Candy Shop

Infobox Single
Name = Candy Shop


Artist = 50 Cent featuring Olivia
Album = The Massacre
B-side =
Released = January 1, 2005
Format = Digital download, 12" maxi single
Recorded =
Genre = Hip hop, Dirty rap
Length = 3:29
Label = Aftermath, Interscope, Shady
Writer = 50 Cent, Scott Storch
Producer = Scott Storch
Certification = Gold (RIAA) Platinum (ARIA)
Chronology = 50 Cent
Last single = "Disco Inferno" (2004)
This single = "Candy Shop" (2005)
Next single = "Hate It or Love It" (2005)
Misc = Extra chronology
Artist = Olivia
Last single = "Bizounce" (2001)
This single = "Candy Shop" (2005)
Next single = "Wild 2Nite" (2005)"Candy Shop" is a song performed by rapper 50 Cent and R&B singer Olivia. The song was written by 50 Cent and Scott Storch for 50 Cent's second commercial album "The Massacre" (2005). Scott Storch, who also produced the track, took influence from Middle Eastern music. [Touré (June 29, 2006). [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10699242/scott_storchs_outrageous_fortune Scott Storch's Outrageous Fortune] . "Rolling Stone". Accessed June 28, 2007.]

The song was released as the album's second single and was one of the year's most popular songs, peaking inside the top ten on the majority of the charts it entered. "Candy Shop" received mixed reviews from critics, with some calling it a retread of 50 Cent's previous collaboration with Lil' Kim on "Magic Stick".

Background

In an interview with "XXL" magazine, rapper Fat Joe claimed that he helped produce the track while working with Scott Storch. He stated: "I'm pretty sure the world don't know we actually produced Candy Shop together. I produced it with him (Storch)... Scott called me like 50 times, 100 times: 'Yo, you sure you don't want to use it? 50 Cent called me. 50 Cent want it.' I never had a problem with this dude. I was like, 'Go ahead.'" [ [http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/fat%20joe%20weighs%20in%20on%2050%20cent%20war%20with%20candy%20shop%20confession Fat Joe Weighs in on 50 Cent War with Candy Shop Confession] . Contact Music (April 6, 2005). Accessed June 22, 2007.] When writing the song, 50 Cent stated: "I attempted to be as sexual as possible, from a male perspective, without being vulgar or obscene".Reid, Shaheem (January 26, 2005). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1496303/01262005/50_cent.jhtml 50 Cent Renames LP, Makes Video for Sexy Song 'Candy Shop'] . MTV. Accessed June 22, 2007.]

Music

"Candy Shop" is a mid-tempo dancefloor track. [Reid, Shaheem (January 11, 2005). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1495750/20050111/50_cent.jhtml 50 Cent's Sticky New Single, 'Candy Shop,' Hits the Streets] . MTV. Accessed June 22, 2007.] Brackett, Nathan (March 10, 2005). [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/50cent/albums/album/7072060/review/7045740/the_massacre The Masscre Review] . "Rolling Stone". Accessed June 22, 2007.] The song, which was officially produced by Scott Storch, samples The Salsoul Orchestra's "Love Break". [ [http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/store/detail.asp?UPC=SB9819LP 50 Cent - 'The 50 Collection Vol. 1 (Original Samples)'] . Underground Hip Hop. Accessed June 24, 2007.] The production was described by IGN as having a "Middle Eastern tinge" with synthesized strings that "unleash a darkly atonal whirl that sounds too much like something either Timbaland or The Neptunes or Mannie Fresh have concocted". [D., Spence (March 3, 2005). [http://au.music.ign.com/articles/593/593222p3.html The Massacre] . IGN. Accessed June 22, 2007.] "The Guardian" also wrote that the production contains "wan-sounding imitations of the Neptunes' sparse, breathy funk". [Petridis, Alexis (March 11, 2005). [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,1434677,00.html 50 Cent, The Massacre] . "The Guardian". Accessed June 22, 2007.] PopMatters described the chorus as being "relaxed yet faintly ominous" with 50 Cent and Olivia crooning: "Girl what we do (what we do) / And where we do (and where we do) / The things we do (things we do) / Are just between me and you (oh yeah)."Taylor, Nicholas (March 4, 2005). [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/f/50cent-massacre.shtml The Massacre Review] . PopMatters. Accessed June 22, 2007.] "Rolling Stone" also noted the chorus for 50 Cent's "amateur-sounding tenor croon".

