Flowers (Sweet Female Attitude song)

"Flowers" is the debut single by UK garage duo Sweet Female Attitude, released on 3 April 2000. The song uses the same chord sequence as Erik Satie's Trois Gymnopédies,[3] and the actual piece can be heard in the version by The House & Garage Orchestra, from the 2018 album Garage Classics.[4]

"Flowers"
Single by Sweet Female Attitude
from the album In Person
Released3 April 2000 (2000-04-03)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:00 (Sunship Mix)
  • 3:49 (Sunship Edit)
LabelWEA
Songwriter(s)
  • Mike Powell
  • Martin Green
Producer(s)
Sweet Female Attitude singles chronology
"Flowers"
(2000)		 "8 Days a Week"
(2000)

The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart with first-week sales of about 80,500.[5] It went on to become the United Kingdom's 37th biggest-selling single of 2000 and received a double platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streams of at least 1,200,000. The duo's subsequent releases failed to replicate the commercial success of “Flowers”, with the song being described as a "one-hit wonder" for Sweet Female Attitude.[6]

"Flowers" has been sampled and covered several times, most notably by DJ Spoony featuring the Sugababes and by Nathan Dawe featuring Jaykae. The latter version peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 2020, receiving a platinum certification from the BPI.

Impact and legacy

Writing for The Guardian in 2019, music critic Alexis Petridis listed the song at number six on retrospective of the best UK garage tracks, describing the track as "utterly charming. Essentially, UK street soul repurposed to fit a new style, Todd Edwards-style vocal cut-ups and all, its chorus was hooky and infectious, its light, summer's-day atmosphere delightful".[7] Also for The Guardian, writer Michael Cragg ranked "Flowers" second in a list of the greatest ever songs of the summer.[8]

Mixmag included "Flowers" in its list of 40 of the best UK garage tracks released from 1995 to 2005.[9] In September 2019, NME included the song in its roundup of the best UK garage anthems list.[10] Capital Xtra included the song in their list of "The Best Old-School Garage Anthems of All Time".[11]

Music video

The music video for "Flowers" was directed by Pete Nilsen and Ryan Davids.

Track listings

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

DJ Spoony version

In 2019, the original members of the Sugababes reformed and recorded "Flowers" for DJ Spoony's Garage Classical album.[29] This version reached No. 22 on the Scottish Singles Chart, No. 26 on the UK Dance Singles Chart and No. 20 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart[30] in October 2019.

Weekly charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Scotland (OCC)[31] 22
UK Dance (OCC)[32] 26

Nathan Dawe version
"Flowers"
Single by Nathan Dawe featuring Jaykae
from the EP If Heaven Had a Phone Line
Released25 October 2019
Length3:14
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Mike Powell
  • Martin Green
Producer(s)White N3rd
Nathan Dawe singles chronology
"Repeat After Me"
(2019)		 "Flowers"
(2019)		 "Lighter"
(2020)

British DJ and producer Nathan Dawe released a cover version of the song as a single on 25 October 2019[33] through Atlantic UK. The single gives a featuring credit to rapper Jaykae for his verse, but Dawe chose not to give a featuring credit to Malika Ferguson for her vocals, nor to Sweet Female Attitude. It peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

Talking to the Official Charts Company about the success of the song, Dawe said, "It's a surreal feeling. I've been pretty much working my whole music career for this achievement, so now that it's happened, it feels a bit weird. It's not the best time for everyone right now, but it's equally bad for all of us. Although I suppose it's a decent situation for myself!". He also said, "The writers of the original 'Flowers' (Mike Powell and Martin Green) have 100% of all the publishing royalties." Although Dawe re-worked some of the lyrics and added a verse by Jaykae, he insisted that "It's still Powell and Green's song, isn't it? I've seen the odd couple of tweets saying I've just used a cover for my financial gain. I'm not actually making money from the song."[34]

Weekly charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[35] 14
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[36] 11
UK Singles (OCC)[37] 12
UK Dance (OCC)[38] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (2020) Position
UK Singles (OCC)[39] 33

