Ride It (Geri Halliwell song) explained

Ride It
Cover:Rideit-ukcd1.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Geri Halliwell
Album:Passion
B-Side:It's Raining Men
Genre:Dance-pop
Length:3:46
Label:
Producer:
Prev Title:Calling
Prev Year:2001
Next Title:Desire
Next Year:2005

"Ride It" is a song recorded by English singer Geri Halliwell for her third studio album, Passion (2005). It was released on 22 November 2004 by Innocent Records as the first single from the album. "Ride It" was commercially successful in Europe; it peaked at number four in the United Kingdom and reached number three on the Spanish and Scottish charts.

Critical reception

"Ride It" received mixed reviews from music critics. Writing for AllMusic, John Lucas described it as a "fine slice of campy dance-pop, the kind of which Halliwell has always sounded most comfortable with".[1] Music Week staff wrote that although the track was "aimed straight at Kylie's pop audience", it lacked the "sophistication of Minogue's pop masterpieces".[2] John Dingwall from the Daily Record panned it as a "ridiculous pop song", noting it "seems the former Spice Girl is sodesperate for a pop comeback she has settled for a song which sounds like a Dannii Minogue cast-off".[3]

Matt Potter from Yahoo! Launch gave the single two out of ten stars, and said "Enter Halliwell, and her latest attempt to present herself as a sexy siren, all attitude and independence. It's not as if it's a bad song, either - think "Life Is A Roller Coaster", crossed with "Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves" but minus a proper chorus - but the steely, tears-at-a-hen-party desperation of Halliwell's delivery makes this the musical equivalent of getting the eighteenth call in one evening from a girl you met once at a party".[4]

Chart performance

Due to the midweek position of number three, "Ride It" was predicted to peak within the top three, but due to competition from Girls Aloud, Destiny's Child, and Lemar, the song debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. It gave Halliwell the best ever opening sequence for a female recording artist on the chart, with all her first 16 singles entering the top 10.[5] "Ride It" was the 143rd-best-selling single of 2004 in the United Kingdom. The song also reached number three on both the Spanish and Scottish charts. In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the song peaked at number two and remained on the Tophit chart for 39 weeks, 31 of which were in the top 100.

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Luca Tommassini and was filmed in Milan in September 2004.[6] In it, Halliwell dresses as a policegirl and spanks a male model with a truncheon before flashing her bra. She also sticks the truncheon between the man's legs. There is also a close-up of lifting her pink dress and shaking her bottom.

TV executives were worried the video would be too sexual for Top of the Pops Saturday viewers, which was watched by six to twelve year olds. The BBC then censored the video, saying: "TOTP Saturday will air Geri's video without a couple of unsuitable shots".[7]

Entertainment executive Simon Cowell criticized the music video on , calling the video "rubbish" as well as "one of the worst videos I've ever seen in my life" whilst also stating, "If I was her record label and that video arrived on my desk, I would throw it in the bin". In response to his criticism, Halliwell wrote to Cowell demanding an explanation for his outburst as well as an apology.[8]

Live performances

To promote the single, Halliwell performed the song on Children in Need, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Top of the Pops, , GMTV, Ministry of Mayhem and This Morning.

Track listings

UK and European CD1[9] [10]

  1. "Ride It" – 3:46
  2. "It's Raining Men" – 4:18

UK and European CD2, Australian CD single[11] [12] [13]

  1. "Ride It" – 3:46
  2. "Ride It" (Hex Hector 7-inch mix) – 3:45
  3. "Ride It" (Ian Masterson extended) – 6:33
  4. "Ride It" (Maloney remix) – 5:35

UK 12-inch single[14]

