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Taken from Business Wire (Sep 23, 2009)
Universal Republic’s Michael Franti Snares First Gold Single with “Say Hey (I Love You)”
Smash Single Soars Toward Top Ten On Billboard’s Adult Top 40 Chart
Top 20 on BB Hot 100 Chart; 14 On Hot Digital Chart
First Across-the-board radio Hit For Influential Musician/Activist
by Business Wire
Say Hey video on FrantiV |
Anti-Records/Universal Republic Records’ musician/activist Michael Franti has been awarded the first gold single of his pioneering two-decade-plus career for his infectious/clap-along anthem "Say Hey (I Love You"). The acclaimed musician is riding a wave of affection for the feel-good smash hit, which has just been certified gold by the RIAA for selling 500,000 copies.
The song is making the biggest commercial splash of the artist’s influential career, with Franti and his band Spearhead also enjoying a sixty-point jump into the thicket of the Billboard Top Albums Chart for their acclaimed album, All Rebel Rockers, released earlier this year. The first single from the lively CD, "Say Hey (I Love You") is also making an unprecedented run towards the upper tier of several radio formats for Franti, currently #21 and climbing on the Billboard Hot 100, and closing in on the Top Ten at radio’s Triple A format and Billboard’s Adult Top 40 Chart. The single is #14 on Billboard’s Hot Digital Chart, with the song’s celebratory video drawing more than 1.7 million views on youtube and
The rapturous dancehall reggae hybrid-hit featuring Jamaica’s own Cherine Anderson has fast become a sales and request favorite via radio, video, and digital platforms. Launched by innovative Anti-Records, a deal was struck with Universal Republic Records this summer to join in the mainstream gardening of the genre-defying single, the first across-the-board smash for Franti and Spearhead after years of trailblazing releases fusing multiple genres, including hip hop, reggae, soul, funk, folk and pop. The album is also causing critics to gush with heaping praise: "All Rebel Rockers is an all-time high (for Franti)...a perfect marriage of artist, attitude, and style," wrote the U.K's The Independent, with About.com lauding the single: "Say Hey (I Love You") communicates love and joy /without/ dropping Franti’s social consciousness… this song is likely to expand the current horizons of pop..”
Recognized as a leader in contemporary, socially conscious music for more than two decades, Franti and Spearhead have pioneered their brand of musical humanitarism all over the world. The charismatic artist, poet, activist, songwriter/musician has encompassed a wide range of projects and social justice initiatives throughout his career. Franti and Spearhead's seminal 2001 album Stay Human began the band's ingenious hip hop, folk and funk genre-fusing, with 2006's Yell Fire and their current All Rebel Rockers exploring their more Reggae-inspired influences. All Rebel Rockers was produced in Jamaica by iconic reggae producers Sly & Robbie, mixing languid grooves and combustible rhythms with Franti and the band's soul-stirring message of love and compassion.
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