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Me & U (Cassie song)

"Me & U"
Original CD single cover
Single by Cassie
from the album Cassie
ReleasedApril 25, 2006 (2006-04-25)
Genre
Length3:11
Label
Songwriter(s)Ryan Leslie
Producer(s)Ryan Leslie
Cassie singles chronology
"Me & U"
(2006) 		"Long Way 2 Go"
(2006)
Alternative cover
Digital and promotional cover
Music video
"Me & U" on YouTube

"Me & U" is the debut single by American singer Cassie. It was released on April 25, 2006, as the lead single from her self-titled debut album (2006). Written and produced by Ryan Leslie, the song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained in the chart's top 40 for nearly five months.

The song's "Bad Boy" remix features Diddy and Yung Joc and the song's "The Inc" remix features Ja Rule and Harry-O. The single has been a successful debut as a top three single in the U.S., a top five single in New Zealand, a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, and a top twenty song in Australia. The song was considered "a slinky, vintage-sounding track with a hypnotic, snake-charming whistle," and likened to imitating Janet Jackson.[3] The song is performed in the key of G♯ minor with a tempo of 100 beats per minute.[4]

The single received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America on December 14, 2006.[5] It was also certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.[6]

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim and appeared on various critics' and music publications' best song rankings. Pitchfork listed it at number forty-eight of the top 100 tracks of 2006 with Stephen Troussé writing that it "recalled the crypto-emotional coolness of Cameo circa "Single Life," and proved the most refreshingly minimal r&b hit of the year,"[7] while Marc Hogan described it in 2011 for the same publication as an "icily minimal electro-R&B seduction" with its "steamy lyrical content and flat, distanced delivery helped it sell more than 1 million digital downloads en route to becoming an international hit."[8] Blender ranked it as the 11th greatest song of 2006,[9] while Stylus listed it at number seventeen of the top 50 singles of the year[10] and Porcys ranked it as the 2nd best song of 2006, hailing the track as "genius" for its "remarkable versatility".[11] It also appeared at number twenty-two on The Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop end-of-year critics' poll of 2006[12] and number forty-one on Rolling Stone’s 100 best songs of 2006, commenting: "Cassie ain't necessarily the most gifted singer in the world, but none of the world's most gifted singers have done an electro tune this spellbinding lately."[13]

Complex included "Me & U" at number fifty-four on their best songs of the decade list, blurbing: "Under Cassie's coos to a guy she's ready to get busy with are shooting synths and chord progressions that, now evolved, are the types of soundbeds rappers like Fabolous ask to jump on often."[14] Billboard ranked it as one of the 50 sexiest songs of all time in 2022[15] and the 463rd best pop song of all time in a 2023 staff list, saying: "A hypnotically twinkling and deeply synthed statement of romantic intention that quickly became a classic of the ringtone pop era."[16]

Music video

In the music video, Cassie comes in at the dance studio with her MP3 which is playing part of the chorus to "Me & U" while improvising some lyrics that were not in the original song. She puts the song on and begins to dance and sing along, hurting herself while doing a spinning move, pouring water over her body, changing her dancing outfit to a dress and high heels and then being able to successfully complete the spinning move later on. The video is directed by Ray Kay.[17]

The video was inspired by Janet Jackson's "The Pleasure Principle" video, described as evoking Jackson's "impromptu solo dance rehearsal" during the video's mirror scenes.[3] Cassie stated "I'm a diehard Janet Jackson fan. A lot of people compare my video for "Me & U" to hers for "Pleasure Principle." "I was just rehearsing in the studio, they filmed me and the record label thought it would be great for the video. I'd love to emulate her career. She's incredible, from her moves to her voice."[18]

In July 2006 an unreleased, low-budget and suggestive video for "Me & U" appeared on YouTube. This video was in stark contrast to the more polished video that was shown on mainstream media outlets. Initially, it was removed from most websites but continued to appear on file sharing networks and eventually appeared again on the internet. Cassie has gone on record to denounce the original video (directed by Little X), which depicts her singing to an unidentified man at a nightclub before taking him to a hotel room where Cassie is depicted kneeling below him while caressing his genital area and then unbuckling his pants in night vision. Cassie's management maintains that the low-budget, risqué version was released only for international audiences.

Chart performance

"Me & U" became Cassie's most popular single to date, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks from July 22 to August 12, 2006. It was held off the top spot by "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland and "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley which locked up the top two spots while "Me & U" was in third place. "Me & U" reached the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In the UK, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 23 and, within a week's time, rose to a number six, remaining there for a week before dropping down to number nine. The song also did well around the rest of Europe, including France, Germany, and Ireland.

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[56]
Ringtone 		Gold 20,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[56]
Ringtone, remix version 		Gold 20,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[57] Gold 45,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[58] 2× Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[59] Platinum 1,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[60]
Mastertone 		Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
United States April 25, 2006 12-inch vinyl Bad Boy [61]
May 15, 2006
[62]
May 16, 2006 Digital download [63]
United Kingdom August 14, 2006 [64]
United States August 22, 2006 12-inch vinyl (remixes) [65]
Australia August 28, 2006 CD [66]

References

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  2. ^ Billboard Staff (October 19, 2023). "The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved February 10, 2024. A hypnotically twinkling and deeply synthed statement of romantic intention that quickly became a classic of the ringtone pop era.
  3. ^ a b Cinquemani, Sal (August 7, 2006). "Cassie : Cassie - Music Review - Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  4. ^ "Me & U - Cassie - Spot On Track". www.spotontrack.com. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2007. Retrieved October 11, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ a b "British single certifications – Cassie – Me & U". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
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  10. ^ "Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Singles of 2006". Stylus Magazine. December 11, 2006. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007.
  11. ^ "20 best songs of 2006". Porcys. January 12, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
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  13. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2006". Rolling Stone. January 1, 2007. Archived from the original on January 11, 2007.
  14. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of The Complex Decade". Complex. April 18, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
  15. ^ M. Tye Comer; Mariel Concepcion; Monica Herrera; Jessica Letkemann; Evie Nagy & David J. Prince (May 18, 2022). "The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2025.
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  17. ^ "Ray Kay". mvdbase.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
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  57. ^ "Danish single certifications – Cassie – Me & U". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
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Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_%26_U_(Cassie_song)