"So Sick" is an R&B–pop song by American
singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. The track was produced by Norwegian
production team Stargate for Ne-Yo's debut album
In My Own Words.
The song was released as the second single from the album.
It was successful on charts worldwide, reaching #1 in the
United States and the United Kingdom. It's also Ne-Yo's biggest
hit so far although the single also battled through
controversy. It won the race to the UK #1 spot, beating
"Nature's Law" by Embrace which only reached #2 due to a large
count of legal download sales of "Nature's Law" which didn't
register in the official charts.
Ne-Yo met Norwegian production team, Stargate, consisting of
Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, in a hallway at Sony
Music Studios on West 54th Street, New York City after the duo
had settled there in the spring of 2005. After finding out they
produced R&B-oriented tracks, among others, they started on
writing songs for his debut album
In My Own Words. They produced six songs, including "So
Sick".
Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen of Stargate
composed the music for the song, while Ne-Yo composed the
lyric. "So Sick" centers on a character, who is tired of
hearing love songs playing on the radio, as they remind him of
his last relationship and breakup.
Ne-Yo has said he got the idea for the song from an old
girlfriend he used to have. He really did love her but he
listened to the advice of his friends and wound up cheating on
her. They broke up when she found out but shortly after he
started repeatedly hearing a song on the radio that she used to
love, which was unusual because the song wasn't new and it
hadn't had much airplay until that point. Every time he heard
the song he was reminded of how he lost his girlfriend and
wanted to turn the radio off but he would always keep listening
to it because it also reminded him of how much he loved her and
all the good times they shared.
"So Sick" received generally positive responses from
contemporary critics. Bill Lamb of About stated that the smooth
instrumental of the song makes it stand out and appropriate to
listen during mid-winter season. He was pleased with the vocals
of Ne-Yo, but noted that "more emotional involvement would have
made his performance more memorable", while calling
"restrained". A review from Contactmusic.com echoed the
latter's comment, saying that his vocal rendition is
"stunning", while complimenting the production a "melodic
masterpiece".
The video for "So Sick", directed by Hype Williams, saw
heavy rotation on BET and MTV. Two versions of the song's video
were shot. The original version of the music video ended up
being scrapped for various reasons. The newer version appealed
to the current weather conditions of the winter season with the
video being filmed in the snowy mountains.
There are currently 5 "So Sick" remixes. One features Jin.
The official remix features LL Cool J and also samples Michael
Jackson's song, "Human Nature". This remix is on LL Cool J's
11th album,
Todd Smith. Another remix features labelmate Jay-Z.
Another remix which is sung by Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy
has also been known to cover the song. In 2007, saxophonist Kim
Waters covers the song on Track #1 on
You Are My Lady. There is also one with 2Pac. There is
also a version that uses the "Seasons" riddim.
Side A
Side B