Reception

The song received mixed reviews from critics. PopMatters described it as a track "dripping with sexual energy and cool" and is "sexy as hell, but contains a pretty unmistakable edge of hostility, macho swagger, and thunderous chest thumping." "Entertainment Weekly" wrote that the song was an "appealing throwaway single" and lyrics such as "after you work up a sweat, you can play with the stick" are not seductions; "they're orders". [Browne, David (March 7, 2005). [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1033973,00.html The Massacre (2005)] . "Entertainment Weekly". Accessed June 22, 2007.] MusicOMH's Azeem Ahmad wrote that the chemistry between 50 Cent and Olivia "is almost as explicit as the lyrics... the bass line is made for grinding to". [Ahmad, Azeem (2005). [http://www.musicomh.com/singles/50-cent-2.htm 50 Cent - Candy Shop (Interscope)] . MusicOMH. Accessed June 22, 2007.] Author Ethan Brown, in a review of "The Massacre", called the song "uninspiring" and "nearly identical" to his previous collaboration with Lil' Kim on "Magic Stick". He further stated that 50 Cent seemed too content with his "hypersexual image" among other things and "not inspired enough to work beyond the same old attention-getting schemes." [Brown, Ethan (March 14, 2005). [http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/music/pop/reviews/11299/ The Half-Buck Stops Here] . "New York" magazine. Accessed June 22, 2007.] Pitchfork Media also listed "Candy Shop" as a reprise of "Magic Stick" both "in beats and in timbre" [Shepherd, Julianne (March 7, 2005). [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/17712-the-massacre?artist_title=17712-the-massacre 50 Cent: The Massacre] . Pitchfork Media. Accessed June 26, 2007.] and "Stylus magazine" said it was "more of the same" as his previous collaboration. [Forgang, Jonathan (March 7, 2005). [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=2801 The Massacre Review] . "Stylus" magazine. Accessed June 30, 2007.] Similarly, "Billboard" wrote that 50 Cent "shows little growth lyrically" with the song being "typical playa-friendly fodder". [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/grammy/2006/nominees/top/50cent.jsp Billboard Goes to the Grammys 2006] . "Billboard". Accessed June 22, 2007.]

Fat Joe responded to the song after 50 Cent targeted him in "Piggy Bank", a "diss" track aimed towards several rappers. Fat Joe released a song, "My Fo, Fo", in which he raps "Is it me or does 'Candy Shop' sound like 'Magic Stick'?/ In the video, this nigga 50 'bout to strip/ Shaking his ass. What the fuck is wrong with this nigger/50 don't make me shiver.". [Reid, Shaheem (March 10, 2005). [http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1497957/20050310/story.jhtml Jadakiss, Fat Joe Retaliate for 50's 'Piggy Bank'] . MTV. Accessed June 26, 2007.]

ales and chart performance

"Candy Shop" performed well in the United States, becoming 50 Cent's third number one single. The song debuted at number eighty-two on the "Billboard" Hot 100, peaked at number one for nine weeks, and remained on the chart for twenty-three weeks.Whitmire, Margo (April 21, 2005). [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000892784 50 Cent's 'Candy' Enters Ninth Week at No. 1] . "Billboard". Accessed June 22, 2007.] [http://acharts.us/song/689 50 Cent and Olivia - Candy Shop - Music Charts] . Music Square. Accessed June 22, 2007.] The track reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Tracks, and Rhythmic Top 40 charts. The song also did well on pop-oriented charts, reaching number two on the Pop 100 and number five on the Top 40 Mainstream. "Candy Shop" was helped on the Hot 100 and Pop 100 by its strong digital downloads, peaking at number one on the Hot Digital Songs. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzfpxq9sldte~T31 Billboard Singles] . All Music Guide. Accessed June 22, 2007.] The track was certified Gold by the RIAA [Henkel, John (May 3, 2005). [http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Lmj9XC44Kw0J:www.riaa.com/News/newsletter/050305.asp 50 Cent Cashes In] . RIAA. Accessed June 25, 2007.] and was nominated at the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song, but lost to Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone". [ [http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2006/grammys.htm 48th Grammy Awards - 2006] . Rock on the Net. Accessed June 25, 2007.]

