Mouth (song)

"Mouth" is a pop song written by Merril Bainbridge, and produced by Siew for Bainbridge's debut album The Garden (1995). It was released as the album's first single in October 1994 in Australia,[1] then was re-issued on 13 March 1995. It became her biggest hit to date, peaking at number one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart for six consecutive weeks and in Canada for one week. The song also became a top-five hit in Iceland and the United States and reached number 17 in New Zealand. Filipino-Australian singer Anne Curtis covered the song on her 2011 album Annebisyosa.

"Mouth"
Single by Merril Bainbridge
from the album The Garden
Released24 October 1994[1]
Recorded1994
Studio001 Studios, Carlton, Victoria
GenrePop
Length3:25
LabelGotham, Arista, Universal
Songwriter(s)Merril Bainbridge
Producer(s)Siew
Merril Bainbridge singles chronology
"Mouth"
(1994)		 "Under the Water"
(1995)
Alternative cover
Cover of US single

Content and music videos

The song, a playful and suggestive tune, was often referred to having something related to sexual themes. Bainbridge stated that "(Any sexuality on "Mouth" was) not deliberate - it was definitely not a sexual song. It's just honest - about a relationship, how you feel in a relationship. Sometimes you feel you're in control and the next thing, you're insecure - it's the role playing thing. To me, it's not about straight up sexuality. It doesn't bother me if people connect with that, because obviously it's there, but it wasn't something I was aware of".[2]

There were two music videos for the song, both directed by Gotham Records co-founder Ross Fraser.[3] The first video is a simple video with no plot, shot in both black and white and colour. Scenes included Bainbridge flirting with a long-haired man in a car and singing to camera wearing a black lingerie dress with a red heart in the middle of it, intercut with shots of another man's mouth. This video was released in Australia. The second video is in black and white and is just the footage of Bainbridge in the car kissing the first man for the whole video, looking at the camera three times. It was filmed along Yarra Boulevard in the Melbourne suburb of Kew.[4] This video as well as the first, was released around the world. The first music video can be found on the special edition of The Garden as a CD Rom.

Chart performance

The "Mouth" single was first released in Australia in October 1994 but disappeared quickly due to lack of interest and airplay, charting outside the top 100.[5] The song was repackaged and reissued in 1995 and with the help of airplay and more promotion it became the biggest song of her career. The single belatedly entered the Australian ARIA top 100 Singles Chart in March 1995 at number sixty,[6] and during its ninth week on the chart[7] it reached the number-one position and stayed there for six consecutive weeks.[8] This feat gave Bainbridge the accolade of having longest running number one by an Australian female in the 1990s. "Mouth" spent a total of twenty-six weeks in the charts,[9] was the fourth highest selling single for 1995,[9] and was accredited platinum by ARIA.[9] The song was nominated for five ARIA Awards in 1995 - "Single of the Year", "Best Female Artist", "Best New Talent", "Breakthrough Artist - Single" and "Best Pop Release" but failed to win.[10]

The song was released in the United States on 20 August 1996 and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 67 and eventually peaked at number four. Success in the American music industry was, and still is, a relatively rare occurrence for Australian artists and the success of "Mouth" in the US gave Bainbridge superstar status in her home country for a period. Ross Fraser stated that he thought she would have had more chance of success in Europe and what happened in the US came as a surprise.[11] The song spent a total of thirty weeks in the US charts and was the thirty-seventh highest selling single for 1996. It was accredited gold by RIAA selling 600,000 copies around the US[12][13] After the success of the song, Bainbridge toured the US and during that tour she played at Madison Square Garden in New York with Sheryl Crow. The song did not enjoy the same success in the UK, peaking at 51 in the charts during its eight-week run in the top 200. The song also went top five in Japan, Hong Kong and the Philippines.[14]

Track listing

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[9] Platinum 70,000^
United States (RIAA)[12] Gold 600,000[13]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Label Format Catalogue
Australia 24 October 1994[1] Gotham Records CD 74321-23641-2
Japan 21 February 1996 BMG Japan CD BVCP-8822
United States 20 August 1996 Universal Records CD 74321431012
United Kingdom 11 November 1996 Arista Records CD 74321431012

References
  1. "New Release Summary – Product Available from: 24 October 1994 (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 245)". Imgur.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. "Merril Bainbridge - Bob Gajarsky" Archived 29 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine. westnet.com]. Retrieved 8 December 2006.
  3. "Music video director". mvdbase. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
  4. "Google Maps". Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  5. "Response from ARIA re: Merril Bainbridge singles chart history, received 21 May 2018". Imgur.com. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  6. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 26 Mar 1995". Imgur.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  7. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  8. "Australian-charts.com – Merril Bainbridge – Mouth". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  9. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1995". Imgur.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  10. "ARIA Award nominations". ARIA Awards. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2006.
  11. "The Making of Merril p. 4". thei.aust.com. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  12. "American single certifications – Merril Bainbridge – Mouth". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 8 May 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  13. "Best-Selling Records of 1996". Billboard. BPI Communications Inc. 109 (3): 61. 18 January 1997. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  14. "The Making of Merril p. 3". thei.aust.com. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9746." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  16. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9724." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Merril Bainbridge – Mouth". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  18. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (5.12. – 11.12. '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 6 December 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  19. "Charts.nz – Merril Bainbridge – Mouth". Top 40 Singles.
  20. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  21. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  22. "Merril Bainbridge Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  23. "Merril Bainbridge Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  24. "Merril Bainbridge Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  25. "Merril Bainbridge Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  26. "RPM Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  27. "RPM Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  28. "Longbored Surfer - 1996". Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  29. "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  30. "RPM '97 Year End Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  31. "Longbored Surfer – 1997". Retrieved 7 November 2014.
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