Playas Gon' Play
"Playas Gon' Play" is the second and final single from American girl group 3LW's self-titled debut album (2000). The single was released in April 2001. Although the song was a favorite among fans, it peaked at only number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100. It performed moderately on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 21. In 2017, Billboard named the song number 89 on their list of "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time".[1] The song featured lead vocals by Naturi Naughton.
"Playas Gon' Play" | ||||
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Single by 3LW | ||||
from the album 3LW | ||||
B-side | "Never Let 'Em Go" | |||
Released | April 10, 2001 | |||
Length |
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Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Sean "Sep" Hall | |||
3LW singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Playas Gon' Play" on YouTube |
Music video
The video was directed by Darren Grant. It starts with the girls being dropped of at a tropical beach resort. Once they have been dropped off, they change into their bikinis and walk through the resort. As they walk through the resort, boys are looking at them. Throughout the video are scenes of the girls hanging out on a balcony watching over the resort. Another portion of the video shows the girls performing a dance routine in front on the pond at the resort at night. The video received decent video play on TV channels such as BET and MTV and enjoyed some success on BET's 106 & Park and MTV's TRL.
Track listings
US CD single[2]
UK CD single[3]
|
UK cassette single[4]
Australian CD single[5]
|
Charts
Chart (2001) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[6] | 66 |
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[7] | 83 |
Ireland (IRMA)[8] | 46 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] | 36 |
Scotland (OCC)[10] | 45 |
UK Singles (OCC)[11] | 21 |
UK Dance (OCC)[12] | 7 |
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[13] | 5 |
US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 81 |
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] | 56 |
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[16] | 17 |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | April 10, 2001 | Epic | [17] | |
May 1, 2001 | Contemporary hit radio | [18] | ||
United Kingdom | August 27, 2001 |
|
[19] | |
Australia | October 15, 2001 | CD | [20] |
Lawsuit
In 2017, "Playas Gon' Play" writers Sean Hall and Nathan Butler filed a lawsuit accusing Taylor Swift of copyright infringement because Swift's 2014 song "Shake It Off" features the lyrics "the players gonna play, play, play, play, play and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate."[21] Swift claimed in a 2022 declaration that she had never heard "Playas Gon' Play" or anything else by 3LW prior to writing "Shake It Off," rather, the first time she heard the song was after the claim was made against her. Swift also pointed out other songs that use similar phrasing and said the concept is common phrasing, whereas Hall and Butler claimed the phrasing, while common in recent years, was unique at the time they wrote the song.[22] On December 12, 2022, the lawsuit was dropped with no final verdict.[23]
References
- Staff (July 10, 2017). "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
- Playas Gon' Play (US CD single liner notes). 3LW. Epic Records. 2001. 49K 79595.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Playas Gon' Play (UK CD single liner notes). 3LW. Epic Records. 2001. 671793 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Playas Gon' Play (UK cassette single sleeve). 3LW. Epic Records. 2001. 671793 4.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Playas Gon' Play (Australian CD single liner notes). 3LW. Epic Records. 2001. 671361 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - "Issue 608" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. September 15, 2001. p. 9. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- "Irish-charts.com – Discography 3LW". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- "3LW – Playas Gon' Play". Top 40 Singles.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
- "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
- "3LW Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- "3LW Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- "3LW Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- "CHR/Rhythmic: Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1396. April 6, 2001. pp. 47, 54. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- "CHR/Pop: Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1399. April 27, 2001. p. 50. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
- "New Releases – For Week Starting August 27, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. August 25, 2001. p. 31. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
- "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 15th October 2001" (PDF). ARIA. October 15, 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- "Taylor Swift Shake It Off Lyrics". Genius. Genius Media Group Inc. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- Davis, Wynne. "Taylor Swift says she never listened to 3LW before writing 'Shake It Off'". npr. npr. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- Donahue, Bill (December 12, 2022). "Taylor Swift Copyright Accusers Drop Lawsuit Over 'Shake It Off' After Five Years Of Litigation". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2022.