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7 Seconds (song)

“7 Seconds”
Single by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry from the album The Guide (Wommat) (Youssou N'Dour) and Man (Neneh Cherry)
Released	1994
Format	CD single CD maxi
Genre	Pop
Length	5:07
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Neneh Cherry, Youssou N'Dour, Cameron McVey, J. Sharp
Producer	Booga Bear, Johnny Dollar
Certification	Gold France, 1994
Youssou N'Dour singles chronology
"Shaking the Trees" (1989)	"7 Seconds" (1994)	"So Many Men" (2002)
Neneh Cherry singles chronology
"Buddy X" (1993)	"7 Seconds" (1994)	"Love Can Build a Bridge" (1994)

"7 Seconds" is a song performed by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry. The song was a huge international hit in 1994, remaining on the charts for nearly half a year and reaching the top three in many countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Russia and Poland.

The single stayed at #1 for 16 consecutive weeks on the French Singles Chart, which was the record of the most weeks at the top at the time, and also rose to #3 in the UK Singles Chart.

Contents 1 Lyrics and music 2 Music video 3 Formats and track listings 4 Certifications 5 Charts 6 Reference

Lyrics and music

The song is multi-national: the Senegalese N'Dour and the Swedish Cherry, sing the song in Wolof, English and French.

“	"7 Seconds" is about the first positive 7 seconds in the life of a child just born not knowing about the problems and violence in our world.	„
—Neneh Cherry, Biography on official Web site

Music video

The black and white music video is directed by Stéphane Sednaoui^[1].

It features people of different races walking by while the two are singing. When they sing the chorus, different kinds of people's faces appear. The idea was later copied in many different video clips by various artists.

Formats and track listings

CD maxi

1. "7 Seconds" — 4:10
2. "Mame Bamba" by Youssou N'Dour — 4:57
3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) — 6:24
4. "7 Seconds" — 6:07

CD maxi (June 7, 1994)

1. "7 Seconds" — 4:10
2. "Life (Adouna)" by Youssou N'Dour — 4:57
3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) — 6:24
4. "7 Seconds" — 6:07

CD maxi (June 7, 1994)

1. "7 Seconds" (radio edit) — 4:06
2. "Life (Adouna)" by Youssou N'Dour — 4:02
3. "7 Seconds" (R & B to the hip hop drop mix) — 6:23
4. "7 Seconds" (dub mix) — 6:07

UK CD Single (660508-2)

1. "7 Seconds" (radio edit)
2. "7 Seconds" (LP version)
3. "7 Seconds" (new old mix)
4. "7 Seconds" (dub mix)
5. "7 Seconds" (hip hop mix)

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales
Austria[2]	Gold	December 21, 1994	15,000+
France[3]	Gold	October 28, 1994	250,000+
Germany[4]	Gold	1994
Swiss[5]	Gold	2004	25,000+

Charts

Chart (1994)[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Peak Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100 98 Australian ARIA Singles Chart 3 Austrian Singles Chart 3 Dutch Singles Chart 2 European Singles Chart 8 French Singles Chart 1 (16) German Singles Chart 3 Irish Singles Chart 3 Italian Singles Chart 1 Latvian Airplay Top 1 New Zealand Singles Chart 7 Norwegian Singles Chart 4 Polish Singles Chart 3 Swedish Singles Chart 3 Swiss Singles Chart 1 (2) UK Singles Chart 3

End of the year chart (1994) Position Austrian Singles Chart[12] 10 French Singles Chart 1 Swiss Singles Chart[13] 2

Preceded by "I Like to Move It" by Reel 2 Real	French (SNEP) number one single August 12, 1994 - November 26, 1994	Succeeded by "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" by Elton John
Preceded by "Freude herrscht (ohne Wenn und Aber)" by DJ Igo	Swiss number-one single July 17, 1994 - July 24, 1994	Succeeded by "I Swear" by All-4-One

Reference