Open Sesame (song)

"Open Sesame" is a song by Swedish Eurodance artist Leila K, released in October 1992 by Coma label as the lead single from the artist's second album, Carousel (1993). Co-written and co-produced by Denniz PoP, the song was a huge success in many European countries in 1993. It reached number-one in Belgium and peaked within the top 10 in at least nine other countries. Its music video was directed by Matt Broadley. In 1999, the song was released in a new remix as "Open Sesame '99". Dutch singer Daisy Dee released a cover in 2000, which reached number 78 in Germany.

This article is about the Leila K song. For the by Kool & the Gang song, see Open Sesame (Kool & the Gang song).
"Open Sesame"
Single by Leila K
from the album Carousel
B-side"Sesame Music"
Released23 October 1992
Length3:24
LabelComa
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Denniz PoP
  • Douglas Carr
Leila K singles chronology
"Rok the Nation"
(1990)		 "Open Sesame"
(1992)		 "Ça Plane Pour Moi"
(1993)
Music video
"Open Sesame" on YouTube

Critical reception

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton felt that "this high-powered commercial rap coupling a rave beat with a ragga style delivery may just revive her career."[1] Simon Price from Melody Maker complimented it as a "brilliant" hit, where "she reinvented herself as the Ragga Queen of Sheba (did you see that video?), nasally imploring us to "Jump around if you mind can work". Um. Boing! Boing!"[2] Andy Beevers from Music Week gave the song four out of five, writing, "This commercial Swedish house track combines a Felix-style tune and reggae toasting. The UK release features a more adventurous remix by Felix himself."[3] Mark Sutherland from Smash Hits gave it three out of five, saying, "Ragamuffin rapping in a Swedish accent may sound like a thoroughly appalling notion, but Ms K goes for it with such pzazz that you soon come round to the idea. This girl has more energy than Linford Christie after a Lucozade binge, and this record is a real Sesame treat."[4]

Chart performance

"Open Sesame" was successful on the charts across Europe. It reached number one for one week in Belgium (Flanders), with a total of 16 weeks at the Ultratop 50 chart, and number two in the Netherlands. In the latter, the song held the next best chart position for several weeks, being held off the top spot by 2 Unlimited's "No Limit". It entered the top 10 also in Austria (5), Denmark (7), Finland (9), Germany (5), Italy (5), Portugal (7), Spain (6) and Switzerland (5). In the UK, the single reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart, but was more successful on the UK Dance Singles Chart, peaking at number ten in January 1993. In Leila K's native Sweden, it only reached number 21, staying at Sverigetopplistan for three weeks. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it hit number six in April 1993,[5] while peaking at number 12 at Music & Media's European Dance Radio Chart[6] and number 18 on Music Week's Record Mirror Club Chart.

The single earned a gold record in the Netherlands with a sale of 50,000 units.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Open Sesame" was directed by Swedish-based director Matt Broadley.[7] It received heavy rotation on MTV Europe[8] and was later made available on Mega Records' official YouTube channel in 2011. The video had generated more than 6.1 million views as of June 2023.[9]

Track listings

Charts

Sales and certifications
Certifications for "Open Sesame"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[31] Gold 50,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Europe 23 October 1992 — Coma
United Kingdom 11 January 1993
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 Polydor [32]

References
  1. Masterton, James (17 January 1993). "Week Ending January 23rd 1993". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  2. Price, Simon (18 September 1993). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 39. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  3. Beevers, Andy (9 January 1993). "Market Preview: Dance" (PDF). Music Week. p. 17. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  4. Sutherland, Mark (6 January 1993). "New Singles". Smash Hits. p. 45. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
  5. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 3 April 1993. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  6. "European Dance Radio Top 25" (PDF). Music & Media. 27 February 1993. p. 10. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  7. "Credits — Matt Broadley". mattbroadley.com. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  8. "Station Reports > MTV Europe/London" (PDF). Music & Media. 6 March 1993. p. 17. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  9. "Leila K - Open Sesame (Official)". YouTube. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  10. "Leila K. – Open Sesame" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. "Leila K. – Open Sesame" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. 3 April 1993. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  13. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  14. "Leila K. – Open Sesame" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Open Sesame". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  16. "Classifiche". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 30 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Leila K".
  17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Leila K" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  18. "Leila K. – Open Sesame" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  19. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. 27 March 1993. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  20. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  21. "Leila K. – Open Sesame". Singles Top 100.
  22. "Leila K. – Open Sesame". Swiss Singles Chart.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  24. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 23 January 1993. p. 22. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  25. "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 30 January 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  26. "Jaaroverzichten 1993" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  27. "1993 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 18 December 1993. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  28. "Top 100 Singles – Jahrescharts 1993" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  29. "Jaarlijsten 1993" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  30. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1993". MegaCharts. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  31. "Dutch single certifications – Leila K. – Open Sesame" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 July 2022. Enter Open Sesame in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1993 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  32. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 9 January 1993. p. 6.
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