"Jimmy" is a song recorded by British artist M.I.A. for her second studio album, '' Kala'' (2007). The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Dave "Switch" Taylor and Bappi Lahiri and produced by Switch and M.I.A.. A cover of "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" from the film ''

Disco Dancer ''Disco Dancer'' is a 1982 Indian dance-action film, written by Rahi Masoom Raza and directed by Babbar Subhash. It stars Mithun Chakraborty and Kim in leading roles, with Om Puri, Gita Siddharth and Karan Razdan in supporting roles with ...

'' (1982), the song was re-arranged as an uptempo pop- electro tune with

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

influences by modifying the orchestration, instrumentation and beats and the addition of original English lyrics for the single. During the recording and production sessions, M.I.A. and Switch wanted to create a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

disco record using a song that the singer was familiar with from her childhood; the song's lyrics portray M.I.A. being invited by British journalist Ben Anderson on a date while covering a genocide tour across nations in Africa, and both eventually pursuing a romantic relationship. The original ''Disco Dancer'' song "Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" was itself inspired by the 1980 song "T'es OK" ("You're OK" for international markets) by French

Eurodisco Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is a genre of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the middle 1970s, incorporating elements of pop music, pop and rock music, rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco ...

group

Ottawan Ottawan is a French pop music duo, who had the hit singles "D.I.S.C.O." and "Hands Up (Give Me Your Heart)" in the early 1980s. Fronted by Patrick Jean-Baptiste and formerly Annette Eltice, the band were masterminded through a cooperation betwee ...

. Following the moderate chart performance of " Boyz", "Jimmy" was released in Japan in July 2007 as the album's lead single, and the second single in other countries. XL Recordings distributed "Jimmy" in CD single, 7" and 12" formats in the UK on 10 November 2007, however the song leaked in the country prior to release while the singer was on tour.Archived a
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Despite this, the song topped the UK Indie Chart and charted in Greece and Japan where it was a major commercial success. The single began to gain traction on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

chart, peaking at number twenty eight following nine weeks on the chart. "Jimmy" was well received by contemporary music critics, who cited its distinct 1970s style pop sound compared with most songs featured on the album, and complimented its

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

and lyrical themes. The bassline has similarities with the hook of Blur's hit single " Girls & Boys". ''Stylus'' magazine placed "Jimmy" at number 5 on their list of the "Top 50 Songs of 2007".

Background

M.I.A. explained that "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" was a track she used to dance to when she was a child. "My mum used to hire me out when I was a kid...as a party buffer.... 'Jimmy' was my track that I used to do my routine to. I had a little

tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...

, and a cloak and a cardboard cut out guitar, and that was my joint." Describing the recording and writing processes, she revealed that she had already recorded the strings and other parts of the song in India, but initially didn't attempt to do "Jimmy" when she was with co-producer Switch, explaining "I had to be drunk enough to be that

. It all came together that week." The 1970s

disco-pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes ...

style of the song stands in marked contrast with other songs on ''Kala.'' ''Stylus'' magazine placed "Jimmy" at number 5 on their list of the "Top 50 Songs of 2007". "Jimmy" has been covered by the indie pop band

Of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...

Chart performance

Following the moderate chart performance of " Boyz", "Jimmy" was released in Japan in July 2007 as the album's lead single, and the second single in other countries. XL Recordings distributed "Jimmy" in CD single, 7" and 12" formats in the UK on 10 November 2007, however the song leaked in the country prior to release while the singer was on tour. The song topped the UK Indie Chart and reached number sixty six on the UK Singles Chart. The song and music video became huge mainstream successes in Japan, reaching number four in the country. On 10 November 2007 the single reached number 49 in Greece, a position it maintained for two weeks. In February 2008, the single began to gain traction on the US ''

chart, peaking at number twenty eight following five weeks on the chart.

Music video

The music video for "Jimmy" was directed by childhood friend Nezar Khammal. It premiered in Japan in July 2007, and was premiered elsewhere around the world in August, the month of her second album release '' Kala''. The music video features M.I.A. dancing with a golden crown on her head, with eleven dancers dressed in yellow in an Indian fashion, all dancing a variation of the Thousand Hand Bodhisattva. Occasionally the video cuts to show M.I.A. dancing by herself and two other girls in a different style of clothing against a white backdrop. The video has received some airplay on

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

in Canada and Viva in Poland. A slightly different version of the music video, using the Dan Carey Radio Mix of the song, was used to promote "Jimmy" in the UK and Italy.

Track listings and formats

UK CD single #"Jimmy" #"Jimmy (DJ Eli Remix)" UK 12" vinyl #"Jimmy" #"Jimmy (Instrumental)" #"Jimmy (DJ Eli Remix)" UK 7" vinyl #"Jimmy" #"What I Got (Ruff Ruff Version)" iTunes Digital Single #"Jimmy" #"Jimmy (Dan Carey Radio Mix)" #"Jimmy (DJ Eli Remix)"

Charts

References

{{authority control 2007 singles M.I.A. (rapper) songs Songs written by M.I.A. (rapper) XL Recordings singles Of Montreal songs Songs written by Switch (songwriter) 2007 songs UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles