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Flo Rida’s “Right Round” Shatters Digital Singles Record With a Little Help From an ’80s Hook

2/18/09, 3:34 pm EST

Photo: Ritchie/WireImage

Almost after a year since his “Low” dominated the Singles chart for 10 consecutive weeks, Flo Rida has found himself back on top, and in record-breaking fashion with “Right Round.” In its debut week, “Right Round” was downloaded about 636,000 times according to Billboard.biz, shattering the record Flo Rida himself set in January 2008 when “Low” was purchased 467,000 times in an extended, post-Christmas week. The seven-day record for most downloads was incidentally set last week, when Eminem, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent’s “Crack a Bottle” was purchased 418,000 times. Flo Rida made sure that record was short lived.

“Right Round” is the first single off Flo’s second album R.O.O.T.S., due out April 7th. As Coolfer points out, if those 636,000 single downloads are the equivalent of roughly 63,600 copies in album sales, then Flo Rida would have sold enough this week to place eighth on this week’s albums chart, ahead of the resurgent Viva La Vida.

Of course, Flo Rida’s “Right Round” came with a built-in hook that almost guaranteed its success, using a sample of ’80s new wavers Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” a song that was popular in its own era but had a late-’90s resurgence thanks to The Wedding Singer. Rihanna similarly has constructed a whole oeuvre of turning new wave and ’80s samples into Top 40 gold: “Don’t Stop The Music” borrows from Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” “SOS” borrows from Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” and Rihanna’s “Shut Up and Drive” is a fuzzed-out version of New Order’s “Blue Monday.” Similarly, Kid Rock fused Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” to form “All Summer Long,” one of the biggest hits of 2008. Consumers evidently are continually willing to shell out money for decades-old hits being reappropriated by contemporary artists, as the success of Flo Rida’s “Right Round” well demonstrates.

Daniel Kreps

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Comments

ellie | 2/18/2009, 7:29 pm EST

flo’s amazing :]

not going with the flo | 2/18/2009, 7:53 pm EST

scary what the public will buy these days. ’nuff said.

djandy | 2/18/2009, 10:31 pm EST

The original by Dead or Alive still kicks Floridas version. Bring back real dance music like music from the 80’s!!!!!!!!!1

Anonymous | 2/19/2009, 12:01 pm EST

vif

ghyth | 2/19/2009, 12:01 pm EST

vif

Brian Eno | 2/19/2009, 1:04 pm EST

Music has had its day.

Dead Or Alive | 2/20/2009, 11:59 am EST

I like the original better. The only Flo-Rida song I can stand is “Birthday”.
But all he ‘raps’ about is money and girls, he just sucks.
I don’t like this song. The girl sounds like a wannabe Katy Perry, and I’m tired of people calling this dance stuff Hip Hop.
Run DMC is Hip Hop. Not Flo-Rida, or T-Pain.
SMH

Oh, and I’m not hating. I’m just expressing my opinion. Like I said, I liked Birthday, and I listened to this guy’s album a few times and I just didn’t like it. Period.

Norris Felton | 2/21/2009, 6:47 am EST

If you understand hip hop and pop music, you’ll soon realize that this is a smash hit in its own right. Internet is full of hate, but people love this song… period.

right round | 2/23/2009, 5:45 am EST

how long is right round (flow rida’s version), i think its a good song

right round | 2/23/2009, 5:45 am EST

how long is right round (flow rida’s version), i think its a good song

Chadd | 2/23/2009, 5:54 pm EST

I hope Flo doesn’t live what he writes about or he’s gonna be the next hammer. Every time a girl “gets low” he’s out another $2000 (at least). His flow is tight for sure and the singles jam, but the dude is a trick. 636,000 downloads and still paying to smash box.

Chadd | 2/23/2009, 5:54 pm EST

devin | 2/24/2009, 1:35 pm EST

damn, that song is simply amazing! it’s going through my head all day long! best song in 2009 so far, imagine that song on the dancefloor, people will gor crazy!

athena | 2/25/2009, 12:27 pm EST

what is the other sample? it is instrumental and i cannot place it, but the beat is not new, it is from some song from the 80-90’s.

athena | 2/25/2009, 12:28 pm EST

what is the other sample that is instrumental? from the 80-90’s?

wow | 2/26/2009, 4:21 pm EST

This is probably the worst song I’ve ever heard in my life. I would be ashamed if I actually called this music. Its truly a sad day in music history if this is actually considered listenable.

wow | 2/26/2009, 4:23 pm EST

And also, this guy should be reminded thsi song really sucked back in its day. He should lose all street cred..

Adam | 3/6/2009, 1:41 pm EST

I hope Dead or Alive are getting royalties out of this heap.

sandia homie | 3/9/2009, 4:06 am EST

does anyone know the girl who sings on the hook?

chevy | 3/10/2009, 7:36 pm EST

at least he isn’t singing about violence and drugs. i think today especially, we need sumthing we can all dance to and feel upbeat about. u cud never please people, u rap bout guns, its 2 violent, but if u rap about anything else, u suk. i just dont get it.

j1music.com | 3/11/2009, 1:32 pm EST

if we are a haters because our ears (or possibly even souls )aren’t corrupted then you can call me what you want…it doesnt matter to me what kind of man flow rider is, but one has to assume that he has to be either motivated solely by money and fame or is one of the WACKEST “rappers” of alllllllll time. And as consumers or even just an audience (unwilling or othwerwise) we have to accept the fact that we are being used in this process. if he was truly independent and was really getting WEALTHY off these horrible records then I would have absolutely nothing to say.

even still I wouldn’t waste my time trying to dissuade a drug dealer from getting his money- rather I would spend all my life trying to help someone who was an addict along with the little kids who might be influenced to try drugs one day.
stop hating on flowrider and just raise our kids to hate this kind of crap
J(!)

its going to be | 3/13/2009, 7:49 am EST

@sandia homie: kesha cole (spelling?) is the girl on the hook

jess | 3/20/2009, 7:25 am EST

hi u spin my head right round is ace

jess | 3/20/2009, 7:26 am EST

u and ur team is exalent