U.G.L.Y.

"U.G.L.Y." is a song by American recording duo Daphne & Celeste. It was released on June 5, 2000, as the second single from their studio album, We Didn't Say That!. The song was written and composed by Michele Chiavarini, Tracy Kilrow, Michael Marz and S. Burkes, while its producer was Chiavarini. "U.G.L.Y." is a teen pop and bubblegum pop song with a cheerleading style, making it similar in this respect to Toni Basil's song "Mickey". Lyrically, the song consists of insults towards people Daphne & Celeste think are ugly.

"U.G.L.Y."
Single by Daphne & Celeste
from the album We Didn't Say That!
ReleasedJune 5, 2000 (2000-06-05)[1]
GenreDance-pop, bubblegum pop, teen pop
Length3:46
LabelUniversal
Songwriter(s)
  • S. Burkes
  • Michele Chiavarini
  • Tracy Kilrow
  • Michael Marz
Producer(s)Michele Chiavarini
Daphne & Celeste singles chronology
"Ooh Stick You"
(1999)		 "U.G.L.Y."
(2000)		 "School's Out"
(2000)

Commercially, the song performed well in New Zealand, where it peaked at number seven (its highest position on a chart anywhere in the world). It also reached the top 20 in the UK and the top 40 in Australia and Ireland. The song would later be used in the American box office hit film Bring It On (released August 2000) and its accompanying soundtrack.[2]

Background

After the release of their first single, "Ooh Stick You", the duo decided to release "U.G.L.Y." as the second single from their debut album, We Didn't Say That! (2000). The song was written and composed by Michele Chiavarini, Tracy Kilrow, Michael Marz and S. Burkes, and was produced by Chiavarini. The chorus is taken from the 1985 Fishbone song "Ugly".[3]

Critical reception

Dean Carlson from AllMusic reviewed the album, but did not at that point intend to review the track itself.[4] However, he did go on to review "U.G.L.Y." individually, giving it two and a half out of five stars when so doing.[5] Andy Capper from NME said: "'UGLY' continues the playground putdown vibes of Daphne & Celeste's first single, 'Ooh Stick You'. It's a cool little tune, bolstered by a complete lack of irony or sickly kitsch vibes. Daphne & Celeste are queens in the making."[3] Capper's review of the song was overall positive, but acknowledged nonetheless that it is "a bit ruder" than their previous single.[3]

Retrospective comments came from Alex Denney of Dazed, who called the song one "of the era's most demented pop songs" and "pitched-up playground taunts torn from the pages of Malcolm McLaren's wrong-pop rulebook" along with "Ooh Stick You",[6] while Pete Cashmore of The Guardian described it as "tartrazine-addled trash-pop" and Tim Jonze of the same publication labeled it "chipmunk pop".[7][8]

Chart performance

The single was a big success in New Zealand, where it peaked at number seven on the New Zealand Singles Chart and was certified platinum.[9] However, it did not do as well in any other country. The song debuted at number forty-seven on the Australian Singles Chart, but only managed to peak at number forty.[10] The song entered the charts at number eighteen in the United Kingdom, where it only managed to go that far.

Music video

The music video was directed by Phil Griffin and filmed on April 16, 2000.

Track listings

UK CD1[11]

  1. "U.G.L.Y." (radio edit)
  2. "U.G.L.Y." (Tomboy Mix)
  3. "U.G.L.Y." (T-Total "Make Over" Mix)
  4. "U.G.L.Y." (video)

UK CD2 and Canadian CD single[12][13]

  1. "U.G.L.Y." (radio edit)
  2. "U.G.L.Y." (Uglier Mix)
  3. Exclusive Daphne & Celeste interview

UK cassette single[14]

  1. "U.G.L.Y." (radio edit)
  2. "U.G.L.Y." (Uglier Mix)

Charts
Chart performance for "U.G.L.Y."
Chart (2000) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 47
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[15] 18
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[16] 69
Ireland (IRMA)[17] 40
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 7
Scotland (OCC)[19] 14
UK Singles (OCC)[20] 18

References
  1. "New Releases – For Week Starting June 5, 2000: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. June 5, 2000. p. 23. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  2. From Discogs
  3. "UGLY". NME. September 12, 2005.
  4. We Didn't Say That! - Daphne & Celeste: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards: AllMusic
  5. "U.G.L.Y." - Daphne & Celeste: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards: AllMusic
  6. Denney, Alex (March 14, 2018). "We asked Daphne & Celeste to review a bunch of hit songs from the year 2000". Dazed. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. Cashmore, Pete (April 6, 2018). "Daphne & Celeste's unlikely return: 'We'll make it weird'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  8. Jonze, Tim (March 30, 2015). "Daphne and Celeste: 'They hated us so much!'". The Guardian. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  9. charts.org.nz - Daphne & Celeste – U.G.L.Y.
  10. "Daphne & Celeste – U.G.L.Y.". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  11. U.G.L.Y. (UK CD1 liner notes). Daphne & Celeste. Universal Records. 2000. MCSTD 40232, 158 042-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. U.G.L.Y. (UK CD2 liner notes). Daphne & Celeste. Universal Records. 2000. MCSXD 40232, 158092-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. U.G.L.Y. (Canadian CD single liner notes). Daphne & Celeste. Universal Records. 2000. 012 158 092-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. U.G.L.Y. (UK cassette single sleeve). Daphne & Celeste. Universal Records. 2000. MCSC 40232, 158042-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. "Hits of the World: Canada". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 40. September 30, 2000. p. 52. Retrieved February 10, 2013 – via Google Books.
  16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 26. June 24, 2000. p. 11. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  17. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Daphne & Celeste". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  18. "Daphne & Celeste – U.G.L.Y.". Top 40 Singles.
  19. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  20. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
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