antonio Puntillo
  • Alessandro Neri
  • Marco Baroni
  • Stefano Zucchini
  • Roberto Arduini
Producer(s)Gianfranco Bortolotti
Cappella singles chronology
"U Got 2 Know"
(1993)		 "U Got 2 Let the Music"
(1993)		 "Move on Baby"
(1994)
Music video
"U Got 2 Let the Music" on YouTube

Background

Cappella started as a studio project with Italian producer and manager Gianfranco Bortolotti and his record company Media Record's team of DJs and producers ganging together, striving for the perfect commercial dance formula. The band had some minor hits in the late 80s and early 90s with singles like "Bauhaus (Push the Beat)" (1987), "Helyom Halib" (1989) and "Take Me Away" (1992). After Cappella became progressively more commercial, and received sustained success Bortolotti chose British singer/dancer Kelly Overett and American rapper Rodney Bishop as a regular public face of the band.[3]

"U Got 2 Let the Music" would be the first release with Overett and Bishop. In a 1993 interview with Music & Media, Bortolotti said, "We have given Capella a new image with Anglo-Italian Kelly and American Rodney as the groups singers and public image. Capella's sound is also less techno and more pop-oriented now."[4] The track samples the 1984 Alphaville song "Sounds Like a Melody", but none of its songwriters were given writing credits on U Got 2 Know.[5][6]

Critical reception

John Bush from AllMusic described "U Got 2 Let the Music" as a "continent-wide Hi-NRG hit".[7] The Stud Brothers of Melody Maker stated that following in the footsteps of "No Limit" and "Mr. Vain", "Cappella lob out another foul, insidious slice of Eurobeat masquerading as, techno (as in Techno! Techno! Techno!)" They concluded that "this has all the ingredients to go straight to Number One", noting its "soul samples", "lyric three words longer than the title", "a 1,000 mph Jean Michel Jarre melody", "and behind it all, a shady Continental entrepreneur".[8] The magazine's Peter Paphides said "it's basically a speeded-up Kraftwerk song with Kelly rasping all over it".[1] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Harold Faltermeyer meets the Italo house scene on a melody line not unlike "Let's All Chant" by the Michael Zager Band and ends up at the top of the UK dance chart."[9] Dario Usuelli, PD at EHR Radio Deejay Network/Milan commented, "It is a fast danceable pop song without pretention and has a good strong dance rhythm for the clubs."[10] James Hamilton from Music Week's RM Dance Update called it a "typical breezy synth buzzed chanting italo techno-pop scamperer".[11] Another editor, Tim Jeffery, viewed it as a "typically big, bold and brash Euro stomper that's pretty much in the same vein as their last hit single", stating that "this is basically in-yer-face pop techno."[12]

Chart performance

"U Got 2 Let the Music" went on to become a major hit on the charts in Europe. To date, it remains the most successful release by the group, peaking at number-one in Austria, Finland and Switzerland, as well as reaching number two in the United Kingdom. In the latter, the single peaked in its second week in the UK Singles Chart, on October 24, 1993.[13] It was held off reaching the top spot by Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". "U Got 2 Let the Music" was the 36th best-selling single of 1993 in the UK. It also entered the top 10 in Belgium (6), Denmark (8), Germany (3), Ireland (6), Italy (9), the Netherlands (9) and Norway (4), plus on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it entered at number 46 in October, 1993 and peaked at number four on 15 January 1994. In Germany, the song became 1993's biggest selling record.[1] Additionally, it was a top 20 hit in France (12), Iceland (20) and Sweden (14).

Outside Europe, it charted in Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia, where the song peaked at number 169. It earned a gold record in Austria, with a sale of 25,000 units, a silver record in the UK, after 200,000 singles were sold, and a platinum record in Germany, with 500,000 units sold there.

Airplay

"U Got 2 Let the Music" rolled out at number 17 when the first European airplay chart Border Breakers was compiled on 30 October 1993 due to crossover airplay in Central- and Northwest-Europe. It peaked at number three on 11 December.[14]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[44] Gold 25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[45] Platinum 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Silver 200,000^

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

See also

References
  1. Paphides, Peter; Price, Simon (14 May 1994). "Europa Uber Alles". Melody Maker. p. 25. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  2. "Station Reports > MTV Europe/London" (PDF). Music & Media. 8 January 1994. p. 19. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  3. Dezzani, Mark (5 February 1994). "Cappella Charms Clubs, Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 6. p. 1. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  4. Dezzani, Mark (4 December 1993). "Brescia: Home of Italy's Dance Scene" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 49. p. 10. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  5. Ravarino, Gilles (10 July 2022). "Cappella « U Got 2 Let the Music » (1994)" (in French). Radio Vinci Autoroutes. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  6. U Got 2 Know (UK CD album disc notes). Cappella. Internal Dance. 1994. CAPCD 1, 828 486.2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. Bush, John. "Cappella – U Got 2 Know". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  8. The Stud Brothers (16 October 1993). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 39. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  9. "Music Market Place" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 46. 13 November 1993. p. 8. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  10. Dezzani, Mark (5 February 1994). "Cappella Charms Clubs, Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 6. pp. 1, 32. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  11. Hamilton, James (9 October 1993). "DJ directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 7. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  12. Jeffery, Tim (18 September 1993). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 6. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  13. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  14. Holt, Karen (19 November 1994). "Border Breakers: Monitoring the Impact of Euro Talent" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 21. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  15. "RE: ARIA chart peaks". 24 May 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016 – via Imgur.
  16. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  17. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  18. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 5. 29 January 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  19. "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 5. 29 January 1994. p. 49. ISSN 0006-2510.
  20. "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 50. 11 December 1993. p. 30. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
  21. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  22. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  23. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  24. "Íslenski Listinn: Topp 40: Vikan 3.3. – 9.3. '94" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir. 3 March 1994. p. 20. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  25. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – U Got 2 Let The Music". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  26. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 4. 22 January 1994. p. 14. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  27. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1994" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  28. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  29. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music". VG-lista. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  30. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  31. "Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  32. "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 23 October 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  33. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 2 October 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  34. "1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 51/52. 18 December 1993. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  35. "Jaarlijsten 1993" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  36. "Top 100 Singles 1993". Music Week. 15 January 1994. p. 24.
  37. "Jahreshitparade 1994" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  38. "Jaaroverzichten 1994" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  39. "1994 in Review: Sales Chart > Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  40. "Jahrescharts – 1994". Offiziellecharts.de (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015.
  41. "Jaarlijsten 1994" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  42. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1994" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  43. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994" (in German). Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  44. "Austrian single certifications – Cappella – U Got 2 Let the Music" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  45. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Cappella; 'U Got 2 Let the Music')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  46. "British single certifications – Cappella – U Got 2 Let the Music". British Phonographic Industry.
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