Across Europe, the song reached number one in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland and the top five in Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, and the UK. In Australia, the song peaked at number three, was certified Platinum by the ARIA, [ [http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2005.htm ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2005 Singles] . Accessed June 25, 2007.] and on the 2005 year-end chart, it was listed at number twenty-four. [ [http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2005.htm ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2005] . Accessed June 25, 2007.] It also reached number two in New Zealand.

Music video

The music video was directed by Jessy Terrero on January 11 – January 12, 2005 and filmed in Hollywood, California. [ [http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=35854 50 Cent Candy Shop] . mvdbase. Accessed June 22, 2007.] Due to rapper Trick Daddy's music video for "Sugar (Gimme Some)" already having candy references, 50 Cent said "we tried to do something a little different" and not follow the same route. The video features Olivia as the lead dancer and several models including Chessika Cartwright (as a dominatrix), [ [http://hiphopvideomodels.net/chessika.html Chessika Cartwright - Hip Hop Video Model] . Hip Hop Video Model. Accessed June 22, 2007.] "Lyric" (as a nurse), [Thompson, Bonsu (April 2005). [http://xxlmag.com/EyeCandy/2005/0405.lyric/index.html Can I Get a Flicc Witchu] . "XXL". Accessed June 22, 2007.] and Erica Mena (as the girl in bed). [Lelinwalla, Mark. [http://www.bridgezmag.com/miramira.php Erica Mena] . "Bridgez" magazine. Accessed June 22, 2007.] It also features cameo appearances from Lil Scrappy and G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck. The video was nominated for Best Male Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Kanye West's "Jesus Walks". [ [http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2005/mtvvmas.htm 2005 MTV Video Music Awards] . Rock on the Net. Accessed June 28, 2007.]

On February 2, 2005, the video debuted on MTV's "Total Request Live" at number nine and stayed on the chart for forty-six days. [ [http://host17.hrwebservices.net/~atrl/trlarchive/db.html TRL Archive Debuts] . Popfusion. Accessed June 22, 2007.] It also reached number one on the "MuchMusic" video charts. [ [http://universalurban.com/50cent/ 50 Cents' new album, Curtis, takes Hip-Hop to the bank] . Universal Urban (April 24, 2007). Accessed June 22, 2007.]

Formats and track listing

*CD single [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/more.jsp?tp=singles&pid=340706&aid=719993 Candy Shop CD #1] . "Billboard". Accessed June 22, 2007.]
#"Candy Shop" (album version)
#"Disco Inferno" (album version)

*UK single [ [http://www.7digital.com/stores/productDetail.aspx?shop=34&product=9860&sid=66262 7digital.com 50 Cent - Candy Shop] . "7digital.com". Accessed June 27, 2007.]
#"Candy Shop" (album version)
#"Disco Inferno" (album version)
#"Candy Shop" (instrumental)

*Maxi single [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/902105 50 Cent - Candy Shop] . Discogs. Accessed June 27, 2007.]
#"Candy Shop" (album version)
#"Candy Shop" (album version)
#"Candy Shop" (instrumental)
#"Candy Shop (video)

Charts

References

External links

* [http://www.50cent.com/ 50 Cent's official site]
* [http://www.interscope.com/artist/lyrics/default.aspx/pid/148/tid/1914/aid/392 "Candy Shop" lyrics]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxf0TOk0ho0 "Candy Shop" music video]