Lonely (Akon song)

"Lonely" (also known as "Mr. Lonely") is a song by Senegalese-American singer and rapper Akon; it appears on his debut album, Trouble. The single was released in 2005 and was his first worldwide hit. It reached number one in several countries, including in the United Kingdom and Germany (where it stayed there for eight weeks), and Australia. It was also highly popular in France where it reached number two, and in the United States when it peaked at #4. An edited version was on Radio Disney and on Radio Disney Jams, Vol. 8.

"Lonely (Mr. Lonely)"
Single by Akon
from the album Trouble
ReleasedFebruary 21, 2005
Recorded2004
Genre
Length3:55
LabelSRC, Universal
Songwriter(s)Akon, Bobby Vinton, Gene Allan
Producer(s)Akon, Disco D
Akon singles chronology
"Ghetto"
(2004)		 "Lonely (Mr. Lonely)"
(2005)		 "Baby, I'm Back"
(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.[1] On hearing the demo track he had said, "This kid is official - this is a huge record."[1] 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.[1] 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."[1]

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. The song's tempo is 90 beats per minute in common time.

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. 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.

Track listing
UK CD1[2]
  1. "Lonely" (Clean Version) - 3:58
  2. "Trouble Nobody" (Explicit) - 3:21
UK CD2[3]
  1. "Lonely" (UK Radio Edit) - 3:33
  2. "Trouble Nobody" (Clean) - 3:21
  3. "Kill The Dance (Got Something For Ya)" (Feat. 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 and certifications

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.[4] As of August 2014, it is the 106th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 294,000 units sold.

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Belgium (BEA)[48] Gold 15,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[49] Platinum 60,000*
Germany (BVMI)[50] Gold 150,000
Sweden (GLF)[51] Gold 10,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[52] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[53] Platinum 450,000[54]
United States (RIAA)[55] 2× Platinum 2,000,000
United States (RIAA)[55]
Mastertone 		Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Interview With Knobody". HitQuarters. Sep 27, 2005. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved Jul 1, 2010.
  2. "Lonely: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  3. "Lonely: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
  4. Steffen Hung. "Akon - Lonely". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2014-04-02.
  5. "Australian-charts.com – Akon – Lonely". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
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  7. "Ultratop.be – Akon – Lonely" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. "Ultratop.be – Akon – Lonely" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  9. "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1605. May 6, 2005. p. 29. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
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  11. "Danishcharts.com – Akon – Lonely". Tracklisten.
  12. "Akon – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Akon. (subscription required)
  13. "Akon: Lonely" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
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  18. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Lonely". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
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  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Akon – Lonely" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
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  22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Akon – Lonely". VG-lista.
  23. "Polish Airplay Charts - Lista krajowa 29/2005". PiF PaF Production. Archived from the original on October 27, 2007. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
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  34. "CIS Year-End Radio Hits (2005)". Tophit. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
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  48. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2005". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  49. "Brazilian single certifications – Akon – Lonely" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
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  51. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2005" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  52. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Akon; 'Lonely')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  53. "British single certifications – Akon – Lonely". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  54. Myers, Justin (15 May 2015). "Number 1 today in 2005: Akon is Lonely at the top". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
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