The single entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart, where it remained for two weeks until it was overtaken by "Fireflies" by Owl City. Internationally, the single also topped the charts in Australia, Israel and Switzerland and peaked within the top 10 of the charts in many countries, including Finland, France and the United States. The combined figure of the official music video and prequel video on YouTube is currently over 296+ million views.[citation needed]
Background and composition
Iyaz co-wrote "Replay" with fellow singers and labelmates Sean Kingston (left) and Jason Derulo (right).
Beluga Heights labelmates Sean Kingston, Jason Derulo, co-wrote the song along with Iyaz, along with label owner J. R. Rotem and songwriting duo Planet VI (known as Rock City at the time). This was the second song that Derulo, Kingston and Rotem wrote together, the first being Derulo's own debut single, "Whatcha Say". Rotem also produced the track and credits himself at the beginning of the song via his signature "J-J-J-J-J.R." sample. The remix version with Flo Rida, however, says, "BELUGA HEIGHTS" like in Derulo's second single, "In My Head". Iyaz makes a reference to Apple's now-defunct MP3 player.[citation needed]
Eleven years later, the song went viral online again in June 2020, sparking numerous memes.[3] It is set in the key of F♯ minor, and has a tempo of 91.[4]
Chart performance
The song debuted in the UK at number one on 10 January 2010, selling over 106,000 copies in its first week, the highest sale for any new year release since Michelle McManus sold 118,000 copies of "All This Time" in the equivalent week in January 2004.[5] After two weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart and six weeks at the top of the UK R&B Chart, "Replay" was succeeded by Owl City's "Fireflies" and Rihanna's "Rude Boy", respectively. It was the first song released in 2010 in the UK to be certified Gold with sales in excess of 400,000.[6] In June 2010, it was announced that "Replay" was the third highest selling single of the year in the UK at that point.[citation needed] It was also the first song to reach number one in the 2010s (not counting Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" which also reached number one in 2009).
In the US, "Replay" managed to reach the number-two spot on the Hot 100 for one week, behind only Kesha's "Tik Tok". As of December 2012, Replay has sold over four million digital copies.[7]
Music video
The official music video features Iyaz wearing headphones and listening to music on a beach. Other various scenes feature Iyaz singing with a background of the British Virgin Islands' flag,[8] and partying on the beach during the night. The video was directed by Rock Jacobs. A prequel video was also filmed, featuring the full-length beach scenes with Iyaz and his love interest, played by Panamanian model Estelita Quintero.[9]
"Replay" (DJ Suketu's Call to Dhol mix) (remixed by DJ Suketu featuring Sagar Dhote)
Davai version
In 2017, Norwegian producer duo Davai released an EDM-inspired cover version, with new vocals by Cire.[10] The song reached number 16 on the Norwegian Singles Chart.[11]
Pensando a lei
In 2022, the Italian rapper Shiva released the single "Pensando a lei", which contains a sample of Replay.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 20. týden 2010 in the date selector. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
^"Media Forest – Weekly Charts. Media Forest. Retrieved 9 April 2022. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
