"1999" is a song by English singer Charli XCX and Australian singer Troye Sivan, released as the lead single from the former's third studio album Charli on 5 October 2018.[4] The single cover was inspired by the 1999 film The Matrix.[4] It follows several singles released earlier in 2018 by Charli XCX and Sivan's 2018 album Bloom. The track reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart dated 22 November 2018, becoming Charli XCX's tenth top 40 single and first top 15 single since 2015, as well as Sivan's fourth top 40 single and his first top 20 single.[5]
The song contains nostalgic lyrical references to the titular year along with a snare-heavy beat, "fuzzy sawtooth bass and sparking Eurodance keys".[8] Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork stated that the track is "more concerned with the act of remembering than with the specifics of the year it calls up itself" and "fits alongside the rest of Charli XCX's sleek, forward-looking pop songs".[8] The song also references Britney Spears' 1998 debut single, "...Baby One More Time".
Musical compositionedit
The song is written in the key of D major, with an allegro tempo of 124 BPM in 4 4common time. Sivan's and Charli XCX's voices span between the notes B3 and F#5.[9][10]
Artworkedit
The cover art references the 1999 film The Matrix, with Sivan dressed as Neo, wearing dark sunglasses, a black overcoat, and dyed black hair against a bright green background.[11] Charli XCX, who is dressed as Trinity, flanks him.[11]Billboard also noted its similarity to Aaliyah in the music video for her 2000 song "Try Again".[12]
Promotionedit
Charli XCX and Sivan tweeted lyrics from "1999" addressed to each other on Twitter before sharing the cover art and title of the song.[13][14]
In September 2021, Vengaboys released a cover version of the song, which was retitled "1999 (I Wanna Go Back)" and came with a deepfake-style video which saw the cover stars from various 1990s albums lip-syncing to the song and the band put into the Friends title sequence with the sofa and fountain. One of the "deepfakes" is superimposed on the single cover of Vengaboys' own "We're Going To Ibiza".[49][50]
Notesedit
^On physical releases of Charli, "1999" is credited to Charli XCX featuring Troye Sivan.
^"Single Review: Charli XCX & Troye Sivan – 1999". A Bit Of Pop Music. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
^Kim, Michelle. "Charli XCX: Charli Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
^ abSodomsky, Sam (1 October 2018). "Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Announce New Song '1999'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
^"Ariana Grande claims second week at Number 1 with huge streaming numbers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
^D'Souza, Shaad (9 June 2019). "Watch Charli XCX and Troye Sivan debut new song "2099"". The Fader. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
^Just Dance (30 January 2020). Just Dance Unlimited: 1999 by Charli XCX & Troye Sivan | Official Track Gameplay [US] (Trailer). Retrieved 6 February 2020 – via YouTube.
^ abGeffen, Sasha (5 October 2018). "'1999' by Charli XCX / Troye Sivan Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
^"Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, 1999". Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
^ abKrol, Charlotte (1 October 2018). "Charli XCX to drop new single '1999' with Troye Sivan on Friday". NME. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
^Bote, Joshua (1 October 2018). "Troye Sivan & Charli XCX Announce New Song '1999'". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
^Hussein, Wandera (1 October 2018). "Charli XCX and Troye Sivan announce new duet '1999'". The Fader. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
^Garner, Glenn (2 October 2018). "Troye Sivan and Charli XCX Announce Collab in 'Matrix' Cosplay, Internet is Shook". Out. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
^Hussein, Wandera (11 October 2018). "Charli XCX and Troye Sivan drop '1999' music video". The Fader. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
^Bloom, Madison; Strauss, Matthew (11 October 2018). "Watch Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Dress Like Eminem, Britney Spears, Steve Jobs, More in Amazing New Video for '1999'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
^"Charli XCX's new video uses deepfake technology because of course it does • Popjustice". Popjustice. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
^ ab"1999 – Single by Charli XCX & Troye Sivan on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
^"1999 (Stripped)– Single by Charli XCX & Troye Sivan on Tripped". Tidal. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
^"1999 (The Knocks Remix) – Single by Charli XCX & Troye Sivan on Tidal". Tidal. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
^ ab"1999 (Remixes) by Charli XCX & Troye Sivan on Apple Music". iTunes Store. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
^"Charli XCX & Troye Sivan – 1999". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
^"Charli XCX & Troye Sivan – 1999" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^"Charli XCX & Troye Sivan – 1999" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
^"Chart Search | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
^"Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 43/2018". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
^"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
^"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 18 October 2018.