Caught Out There

"Caught Out There"
Single by Kelis
from the album Kaleidoscope
B-side"Suspended"
ReleasedOctober 5, 1999 (1999-10-05)
StudioMaster Sound (Virginia Beach)
GenreR&B
Length4:51
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Neptunes
Kelis singles chronology
"Got Your Money"
(1999) 		"Caught Out There"
(1999) 		"Get Along with You"
(2000)
Audio sample
Music video
"Caught Out There" on YouTube

"Caught Out There" is the debut single by American singer Kelis, released on October 5, 1999, from her debut studio album, Kaleidoscope (1999). Written and produced by the Neptunes, the song peaked at number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but fared better outside the United States, reaching the top ten in Canada, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes said in an interview that the instrumental track was originally meant for rapper Busta Rhymes, who rejected it.[1]

Critical reception

[edit]

Quentin Harrison of Albumism stated that Kelis is "burning with righteous anger" on the song, noting that she is "all heart with a hint of hedonism". He added that "Caught Out There" was "[the] only one song [that] could announce Kelis with a bang", when her debut album was launched.[2] AllMusic editor Jaime Sunao Ikeda picked it as a "standout" track of the Kaleidoscope album.[3] Daryl Easlea for the BBC said in his 2012 review that "it still steals the show today, and was one of those songs that was heard everywhere at the time."[4] Swedish newspaper Expressen stated that "over a crunchy beat, she makes up with a lying boyfriend".[5] Brian Rusnica from The Heights described it as a "five minute explosion of emotion and female rage featuring the raw chorus, "I hate you so much right now!"".[6] Ireland's Evening Herald stated that the song "established her as a leading light on the music scene",[7] while the Irish Independent called it "shouty".[8]

Jim Wirth from NME commented, "Men, men, men; we're untrustworthy, lying scoundrels at heart, and as this Harlem-based hip-hop soulster rightly points out, we're always at our worst shortly after we've gone through the old 'I love you' routine. Kelis knows the score, though, because on Valentine's Day last year, some no-good, scum-sucking wretch did the dirty on her. Still, he did her a favour in the end, because 'Caught Out There', with its unforgettable primal-scream refrain, looks set to be massive very soon. Stretched out over a spartan backbeat, it would be a cynical swine who would dismiss this titanic slab of breakbeat pop as Jimmy Nail's 'Ain't No Doubt' but, y'know, for girls."[9] Another editor stated that Kelis's "honeyed vocal, which broke into unfiltered madness, was the thing that took this track over the top."[10] Sal Cinquemani from Slant wrote that it "proves why Kelis's legacy should extend beyond simply bringing the boys to the yard. No, she wasn't "the first girl to scream on a track", as she claims on 2006's "Bossy", but her debut single, released when she was a 19-year-old with pink eyebrows, not only became a girl-power anthem thanks to its livid hook and indignant lyrics, but helped announced the Neptunes as one of the premier superstar production teams of 21st-century pop music."[11] A reviewer from Sunday Life deemed it as "attentiongrabbing".[12]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Caught Out There" was directed by Hype Williams.[13] In the video, Kelis, in her technicolor spiral afro, blond, gold, orange, red, and fuchsia hair, starts in a confessional style, before opening to the chorus where she rips up the living room. Afterwards, Kelis and a group of fed-up women boycott and picket men. Finally, as she sings, "Got something for y'all", a gun cock is heard and the video finishes by alluding to her exacting revenge for her former lover's infidelity.

The video premiered on BET the week ending on October 10, 1999.[14]

Impact and legacy

[edit]

The song was used on MuchMusic's Shortest Weddings special. The signature yell "I hate you so much right now!" was used in the Daria episode "Partner's Complaint", first aired on February 25, 2000, and later in 2009 in British children's television sitcom Hotel Trubble. It was also used in BBC3's Most Annoying People 2007, under Tony Blair (8 on the list), and in 2011 in a Calvin Klein ad for CK One. In 2010, the line "look, I found her red coat" was sampled extensively in the James Blake song "CMYK". In 2003, Q magazine ranked "Caught Out There" at number 649 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".[15]

