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"1999"
Single by Charli XCX and Troye Sivan
from the album Charli
Released	5 October 2018 (2018-10-05)
Studio	Henson Studios (Los Angeles) Wolf Cousins Studios (Stockholm) MXM Studios (Los Angeles)
Genre	Eurodance electropop
Length	3:09
Label	Asylum Atlantic UK
Songwriter(s)	Charlotte Aitchison Noonie Bao Oscar Holter Troye Sivan Brett McLaughlin
Producer(s)	Oscar Holter
Charli XCX singles chronology
"Girls Night Out" (2018) "1999" (2018) "Blame It on Your Love" (2019)
Troye Sivan singles chronology
"Animal" (2018) "1999" (2018) "Revelation" (2018)
Music video
"1999" on YouTube

"1999" is a song by English singer Charli XCX and Australian singer Troye Sivan, released as the lead single from the former's third studio album Charli on 5 October 2018. The single cover was inspired by the 1999 film The Matrix. It follows several singles released earlier in 2018 by Charli XCX and Sivan's 2018 album Bloom. The track reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart dated 22 November 2018, becoming Charli XCX's tenth top 40 single and first top 15 single since 2015, as well as Sivan's fourth top 40 single and his first top 20 single.

A sequel to the track, "2099", was released as a promotional single in September 2019.

"1999" is playable in Just Dance Unlimited on Just Dance 2020.

Background and composition

Background

The song contains nostalgic lyrical references to the titular year along with a snare-heavy beat, "fuzzy sawtooth bass and sparking Eurodance keys". Sasha Geffen of Pitchfork stated that the track is "more concerned with the act of remembering than with the specifics of the year it calls up itself" and "fits alongside the rest of Charli XCX's sleek, forward-looking pop songs". The song also references Britney Spears' 1998 debut single, "...Baby One More Time", as suggested by Max Martin.

Musical composition

The song is written in the key of D major, with an allegro tempo of 124 BPM in
₄ common time. Sivan's and Charli XCX's voices span between the notes B₃ and F#₅.

Artwork

The cover art references the 1999 film The Matrix, with Sivan dressed as Neo, wearing dark sunglasses, a black overcoat, and dyed black hair against a bright green background. Charli XCX, who is dressed as Trinity, flanks him. Billboard also noted its similarity to Aaliyah in the music video for her 2000 song "Try Again".

Promotion

Charli XCX and Sivan tweeted lyrics from "1999" addressed to each other on Twitter before sharing the cover art and title of the song.

Music video

The music video was released on 11 October 2018, and features Sivan and Charli XCX in various homages to 1990s pop culture, including the iMac G3 and Steve Jobs, Spice Girls, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, New Radicals, Eminem, the Nokia 3310, Rose McGowan and Marilyn Manson, the films Titanic, The Matrix, American Beauty, and The Blair Witch Project, the Dancing baby, the video game The Sims, and the music videos for the songs "Say You'll Be There", "Waterfalls", "Thinking of You (I Drive Myself Crazy)", and "I Want It That Way". For many of the homages, deepfake technology was used.

Track listing

Digital download

1. "1999" – 3:09

Digital download — Stripped version

1. "1999" (Stripped) – 3:21

Digital download — The Knocks Remix

1. "1999" (The Knocks Remix) – 3:41

Digital download – Remixes

1. "1999" (Alphalove remix) – 3:55
2. "1999" (Easyfun remix) – 3:12
3. "1999" (Michael Calfan remix) – 3:03
4. "1999" (R3hab remix) – 3:18
5. "1999" (Carta remix) – 2:52
6. "1999" (Super Cruel remix) – 2:51
7. "1999" (Young Franco remix) – 3:33
8. "1999" (Dipha Barus remix) – 2:28
9. "1999" (The Knocks remix) – 3:40

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Vengaboys version

In September 2021, Vengaboys released a cover version of the song, which was retitled "1999 (I Wanna Go Back)" and came with a deepfake-style video which saw the cover stars from various 1990s albums lip-syncing to the song and the band put into the Friends title sequence with the sofa and fountain. One of the "deepfakes" is superimposed on the single cover of Vengaboys' own "We're Going To Ibiza".

Notes

1. On physical releases of Charli, "1999" is credited to Charli XCX featuring Troye Sivan.

References

1. Geffen, Sasha. "Charli XCX / Troye Sivan "1999"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
2. "Single Review: Charli XCX & Troye Sivan – 1999". A Bit Of Pop Music. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
3. Kim, Michelle. "Charli XCX: Charli Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
4. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (1 October 2018). "Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Announce New Song '1999'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
5. "Ariana Grande claims second week at Number 1 with huge streaming numbers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
6. D'Souza, Shaad (9 June 2019). "Watch Charli XCX and Troye Sivan debut new song "2099"". The Fader. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
7. Just Dance (30 January 2020). Just Dance Unlimited: 1999 by Charli XCX & Troye Sivan | Official Track Gameplay (Trailer). Retrieved 6 February 2020 – via YouTube.
8. ^ Geffen, Sasha (5 October 2018). "'1999' by Charli XCX / Troye Sivan Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
9. "Does Charli XCX Know Her Lyrics?". Variety. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via YouTube.
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11. Brett, Mclaughlin; Noonie, Bao; Charlotte, Aitchison; Troye, Sivan; Oscar, Holter; Sivan, Charli XCX & Troye; XCX, Charli; Troye, Sivan (11 October 2018). "1999". Musicnotes.com.
12. ^ Krol, Charlotte (1 October 2018). "Charli XCX to drop new single '1999' with Troye Sivan on Friday". NME. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
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17. Bloom, Madison; Strauss, Matthew (11 October 2018). "Watch Charli XCX and Troye Sivan Dress Like Eminem, Britney Spears, Steve Jobs, More in Amazing New Video for '1999'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
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47. "1999 (Alphalove Remix)". 9 November 2018 – via open.spotify.com.
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• 2018 songs
• 2018 singles
• Charli XCX songs
• Troye Sivan songs
• Songs about nostalgia
• Cultural depictions of Britney Spears
• Songs written by Charli XCX
• Songs written by Troye Sivan
• Songs written by Leland (musician)
• Songs written by Oscar Holter
• Songs written by Noonie Bao
• Asylum Records singles
• Atlantic Records singles
• Deepfakes
• Male–female vocal duets
• Vengaboys songs
• 2021 singles