Chinese Food (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Chinese Food"
Single by Alison Gold
ReleasedOctober 5, 2013
GenrePop
Length3:20
LabelPMW Live
Songwriter(s)Patrice Wilson
Producer(s)
  • Patrice Wilson
  • Dave Kurtis
Alison Gold singles chronology
"Chinese Food"
(2013) 		"ABCDEFG"
(2013)
Music video
"Chinese Food" (Official video) on YouTube

"Chinese Food" is a song by Alison Gold. It was released on October 5, 2013 as her debut single by PMW Live.[1] It entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at number 29, selling 1,000 downloads[2] and being streamed on YouTube five million times for the week ending October 20, 2013.[2] As of October 20, 2013, it had not been reported to be played on any radio stations in the United States.[2] The video was removed by the song's producer, Patrice Wilson, from his channel in 2018; although he has since re-uploaded it.

Background[]

Patrice Wilson wrote the song on his birthday in 2012.[3] Wilson, explaining his inspiration for writing the song, stating: "There's a restaurant I go to, they have chicken wings, they have beef with broccoli, that's what I love. The song is based on my experience—what I know about Chinese food."[4]

Music video[]

The music video for "Chinese Food" was released on October 14, 2013. It was filmed partly in a Mongolian restaurant, because a Chinese restaurant could not be booked, while some other scenes were shot in Gold's bedroom.[5] It was viewed almost one million times within 24 hours of being uploaded to the video sharing site YouTube, attaining an estimated 4:1 ratio of dislikes to likes and drawing comparisons to another poorly received Patrice Wilson production, "Friday" (2011) by Rebecca Black.[6] Wilson himself appears in the "Chinese Food" video wearing a panda suit.[6] The video attracted controversy for its alleged overuse of Asian stereotypes, including scenes of Japanese geisha imagery in a Chinese-themed song.[4] Another scene singled out by media outlets depicts Gold and Wilson playing the board game Monopoly, after which the camera zooms in on Wilson placing the dog-figure on the square for Oriental Avenue.[7] Devon Maloney of Wired wrote that the video "is not racist because it depicts pan-Asian cuisine; it's racist because it lazily traffics in racial stereotypes and paints over the distinctions between vastly different Asian cultures with the same 'it's all Chinese to me!' brush."[7] Gold, in response to the accusations, stated: "I don't really understand what that's all about... I mean, I'm not trying to criticize anyone – I just really love Chinese food!"[8] Wilson also denied any intentions of racism, responding:

Yes, I know geishas are Japanese, but you can find Chinese restaurants in Japan! People say I'm squinting, well okay, I have small eyes. All this controversy, I didn't even think about it. The pissed off people saying I'm racist, the last person who wants to be racist is me.[4]

Charts[]

Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 29
US Streaming Songs (Billboard)[9] 5

References[]

  1. ^ "Chinese Food". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Alison Gold Delivers 'Chinese Food' to Hot 100". Billboard. October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  3. ^ "[Roz & Mocha Interview] Exclusive: Chinese Food Singer Alison Gold & Patrice Wilson on KiSS 92.5". KiSS 92.5. October 18, 2013. Archived from the original on January 15, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Yang, Jeff (October 19, 2013). "Why Alison Gold's 'Chinese Food' Caused a Stir". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Gil; Marino, Kelly (October 17, 2013). "Exclusive: Chinese Food Singer Alison Gold Thinks Wonton Soup Is 'Really Disgusting'". MTV News. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Nudd, Tim (October 15, 2013). "Alison Gold's Insane 'Chinese Food' Video Is the New Rebecca Black's 'Friday'". Adweek. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Maloney, Devon (October 16, 2013). "'Chinese Food' Is the New 'Friday.' Except Racist". Wired. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  8. ^ Flanigan, Sarah (October 18, 2013). "Alison Gold Responds to 'Chinese Food' Racism Claims". Yahoo!. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  9. ^ "Streaming Songs: Nov. 02, 2013". Billboard. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
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