A. "Ride It" (Hex Hector 12-inch mix) – 7:47

B. "Ride It" (Full Intention mix) – 8:10

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Passion.[15]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2004–2005)!scope="col"
Peak
position
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[16] 19
Greece (IFPI)[17] 15
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[18] 37
Russia Airplay (TopHit)[19] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (2004)!scope="col"
Position
CIS (TopHit)[20] 54
Russia Airplay (TopHit)[21] 24
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 143
Chart (2005)! scope="col"
Position
Russia Airplay (TopHit)[23] 176

Release history

Region!scope="col"
DateFormat(s)Label(s)
United Kingdom22 November 2004CD[24]
Australia28 February 2005[25]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.allmusic.com/album/passion-mw0000383681
  2. Web site: Reviews. Music Week. 13 November 2004. 22 July 2024. 23.
  3. News: . Dingwall . John . Music: Singles . Daily Record . Glasgow . 26 November 2004 . 61 .
  4. Web site: LAUNCH, Music on Yahoo! – Geri Halliwell – Ride It. Yahoo! Music Radio. Potter. Matt. 26 November 2004. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20041211131153/http://uk.launch.yahoo.com/041126/33/1xcqp.html. 11 December 2004. 27 July 2017.
  5. . SINGLES 04.12.04: Geri Halliwell . Music Week . 4 December 2004 . 24 .
  6. Web site: "Ride It" by Geri Halliwell Music Video VH1.com. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061613/http://www.vh1.com/video/geri-halliwell/418078/ride-it.jhtml . 4 March 2016 .
  7. Web site: TOO SPICY; EXCLUSIVE Top of the Pops tell Geri to tone down sexy video. Free Online Library.
  8. Web site: Kilkelly. Daniel. Geri slated by Simon Cowell. 30 October 2004. 10 September 2020. Digital Spy.
  9. Ride It. Halliwell. Geri. Geri Halliwell. 2004. UK CD1 liner notes. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. SINCD69.
  10. Ride It. Halliwell. Geri. Geri Halliwell. 2004. European CD1 liner notes. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 8169642/8169682.
  11. Ride It. Halliwell. Geri. Geri Halliwell. 2004. UK CD2 liner notes. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. SINCD69.
  12. Ride It. Halliwell. Geri. Geri Halliwell. 2004. European CD2 liner notes. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 8169652.
  13. Ride It. Halliwell. Geri. Geri Halliwell. 2004. Australian CD liner notes. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. 724381696521.
  14. Ride It. Halliwell. Geri. Geri Halliwell. 2004. UK 12-inch single sleeve. Innocent Records, Virgin Records. SINT69.
  15. . liner notes . Halliwell . Geri . Geri Halliwell . Virgin Records . 2005 . 0094631197321.
  16. European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 6th December 2004. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20041219130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20041220-0000/issue771.pdf. dead. 2004-12-19. Music & Media. 25. 6 December 2004. 14 August 2010.
  17. Web site: Top 50 Singles Εβδομάδα 15–21/5. IFPI. el. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050522023526/http://www.ifpi.gr/chart03.htm. 22 May 2005. 3 July 2020.
  18. Web site: Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 1, saptamina 10.01 – 16.01, 2005. Romanian Top 100. ro. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050222191310/http://www.rt100.ro/editie-top-100_x10150.html. 22 February 2005. 19 May 2020.
  19. Web site: Top Radio Hits Russia Weekly Chart: Feb 3, 2005. TopHit. 23 April 2024.
  20. Web site: CIS Year-End Radio Hits (2004). TopHit. 11 August 2019.
  21. Web site: Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart: 2004. TopHit. 23 April 2024. 23 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240423175500/https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ru/annual/2004. live.
  22. Web site: UK Year-End Charts 2004. UKChartsPlus. 14 August 2010.
  23. Web site: Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart: 2005. TopHit. 25 April 2024. 21 April 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240421190640/https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ru/annual/2005. live.
  24. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 41. 20 November 2004. Misprinted as 20 November on source.
  25. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 28th February 2005. ARIA. 28. 28 February 2005. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20050319130000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20050320-0000/issue783.pdf. 19 March 2005. 6 July 2021.