Lonely (Akon song)

"Lonely" is a song by Senegalese-American singer-songwriter Akon; it appears on his debut studio album, Trouble. Featuring a prominent, high-pitched sample of the 1964 song "Mr. Lonely" by Bobby Vinton,^[4] the single was released on February 22, 2005. "Lonely" reached number one in several countries, including in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, where it stayed for eight weeks. It also entered the top five in France, where it reached number two, and in the United States, where it peaked at number four.

"Lonely"
Single by Akon
from the album Trouble
Released	February 22, 2005 (2005-02-22)
Genre	Pop[1] chipmunk soul[2] R&B[3]
Length	3:55
Label	SRC Universal
Songwriter(s)	Akon Bobby Vinton Gene Allan
Producer(s)	Akon Disco D
Akon singles chronology
"Baby, I'm Back" (2005) "Lonely" (2005) "Moonshine" (2005)
Alternative cover
European cover

Background

When Akon was signed by Universal imprint SRC Records it was "Lonely" that had immediately caught the attention of SRC A&R Jerome Foster and convinced him of Akon's talents.^[5] On hearing the demo track he had said, "This kid is official - this is a huge record."^[5] Despite offering the album's best option in terms of commercial breakthrough, SRC Records chose "Locked Up" over "Lonely" as the first single because SRC wanted to break Akon in the streets first and work towards a cross-over.^[5] According to Foster in an interview with HitQuarters, ""Locked Up" is a street record. I thought that was the place for us to start to get a fan-base knowing that we had a record like "Lonely", which was more commercial, to follow it."^[5]

The song was written by Akon, Bobby Vinton, and Gene Allan. The lyrics are sung mainly by Akon as well as Bobby Vinton doing parts of the choruses, with Vinton's voice sped up reminiscent of Alvin and the Chipmunks.^[6] The song's tempo is 90 beats per minute in common time. "Lonely" is written in the key of C major.^[7]

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. The video was mostly filmed inside and in front of the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The video was directed by Gil Green. Actress Katerina Graham starred in the video as Akon's love partner. A competition winner from Blackpool, Daniel Ellwood, also starred in the video.^{[citation needed]}

Track listings

UK CD1^[8]

1. "Lonely" (clean version) – 3:58
2. "Trouble Nobody" (explicit) – 3:21

UK CD2^[9]

1. "Lonely" (UK radio edit) – 3:33
2. "Trouble Nobody" (clean) – 3:21
3. "Kill the Dance (Got Something for Ya)" (featuring Kardinal Offishall) – 2:54
4. "Lonely" (video) – 3:58

US CD single

1. "Lonely" (clean version) – 3:58
2. "Lonely" (instrumental version) – 3:58
3. "Belly Dancer (Bananza)" (snippet) – 1:31

Charts

The song was a number-one hit in several countries, including Australia, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, and Switzerland. The song reached number two in France, Norway, and Sweden. The song also reached number 19 in Finland.^[10]

Weekly charts Chart (2005) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 1 Australian Urban (ARIA)[11] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 2 Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)[15] 2 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100 Oficiální)[16] 1 Denmark (Tracklisten)[17] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[18] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 19 France (SNEP)[20] 2 Germany (GfK)[21] 1 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[22] 15 Hungary (Dance Top 40)[23] 21 Ireland (IRMA)[24] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[25] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[26] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[28] 2 Poland (Polish Airplay Chart)[29] 8 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[30] 14 Scotland (OCC)[31] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[34] 1 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[35] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[36] 4 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[37] 4 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[38] 5 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[39] 4 Chart (2023) Peak position Hungary (Single Top 40)[40] 33

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position Australia (ARIA)[41] 3 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[42] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[43] 10 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[44] 5 Brazil (Crowley)[45] 11 CIS (TopHit)[46] 67 Germany (Media Control GfK)[47] 3 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[48] 52 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[49] 12 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[50] 15 New Zealand (RIANZ)[51] 15 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[52] 23 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[53] 51 Sweden (Hitlistan)[54] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[55] 4 UK Singles (OCC)[56] 7 US Billboard Hot 100[57] 44 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[58] 51 US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)[59] 37 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position Australia (ARIA)[60] 49 Germany (Media Control GfK)[61] 55

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62]	2× Platinum	140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[63]	Gold	15,000*
Belgium (BRMA)[64]	Gold	25,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[65] DMS	Platinum	60,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[66]	Diamond	250,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[67]	Gold	4,000^
Germany (BVMI)[68]	Gold	150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[69]	Gold	50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[70]	2× Platinum	60,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[71]	Gold	30,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[72]	Gold	10,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[73]	Gold	20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[74]	Platinum	450,000[75]
United States (RIAA)[76]	4× Platinum	4,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[76] Mastertone	Platinum	1,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	February 22, 2005	Rhythmic contemporary contemporary hit radio	SRC Universal	[77]
	April 4, 2005	Urban radio		[78]
United Kingdom	May 2, 2005	12-inch vinyl CD		[79]
Australia	July 4, 2005	CD		[80]