Fat Lip

For the member of the hip hop group the Pharcyde, see Fatlip.
For other uses, see Fat Lip (disambiguation).

"Fat Lip"
Single by Sum 41
from the album All Killer No Filler
ReleasedApril 22, 2001 (2001-04-22)
Genre
Length2:58
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jerry Finn
Sum 41 singles chronology
"Makes No Difference"
(2000) 		"Fat Lip"
(2001) 		"In Too Deep"
(2001)
Audio sample
"Fat Lip"
Music video
"Fat Lip" on YouTube

"Fat Lip" is a song by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It is the fourth track on their debut album, All Killer No Filler (2001), and was released as the lead single in April 2001. It is the band's most successful single to date, topping the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number eight on the UK Singles Chart.

Background and composition

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"Fat Lip" was written by Sum 41 members Deryck Whibley, Steve Jocz and Dave Brownsound, and in-house producer Greig Nori, with production by Jerry Finn. The song gets its title from the slang term for a swollen lip as a result of being punched in the face.

"It was the last song I had written for All Killer [No Filler]," Whibley told Stereogum in 2021. "The whole album was pretty much done. It was never meant to be a single. It wasn't even supposed to be a song. The very, very first thing I wrote was the guitar riff. And I didn't necessarily write it for this idea that I had for this sort of punk rock-rap kind of thing. I knew I had this old school rap idea mixed with punk rock sort of stuff, but I wrote this riff just as a riff. And then I ended up writing a chorus, like, months later. And then I had this verse. And none of them were supposed to be together. They were just separate things that I was writing over time. And then one day it kind of clicked, and I thought, 'Well, these all kind of work. They're all around the same tempo, they're all the same key.' I changed a few things and made it work, now all of a sudden I was like, 'OK, I've got the rap part, I've got a riff, and I've got a chorus.' But I don’t have the rest of the song. And then it took a long time before pieces just kind of came together."[1]

The uptempo song has been described as pop punk,[2] skate punk,[3][4] rap rock[5] and easycore,[6] with Whibley, Brownsound, and Jocz sharing vocal duties. "The verses are really about what we do: growing up in the suburbs, going to parties and hanging out with our friends, and causing trouble. A lot of people say they relate to it," said Whibley.[7] Brian Hiatt of MTV.com described the song as "pop-punk-meets-hip-hop",[8] Loudwire cited it as a containing elements of hard rock[9] and PopMatters cited it as using elements of heavy metal.[10] The song has also been described to be "Mixing elements of skate punk, nu-metal, and good old-fashioned pop"[11]

Music video

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The song topped MTV's Total Request Live and MuchMusic's MuchMusic Countdown in the summer of 2001. In the original Canadian version, the music video combines with fellow All Killer No Filler track "Pain for Pleasure", a very short Iron Maiden-esque song which is the final song on the album. The video, filmed in Pomona, California,[1] was ranked at number 75 on "MuchMusic's 100 Best Videos". At the beginning of the music video, the band performs an a cappella of the first half of the first verse of "It's What We're All About"—which would be their future single— with Jason McCaslin beatboxing for the staff of a liquor store (likely the store frequently seen in the background throughout the video).

Live performances

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The song was performed on Saturday Night Live on October 6, 2001, hosted by Seann William Scott.

Track listings

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Personnel

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Charts

[edit]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States April 22, 2001 — Island [37]
United Kingdom October 1, 2001
  • CD
  • cassette
  • DVD
 [38]
Australia October 8, 2001 CD [39]

Notes

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  1. ^ "Fat Lip" reached number 24 between June 5, 2001 and June 11, 2001. It peaked highest on September 20, 2001, according to the Jam! link provided above.

References

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  1. ^ a b Menapace, Brendan (April 22, 2021). "Still Killer: Deryck Whibley On Sum 41's "Fat Lip" 20 Years Later". Stereogum. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  2. ^ "20 Essential Pop Punk Tracks Everyone Should Know". NME. June 2, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  3. ^ Edwards, Gavin (September 24, 2001). "Sum 41: Teenage Rock & Roll Machine". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014.
  4. ^ Sum 41: All Killer No Filler. (Album reviews), September 29, 2001
  5. ^ Weiss, Dan (April 6, 2012). "Ten Rap-Rock Songs That Are Actually Awesome". LA Weekly. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  6. ^ Edge, Citizen. "What The Hell Is: Easycore". 102.1 the Edge. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
  7. ^ Jill, Pesselnick. "The Modern Age." Billboard May 19, 2001: 80. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. University of Illinois. February 18, 2008.
  8. ^ "3 Doors Down, Sum41, Green Day On 'Pie 2' Soundtrack". MTV. June 6, 2001. Archived from the original on April 25, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2001.
  9. ^ Childers, Chad (August 29, 2022). "5 Scenes Stalled by Nu-Metal". Loudwire. Retrieved August 30, 2022. ...while Sum 41 added elements of rap and hard rock into their punk-driven "Fat Lip".
  10. ^ Stewart, Ethan (May 17, 2023). "Ranking the Sum 41 Albums: From Pop-Punk to Trash Metal". PopMatters. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  11. ^ "How Sum 41 Tapped Fan Content for a Moving Music Video". Cinebody. August 10, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  12. ^ Fat Lip (Canadian & Australian CD single liner notes). Sum 41. Island Records. 2001. 588 756-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Fat Lip (UK CD single liner notes). Sum 41. Island Records. 2001. 588 801-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Fat Lip (UK cassette single sleeve). Sum 41. Island Records. 2001. 588 801-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Fat Lip (UK DVD single liner notes). Sum 41. Island Records. 2001. 588 801-9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Fat Lip (European CD single liner notes). Sum 41. Island Records. 2001. 588 757-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ "Issue 608" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
  18. ^ "Sum 41 – Fat Lip" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  19. ^ "Sum 41 – Fat Lip" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  20. ^ "The Hits Charts (Airplay) : Top 100 singles". Broadcast Data Systems. Archived from the original on September 26, 2001. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  21. ^ "Canada Album Rock: 06/05/2001-06/11/2001" (PDF). Canadian Music Network. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2001. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  22. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 43. October 20, 2001. p. 11. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  23. ^ "Sum 41 – Fat Lip" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  24. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Fat Lip". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  25. ^ "Sum 41 – Fat Lip". Top Digital Download. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  26. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 43, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  27. ^ "Sum 41 – Fat Lip" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  29. ^ "Sum 41 – Fat Lip". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  30. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  31. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  32. ^ "Sum 41 Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  33. ^ "Sum 41 Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  34. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  35. ^ "The Year in Music 2001: Hot Modern Rock Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 52. December 29, 2001. p. YE-72.
  36. ^ "British single certifications – Sum 41 – Fat Lip". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  37. ^ Sharp, Tyler (April 22, 2016). "Sum 41's "Fat Lip" turns 15". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  38. ^ "In-Store Next Week (from 1/10/01)". Music Week. September 29, 2001. p. 10.
  39. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 8th October 2001" (PDF). ARIA. October 8, 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
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