This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (March 2017) |
"Harlem" is a song by alternative rock band New Politics. The song was released as the first single from their second album A Bad Girl in Harlem on February 20, 2013, through RCA Records, following the release of a music video three weeks prior. The song is widely considered to be the band's breakthrough into mainstream success. Lyrically, the song is about a "romantic adventure" member David Boyd had with a girl from Harlem, a neighborhood in the Upper Manhattan region of New York City.
| "Harlem" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by New Politics | ||||
| from the album A Bad Girl in Harlem | ||||
| Released | February 20, 2013 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, pop rock | |||
| Length | 2:43 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| New Politics singles chronology | ||||
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Following its release, the song was featured in a trailer for the 2013 animated musical-comedy film Frozen (most likely in an attempt to fool audiences for a non-musical animated comedy film) and appeared in EA game NHL 14, Activision game Guitar Hero Live, and Windows 8.1. It is also featured as a "Now! What's Next" bonus track on Now That's What I Call Music! 48.
Release and commercial performance
editIn early 2013, the band teased that a song titled "Harlem" was set to release soon and would be followed by a full-length studio album. On Feb 20, 2013, the song was released through RCA Records as the first promotional single for the album A Bad Girl in Harlem. An accompanying music video was uploaded to YouTube on the official New Politics channel the same day.
After its release, the song quickly began to receive significant radio airplay and online streams. Just four days after its release, "Harlem" entered the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, where it peaked at No. 4 and charted for 36 weeks, and remains their most successful single on both the chart itself and any other Billboard chart to date. Later that year, it began to briefly debut on Top-40/CHR radio charts as well, mainly due to its inclusion in several trailers for the 2013 Disney film Frozen, making it their first song to impact Top-40 radio in the US.
On June 29, 2017, "Harlem" received a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, marking track-equivalent sales of 500,000 units in the US and making it their first and only song to date to receive any certification.
Charts
edit| Chart (2013–14) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Rock (Billboard)[1] | 27 |
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[2] | 10 |
| US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[3] | 39 |
| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[4] | 21 |
| US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[5] | 34 |
| US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[6] | 7 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[7] | 14 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "New Politics Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "New Politics Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "New Politics Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ "New Politics Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ "New Politics Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
- ^ "New Politics Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
- ^ "Rock Airplay Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ "American single certifications – New Politics – Harlem". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
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