In 2010, Pitchfork named it the 161st-best track of the 1990s. They wrote, "Soundtracking this post-breakup mania is a top-rate, ahead-of-its-time Neptunes production, with snapping keyboards accompanied by high-pitched tones that sound like dynamite exploding in space. In a word: Damn."[16] In 2012, NME placed the song at number 24 on its list of the "100 Best Songs of the 1990s".[17] In 2012, Porcys listed the song at number 24 in their ranking of "100 Singles 1990-1999", adding, "Here's the classic Kelis at its best. A perfect, uncommon bit of Neptunes in the foreground is the perfection of this protest- or rather statement-song."[18] In 2021, American rapper Ashnikko sampled the song in her single "Deal with It", which also features Kelis as a guest artist.

Track listings

[edit]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for "Caught Out There"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[59] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for "Caught Out There"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States October 5, 1999 Rhythmic contemporary radio Virgin
[60]
November 16, 1999
[61]
France December 13, 1999 12-inch vinyl EMI
[62]
United Kingdom February 21, 2000
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • cassette
  • maxi CD
 Virgin
[63]
France May 16, 2000 CD EMI
[64]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Abebe, Nitsuh (June 6, 2013). "Pharrell Williams on Surprise Hits, Daft Punk, and Watching Michael Jackson Laugh". Vulture. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
  2. ^ Harrison, Quentin (December 5, 2019). "Kelis' Debut Album 'Kaleidoscope' Turns 20: Anniversary Retrospective". Albumism. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  3. ^ "Kelis - Kaleidoscope". AllMusic. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "Kelis Kaleidoscope Review". BBC. 2012. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Expressen. January 30, 2000.
  6. ^ Rusnica, Brian (February 29, 2000). "Chapman could teach Kelis a few things". The Heights. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  7. ^ "Q". Evening Herald. July 4, 2003. page 89. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  8. ^ "Kelis". Irish Independent. June 11, 2007. page 8. Retrieved March 31, 2020.
  9. ^ Wirth, Jim. "This Week's Singles February 12 2000". NME. Archived from the original on 2000-10-02. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  10. ^ "100 Best Songs Of The 1990s". NME. May 8, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  11. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (March 5, 2008). "Review: Kelis, The Hits". Slant. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
  12. ^ "KELIS Wanderland". Sunday Life. December 2, 2001. page 33. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  13. ^ "Kelis artist videography". mvdbase. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  14. ^ "Video Monitor". Billboard. October 30, 1999. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  15. ^ "Q - 1001 best songs ever (2003)".
  16. ^ "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 30 August 2010. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  17. ^ "100 Best Songs Of The 1990s (30-21)". NME. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  18. ^ "100 Singli 1990-1999". Porcys (in Polish). 20 August 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  19. ^ Caught Out There (US CD single liner notes). Kelis. Virgin Records. 1999. V25D-38677.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ Caught Out There (Australian CD single liner notes). Kelis. Virgin Records. 2000. 8386772.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  21. ^ Caught Out There (US 12-inch single sleeve). Kelis. Virgin Records. 1999. Y-38677.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ Caught Out There (US cassette single sleeve). Kelis. Virgin Records. 1999. 724383867745.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  23. ^ Caught Out There (UK CD single liner notes). Kelis. Virgin Records. 2000. VUSCD 158, 7243 8 96555 0 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ Caught Out There (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Kelis. Virgin Records. 2000. VUST 158, 7243 8 96555 6 8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ Caught Out There (UK cassette single sleeve). Kelis. Virgin Records. 2000. VUSC 158, 7243 8 96555 4 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ Caught Out There (European CD single liner notes). Kelis. Virgin Records. 2000. VUSCDE 158, 7243 8 96510 2 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  61. ^ Bessman, Jim (November 13, 1999). "'Kaleidoscope' a Reflection of Kelis". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 46. p. 26. ...the intense single 'Caught Out There,' due commercially Nov 16...
  62. ^ "Caught out there – Kelis – Maxi vinyle" (in French). France: Fnac. December 13, 1999. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
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  64. ^ "Caught out there – Kelis – CD single" (in French). France: Fnac. May 16, 2000. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
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