I'm on a Boat

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"I'm on a Boat"
Adam Cherrington
  • Faheem Najm
    • Producer(s)Wyshmaster
    The Lonely Island singles chronology
    "Jizz in My Pants"
    (2008)     		"I'm on a Boat"
    (2009)     		"I Just Had Sex"
    (2010)
    T-Pain singles chronology
    "Blame It"
    (2009)     		"I'm on a Boat"
    (2009)     		"All I Do Is Win"
    (2010)
    Music video
    I'm on a Boat (Explicit) on
    YouTube
    I'm on a Boat (Clean) on
    YouTube

    "I'm on a Boat" is a

    platinum.[4]

    History and production

    Wyshmaster claimed in an interview that a record label contacted him asking for beats to use in a mixtape featuring a "St. Louis rapper".[5] Wyshmaster sent a collection of "throwaway" tracks to the label, hearing back from them several months later asking to use a track for The Lonely Island, a group he did not at the time recognize.[5] He recalled that he found out that his track was on Saturday Night Live and featured T-Pain only after a relative contacted him.[5] Wyshmaster also claimed that T-Pain asked for and received 10% of the revenue from the track, and that he received "around 35%", but only after prolonged negotiations; a contract was not formalized until after the short aired. In 2019, ten years after its release, Wyshmaster said the track is "still doing well".[5]

    T-Pain said that The Lonely Island contacted him with the song and asked if he was interested in collaborating.[6] Although he was initially confused about the premise, T-Pain said that after learning that it was a digital short he agreed; "They wrote the whole thing, I went and put my voice on it, and sent it back."[6]

    Music and lyrics

    The song features an aggressive delivery of the lyrics, which include profanity-peppered proclamations that range from the mundane ("The boat engine make noise") to the absurd ("I'm gonna fly this boat to the moon somehow"). Schaffer at one time claims to be riding a wild

    auto-tune, has him claiming that he had sex with a mermaid
    .

    Music video

    Directed by Akiva Schaffer, the video opens with Andy Samberg—who is sitting at the kitchen table with bandmates Schaffer and Jorma Taccone—pouring cereal into a bowl. To his delight, a coupon for a free boat ride for three falls out of the box. After pondering who will go with him, Samberg picks Schaffer but skips over Taccone in favor of the previously unseen R&B singer T-Pain, who has apparently been sitting at the table, off camera, the entire time.

    The three men are next seen atop the yacht Never Say Never[7] in Biscayne Bay, Florida,[8] dressed in tuxedos as Samberg announces that the boat is preparing to launch.

    The video frequently shows flashes of the left-out Taccone at comparatively mundane places, for example, "at

    resort wear. T-Pain recounted that the helicopter used to take the aerial shots, combined with the cool breeze, was "spraying so much water on us" that it made for "probably the worst video day I've ever been through".[6]

    Critical reception

    Giving the song four stars,

    Attack of the Show.[12][13]

    In December 2009, "I'm on a Boat" received a nomination for

    rhymed/sung collaborative performance by artists who do not normally perform together,[14] losing to Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Rihanna's song "Run This Town
    ".

    In popular culture

    On April 8, 2016,

    Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship.[15]

    T-Pain called back to the song on

    The Masked Singer
    when he was The Monster, With his "revealing clue" being "I got the music, the lyrics, and the cadence to take them down—whether it's in my cave, at the bar, or on a boat."

    The 2009 video game Borderlands contains the secret achievement "You're on a boat!" with the description "I bet you never thought you'd be here", a reference to the song's lyrics "Never thought I'd be on a boat".

    The

    April Fool's Day
    teaser for a joke manatee champion named Urf. Several of the joke character's ability names are lyrics of the song including "Flippy Floppy" ("[I got] my flippie-floppies"), "Big Blue Watery Road" ("It's a big, blue, watery road!"), "Poseidon's Gaze" ("Poseidon look at me") and "Straight Floatin'" ("Straight floatin' on the deep blue sea!")

    Charts

    Chart (2009) Peak
    position
    Australia (
    ARIA
    )     		14
    Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16] 62
    New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 9
    US Billboard Hot 100[16] 56

    Certifications

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    Australia (ARIA)[18] Gold 35,000^
    Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 20,000*
    New Zealand (RMNZ)[20] Gold 7,500*
    United States (RIAA)[21] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

    * Sales figures based on certification alone.
    ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

    References

    1. Huffington Post
      . Retrieved May 27, 2009.
    2. ^ "Music Video Clichés No.3 - Boats N' Hoes". NME. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
    3. ^ Ross, Dalton. "Grammy nominations: We're shocked! Six huge surprises". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
    4. ^ "Gold and Platinum Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
    5. ^ a b c d Cherrington, Adam (June 25, 2019). "Wyshmaster Beats Talks Sync Placements + Producing "I'm On A Boat"" (Interview). Interviewed by Bayley, Pacal. BeatStars. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
    6. ^ a b c Ryan, Patrick (December 14, 2015). "T-Pain shares stories behind 10 of his biggest hits". USA Today. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
    7. ^ "122' OceanFast Motor Yacht 'Never Say Never'". TheAdvantaged.com. The Advantaged Yacht Charter and Sales. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
    8. MySpace. Archived from the original
      on February 23, 2009. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
    9. ^ Relic, Peter (March 5, 2009). "I'm on a Boat". Rolling Stone (1073):76
    10. ^ amrit (February 4, 2009), "New Lonely Island (Feat. T-Pain) - I'm On A Boat". Stereogum.com . Retrieved March 23, 2009.
    11. ^ Singer, Brett (February 24, 2009), "Incredibad". AVClub.com. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
    12. ^ Simon Vozick-Levinson (June 11, 2009), "'I'm on a Boat' a cappella: Funnier than the original?" Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
    13. ^ Gabe Delahaye (June 10, 2009), "Nice Try, Nerds". Videogum. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
    14. ^ "The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Nominees List". Archived from the original on December 3, 2009. Retrieved December 3, 2009.
    15. ^ "Elon Musk deleted a perfect tweet about his SpaceX rocket landing". TechInsider. April 9, 2016. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
    16. ^ a b "The Lonely Island Album & Song Chart History". Retrieved December 19, 2009.
    17. ^ "RIANZ". RIANZ. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved September 15, 2009.
    18. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
    19. ^ "Canadian single certifications – The Lonely Island – I'm on a Boat". Music Canada. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
    20. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". Radioscope. August 21, 2011. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
    21. ^ "American single certifications – The Lonely Island – I'm on a Boat". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 7, 2021.

    External links

    External videos
    video icon Behind the Scenes on "I'm On a Boat", from The Lonely Island's official Web site
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I%27m_on_a_Boat&oldid=1213278574"