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Platinum 600,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other versions and samples

In 2018, a cover version was released by Bastille along with Rationale and James Arthur for the mixtape album Other People's Heartache Pt. 4, and the House & Garage Orchestra together with Sweet Female Attitude recorded an orchestral version for the album Garage Classics. In 2019, AJ Tracey and Jorja Smith performed a cover of the song for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.[41]

"Flowers" is sampled in British girl group M.O's 2014 single "Dance On My Own",[42] while British-Jamaican hip hop duo Krept and Konan also sampled the track for their 2018 single "Pour Me Another One".[43] In 2021, London based artist PinkPantheress sampled the track for her single "Pain",[44] and British rapper ArrDee sampled the backing track and chorus of "Flowers" for his single "Flowers (Say My Name)".[45][46]

References
  1. "New Releases – For Week Starting April 3, 2000: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 1 April 2000. p. 27. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  2. Ryce, Andrew (9 November 2019). "Rewind: Sweet Female Attitude – Flowers". Resident Advisor. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  3. The House & Garage Orchestra – Flowers, archived from the original on 12 June 2020, retrieved 21 October 2019
  4. "The House & Garage Orchestra feat. Sweet Female Attitude's 'Flowers' – Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  5. "Official Charts Flashback 2000: Craig David – Fill Me In". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. Ryce, Andrew (9 November 2019). "Rewind: Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. "The best UK garage tracks". The Guardian. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  8. Cragg, Michael (10 June 2021). "Rewind: Sweet Female Attitude - Flowers". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  9. "40 of the best UK garage tracks released from 1995 to 2005". Mixmag. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  10. "The best UK garage tracks of all time". NME. 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  11. "The Best Old-School Garage Anthems Of All Time". Capital XTRA.
  12. Flowers (UK CD single liner notes). Sweet Female Attitude. WEA, Milkk. 2000. WEA267CD, 8573 82751-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. Flowers (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Sweet Female Attitude. WEA, Milkk. 2000. WEA267T, 8573 82752 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. Flowers (UK cassette single sleeve). Sweet Female Attitude. WEA, Milkk. 2000. WEA267C, 8573 82754 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. Flowers (German maxi-CD single liner notes). Sweet Female Attitude. Fresh Fish Records. 2000. FFCDS 09.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. Flowers (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Sweet Female Attitude. WEA. 2000. 8573828362, MIKK2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 17. 22 April 2000. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  18. "Sweet Female Attitude – Flowers" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  19. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 20 (8.6–15.6 2000)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 9 June 2000. p. 12. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  20. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Sweet Female Attitude". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
  21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 25, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  22. "Sweet Female Attitude – Flowers" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  23. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  25. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  26. "Best Sellers of 2000: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media. 20 January 2001. p. 25.
  27. "Yearly Best Selling Singles" (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  28. "British single certifications – Sweet Female Attitude – Flowers". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  29. Griffin, Louise (22 July 2019). "Sugababes confirmed to cover Sweet Female Attitude's Flowers in epic comeback". Metro. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  30. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company.
  31. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  32. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  33. "Flowers (feat. Jaykae) - Single by Nathan Dawe on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  34. "How Burton-born DJ Nathan Dawe scored a Top 40 smash with Flowers". Official Charts Company. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  35. "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  36. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  37. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  38. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  39. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  40. "British single certifications – Nathan Dawe ft Jaykae – Flowers". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  41. "AJ Tracey & Jorja Smith". BBC. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  42. Frydenlund, Zach (23 June 2014). "Watch M.O's Video for "Dance On My Own"". Complex. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  43. "Krept & Konan Release Garage-Slanted Track 'Pour Me Another One' Alongside Tabitha". Plugsville. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  44. "PinkPantheress - Pain". WhoSampled. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  45. "ArrDee Takes Us Behind The Scenes Of "Flowers (Say My Name)" In New Video". GRM Daily. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  46. "ArrDee 'Flowers (Say My Name)' lyrics meaning explained". Capital XTRA. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
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