Woman (Neneh Cherry song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Woman"
Woman Neneh Cherry single art.jpg
Single by Neneh Cherry
from the album Man
B-side"Heart Throbs"
Released22 July 1996 (1996-07-22)
StudioCherry Bear, Westside (London, England)
Genre
Length
  • 4:37 (album version)
  • 3:47 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Neneh Cherry singles chronology
"Love Can Build a Bridge"
(1995) 		"Woman"
(1996) 		"Kootchi"
(1996)
Music video
"Woman" on YouTube

"Woman" is a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry from her third studio album, Man (1996). Written by Cherry, her husband Cameron McVey, and Jonathan Sharp, the song was created as a take on American singer James Brown's 1966 hit "It's a Man's Man's Man's World". The song's lyrics describe the difficulties women face in life, allowing Cherry to be seen as an empowering female recording artist.

Released on 22 July 1996, "Woman" became one of Cherry's biggest, though one of her last, hits in Europe and Australia, reaching the top 10 in Finland, Hungary, Iceland, the United Kingdom, and the Wallonia region of Belgium.

Critical reception[]

Ross Jones from The Guardian described it as an "awe-inspiring new work", adding that it "evoke" James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's World", while the singer "bawls her soul into the mic."[2] Music & Media wrote that the song is Cherry's "own take" on the Brown song ("this is a woman's world/ it's my world"). "Even the melodies and chord changes sound the same, but this track obviously has a message: it's a tribute to femininity and its loving, caring power."[3] Writing for NME, Dele Fadele noted that the singer's "forages into soul possess an irreverence that lift otherwise earnest pastiches", stating that "Woman" rewrites Brown's song as a "feminist tract".[4]

Commercial performance[]

"Woman" was released as a single on 22 July 1996,[5] becoming Cherry's last substantial hit. It reached number two in Iceland,[6] number three in Walloon Belgium,[7] number four in Finland and Hungary,[8][9] and number nine on the UK Singles Chart.[10] In her native Sweden, the song peaked at number 20 in its second week, spending 10 weeks on the Swedish Singles Chart.[11] Elsewhere in Europe, the single reached the top 20 in Flemish Belgium, France, Norway and Switzerland.[7] On the Eurochart Hot 100, it peaked at number 21 during its second week on the chart, after a debut at number 37.[12] In Australasia, "Woman" was moderately successful, peaking at number 17 in Australia and number 35 in New Zealand.[13][14] The song has received a Gold certification in France, denoting sales greater than 250,000.[15]

Aftermath[]

After the success of "Woman", Cherry stated that she felt she was pushing her limits with the level of fame she was experiencing, claiming that the success she was receiving was enjoyable, but it was not completely what she wanted. She explained, "The idea behind making 'Buffalo Stance' and Raw Like Sushi wasn't to be famous, it was to change things and do things the way that we do them, always with an idea of activism or a kind of rebellion."[16]

Track listings[]

Charts and certifications[]

In popular culture[]

In 2018 the song was used in a TV advertisement for L'Oréal Paris Voluminous Mascara.[36]

References[]

  1. ^ Masterton, James (28 July 1996). "Week Ending August 3rd 1996". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  2. ^ Jones, Ross (27 July 1996). "Music > Rock & Pop > Reviews – Singles". The Guardian.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 31. 3 August 1996. p. 12. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  4. ^ Fadele, Dele. "Neneh Cherry – Man". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  5. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 20 July 1996. p. 46. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (14.9 – 20.9. '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 14 September 1996. p. 41. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Ultratop.be – Neneh Cherry – Woman" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b "Neneh Cherry: Woman" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 33. 17 August 1996. p. 30. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Swedishcharts.com – Neneh Cherry – Woman". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 33. 17 August 1996. p. 28. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b "Australian-charts.com – Neneh Cherry – Woman". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "Charts.nz – Neneh Cherry – Woman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b "French single certifications – Neneh Cherry – Woman" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  16. ^ Conroy, Catherine (11 April 2016). "Neneh Cherry: 'There is a very shallow, sexualised entrapment that women get sucked into'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  17. ^ Woman (European CD single liner notes). Neneh Cherry. Virgin Records. 1996. HUTCDE70.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Woman (UK CD1 liner notes). Neneh Cherry. Virgin Records, Hut Records. 1996. HUTCD70, 7243 8 93689 2 5.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ Woman (UK CD2 liner notes). Neneh Cherry. Hut Records, Virgin Records. 1996. HUTDX70, 7243 8 93690 2 1.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Woman (UK cassette single sleeve). Neneh Cherry. Hut Records, Virgin Records. 1996. HUTC70, 7243 8 93689 4 9.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Neneh Cherry – Woman" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Neneh Cherry – Woman" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  23. ^ "Lescharts.com – Neneh Cherry – Woman" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Neneh Cherry – Woman" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  25. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Woman". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 34, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Neneh Cherry – Woman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  28. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Neneh Cherry – Woman". VG-lista. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  30. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Neneh Cherry – Woman". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  31. ^ "Rapports annuels 1996" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  32. ^ "1996 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 51/52. 21 December 1996. p. 12. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  33. ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1996" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  34. ^ "Árslistinn 1996". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1997. p. 25. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  35. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 1996" (in German). Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  36. ^ "L'Oréal Paris – The power of cosmetics, voluminous Original mascara | beauty ads | short ads 2018". YouTube Short Ads. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""