Roma-Bangkok

"Roma-Bangkok"
Single by Baby K featuring Giusy Ferreri
from the album Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Released19 June 2015 (2015-06-19)
RecordedApril – May 2015
Takagi Beatz Studio, Milan, Italy (recording)
Fonjika Studio, Biella, Italy (mastering and mixing)
Genre
Length2:53
LabelSony Music
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Takagi
  • Mr. Ketra
Baby K singles chronology
"Anna Wintour"
(2015) 		"Roma-Bangkok"
(2015) 		"Chiudo gli occhi e salto"
(2015)
Giusy Ferreri singles chronology
"Inciso sulla pelle"
(2014) 		"Roma-Bangkok"
(2015) 		"Volevo te"
(2015)
Lali singles chronology
"Ego"
(2016) 		"Roma-Bangkok"
(2017) 		"Una Na"
(2017)
Alternative cover
Spanish version with Lali
Music video
"Roma-Bangkok" on YouTube

"Roma-Bangkok" (Italian pronunciation: [ˌromabaŋˈkɔk]; "From Rome to Bangkok") is a song recorded by Italian rapper Baby K, with vocals by Italian singer Giusy Ferreri, for her second studio album Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2015).[1][2] The song was released on 19 June 2015 as the second single from the album.

"Roma-Bangkok" was a massive commercial success in Italy in 2015. The song reached number one in a month on both the Italian FIMI chart and the EarOne airplay chart, becoming Baby K's first number-one single. It remained on the top of the chart for eleven consecutive weeks and later was certified diamond in Italy.[3]

Background

The song was written by Federica Abbate, Rocco Hunt, Alessandro "Takagi" Merli and Fabio "Mr. Ketra" Clemente, the latter two also produced it.[4] In an interview, Baby K presented the song with these words: "The lyrics of this song present the geographical map of my life: London, Rome and the Far East. Actually, they are the places where I lived, which I still carry within myself and I can live again through my music".[4]

Music video

The music video, directed by Mauro Russo, was published on 7 July 2015 on the rapper's official YouTube channel.[2] It was acclaimed by critics, who noted its similarities to 1991 American film Thelma & Louise.[5] However, MTV compared it to "Pretty Girls" music video by Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea.[6] It was the first Italian music video to be Vevo certified; in February 2017, it became the all-time most-watched Italian video on YouTube, with over 163 million views.[7][8] Currently, the video has more than 280 million views.

Spanish version

On 17 February 2017 a second Spanish version was released featuring Argentine pop singer Lali. The song was adapted to Spanish by José Luis Pagan and was produced by Ketra & Takagi.[9] Its music video was shot in September 2016 in Verona, Italy,[10][11] and was directed by Gaetano Morbioli.[12] Chiara Tomao from Optimagazine praised both artist's voices, writing "Lali's voice fits perfectly with our Claudia Nahum (Baby K)".[13]

Charts

Weekly charts

Original version
Chart (2015–16) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[14] 17
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 6
France (SNEP)[16] 25
Italy (FIMI)[17] 1
Russia (TopHit)[18] 133
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 23

Year-end charts

Original version
Charts (2015) Position
Italy (FIMI)[20] 1
Charts (2016) Position
Italy (FIMI)[21] 41
Spanish version featuring Lali
Chart (2017) Position
Uruguay (Monitor Latino)[22] 100

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[23] Diamond 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Version Format Label Ref.
Worldwide 16 June 2015 Original version Digital download Sony Music [24]
Italy 19 June 2015 Contemporary hit radio [25]
Various 19 February 2016 Spanish version with Giusy Ferreri Digital download [26]
Worldwide 17 February 2017 Spanish version with Lali [27]

References

  1. ^ "Baby K-Giusy Ferreri, esce Radio Bangkok". ANSA. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  2. ^ a b Redazione Spettacolo (25 July 2015). "Per "Roma-Bangkok" insieme a Baby K e Giusy Ferreri anche un 'Gemello DiVerso'". Fanpage. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Certificazioni" (in Italian). Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  4. ^ a b Giulia Ciavarelli (19 June 2015). "Baby K e Giusy Ferreri insieme per "Roma – Bangkok"". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  5. ^ Alessandro Alicandri. "I 10 motivi per cui siamo tutti pazzi per Roma-Bangkok". TV Sorrisi e Canzoni. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Baby K: ecco il nuovo video "Roma – Bangkok" con Giusy Ferreri". MTV. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. ^ "Baby K e Giusy Ferreri: Roma-Bangkok è il video italiano più visto". Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  8. ^ Andrea Conti (11 April 2016). ""Roma-Bangkok" di Baby K feat. Giusy Ferreri: 100 milioni di visualizzazioni". RTL 102.5 Very Normal People.
  9. ^ "Lali estrena nueva canción y avisa que ya llegó a Viña del Mar" (in Spanish). Terra. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Lali, da star della tv a potenziale popstar. Esce il nuovo album 'Soy': 'Racconta gli sforzi che ho fatto per arrivare fino a qui'. E Baby K la recluta per 'Roma-Bangkok'". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  11. ^ "Baby K annuncia un nuovo remix di Roma-Bangkok". radioitalia.it (in Italian). Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Veja como ficou a versão de Roma-Bangkok de Baby K com Lali". LatinPop Brasil (in Portuguese). 17 February 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  13. ^ Chiara Tomao (17 February 2017). "Video e testo di Roma-Bangkok di Baby K nella versione spagnola con Lali Esposito". Optimagazine (in Italian). Optima Italia. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  14. ^ "Baby K feat. Giusy Ferreri – Roma-Bangkok" (in French). Ultratip.
  15. ^ "Baby K: Roma - Bangkok (Feat. Giusy Ferreri)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  16. ^ "Baby K feat. Giusy Ferreri – Roma-Bangkok" (in French). Les classement single.
  17. ^ "Baby K feat. Giusy Ferreri – Roma-Bangkok". Top Digital Download.
  18. ^ "BABY K & GIUSY FERRERI: Roma - Bangkok" (in Russian). tophit.ru. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ^ "Baby K feat. Giusy Ferreri – Roma-Bangkok". Swiss Singles Chart.
  20. ^ "Classifiche Top of the Music 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digital" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  21. ^ "Classifiche Top of the Music 2015 FIMI-GfK: La musica italiana in vetta negli album e nei singoli digital" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Anual Uruguay". Monitor Latino. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  23. ^ "Italian single certifications – Baby K – Roma-Bangkok" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 August 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Roma-Bangkok" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  24. ^ "Roma - Bangkok (feat. Giusy Ferreri) - Single by Baby K". iTunes store. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  25. ^ "Shakira "Chantaje" (RadioDate)". Radioairplay.fm. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  26. ^ "Roma - Bangkok (feat. Giusy Ferreri) [Spanish Version] - Single by Baby K". iTunes store. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  27. ^ "Roma - Bangkok (feat. Lali) - Single by Baby K". iTunes store. Retrieved 16 February 2017.