"Unbelievable" is a song written and recorded by British band EMF, originally appearing on their debut album, '' Schubert Dip'' (1991). It was released as a single in the UK in October 1990 by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...

, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart on 1 December 1990. It was the 30th-best-selling single of 1990 in the UK, and a top 10 hit also in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. In the United States, "Unbelievable" hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and ''Cash Box'' Top 100 in 1991. The song was produced by Ralph Jezzard, and contains samples of US comedian

Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the f ...

and performance poet Gylan Kain. Its music video was directed by Josh Taft.

Background and release

Ian Dench Ian Alec Harvey Dench (born 7 August 1964) is an English songwriter and musician. He is the guitarist and principal songwriter for EMF, who scored a major international hit reaching number 1 in the United States with " Unbelievable" in 1991. I ...

, the band's guitarist and primary songwriter, has stated that the melody of the song came into his head as he was riding his bicycle while thinking of a recent girlfriend who had dumped him. Dench had learned to play classical guitar and also loved the

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

. The guitar riff in the song goes from blues mode to

flamenco Flamenco () is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the Gitanos, gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and Region of Murcia, ...

mode, "like the two conflicting sides of his life", as he said in an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Singer James Atkins had suggested incorporating influences from

Chicago house Chicago house refers to house music produced during the mid to late 1980s within Chicago. The term is generally used to refer to the original house music of DJs and producers from the area, such as Ron Hardy and Phuture History and origins D ...

and

Detroit techno Detroit techno is a type of techno music that generally includes the first techno productions by Detroit-based artists during the 1980s and early 1990s. Prominent Detroit techno artists include Juan Atkins, Eddie Fowlkes, Derrick May, Jeff Mi ...

, but Dench went for crossover indie/dance music. The band made a four-track demo and were invited to London by the record labels. Instead the band suggested that label representatives witness the band perform live in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

. Staff from

Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

and

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

wanted to sign them, and EMI won. The ''"Oh!"'' sample comes from a recording of U.S. comedian

, released on

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. The band therefore needed to speak to the Def Jam office in order to clear the sample. They were flown to Los Angeles for a meeting with EMI. During the trip, Dench happened to see

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

, founder of Def Jam, in a bar. Dench spoke to Rubin about clearing the sample, to which Rubin responded, “Fax my office in the morning.” He cleared the sample free. Contrary to repeated claims, including from the band themselves in the liner notes and elsewhere, the chopped-up phrase, ''"What the... WAS that?"'' – featured prominently in the chorus and throughout – was not sampled from a

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

rally speech, but rather a syncopated section of the

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

song "Silly Shit" by Gylan Kain from his 1970 album ''The Blue Guerrilla'', and its use in the song does not actually include the word "fuck". "Unbelievable" was released on 22 October 1990 as the first single from the band's debut album '' Schubert Dip''. The band drew inspiration from American

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

for their fashion style, using their first advance to buy puffer jackets like those worn by members of

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. They are best known for their 1994 hit single " Stay Another Day", which was the UK Christmas number one that year. The g ...

Chart performance

"Unbelievable" was very successful on the charts across several continents. In Europe, the song entered the top 10 in Belgium (4), Germany (9), Ireland (5), the Netherlands (6), Norway (8), Spain (6), Sweden (9), Switzerland (3), and the UK. In the latter, it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart in its fifth week, on November 25, 1990. The song spent two weeks at the number two position before dropping to number six, seven and ten the following weeks. The single was also a top 10 hit on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, peaking at number eight in December 1990. Outside Europe, "Unbelievable" was a top 20 hit in New Zealand (12), while entering the top 10 also in Australia (8). In the US, the song achieved huge success, charting on four different ''Billboard'' charts; number one on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, number nine on the

Hot Dance Club Play 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. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, number five on the

Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales The Dance Singles Sales was a record chart released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling Dance music, dance singles in the United States. Its previous names include Hot Dance/Disco 12-inch Singles ...

chart and number three on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. It also hit number one on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100. In Canada, "Unbelievable" reached number four on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Top Singles chart and number three on the ''RPM'' Dance/Urban chart. The single earned a gold record in Australia (35,000), Canada (50,000) and the United States (500,000), and a silver record in the United Kingdom (200,000).

Critical reception

In 2018, Bill Lamb from

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

noted that the song "mixed intoxicating rhythms, sweet high vocals from lead singer James Atkin, and rousing shouts to storm to the top of the pop charts." In his review of '' Schubert Dip'',

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Alex Henderson described the song as "so insanely infectious", remarking its "dizzying infectiousness". Upon the release, J.D. Considine from ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'' felt the group's material appeals as much to the brain as the body, so that songs such as "Unbelievable" "end up danceable, hummable, and utterly irresistible."

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

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 ...

'' declared it as a "insinuating,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

-influenced rave. Scratchy, neopsychedelic guitar riffs nicely contrast track's

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

groove, promising extensive exposure here at both club and radio levels." John Earls of ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' called it "mighty". Annette Petruso from ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...

'' stated that the boys from the

"have created an undeniably perfect pop single with the ultra-simple, ultra-catchy and ultra-overplayed "Unbelievable"." Andrew Collins from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' complimented it as a "special record", writing, "It's their first, and it's crunchier than the breakfast cereal

Start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

. Sex-flavoured bass, hoppity drums, unfettered guitar, and a shouting sample that might be stupid old

for all I know — yes, it's got the lot. Drenched in all the same juices that make PWEI so cool, it even sounds like five people were involved in its construction. I believe."

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by American music video director Josh Taft. It received heavy rotation on

MTV Europe MTV Global (formerly MTV Europe) is the international version of the American TV channel MTV as 24-hour music video and entertainment pay television network officially launched on 1 August 1987 as part of the worldwide MTV network. Initia ...

Impact and legacy

The song was ranked No. 31 on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

's "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders" in 2002 and No. 98 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s" in 2007. Australian music channel

Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

included it in their list of "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2011. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' listed "Unbelievable" at number 12 in their "20 Biggest Songs of the Summer: The 1990s" list in July 2014. In 2020,

Cleveland.com ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

listed it at number 41 in their ranking of the best ''Billboard'' Hot 100 No. 1 song of the 1990s. In 2024, ''

'' ranked it number 52 in their "The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time", naming it "

’s greatest contribution to polite society."

Formats and track listings

* UK 7" (R 6273) #"Unbelievable" – 3:30 #"EMF" (live at The Bilson) – 3:53 * UK CD (CDR 6273) #"Unbelievable" – 3:30 #"Unbelievable" (The Cin City Sex Mix) – 5:14 #"EMF" (live at The Bilson) – 3:53 * US CD (E2-56210) #"Unbelievable" (single version) – 3:30 #"Unbelievable" (Cin City Sex Mix) – 5:14 #"Unbelievable" (Boot Lane Mix) – 6:20 #"Unbelievable" (House Mix) – 4:26 #"Unbelievable" (Hip Hop Mix) – 4:10 #"EMF" (live at The Bilson) – 3:53

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1990 songs 1990 debut singles 1991 singles EMF (band) songs Australian rules football culture Australian rules football songs Football songs and chants Sports anthems Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles EMI Records singles Parlophone singles Music videos directed by Josh Taft