The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)

"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)"
Single by Las Ketchup
from the album Hijas del Tomate
B-side	Remix
Released	29 July 2002
Recorded	2002 in Lolmang Studios
Genre	Latin pop, surf pop
Length	3:32
Label	Altra Moda Columbia Sony
Writer(s)	Manuel Ruiz
Producer(s)	Manuel Ruiz
Certification	See certifications below
Las Ketchup singles chronology
"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (2002) "Kusha Las Payas" (2003) Music video "The Ketchup Song (Asereje) (Spanglish Version)" on YouTube

"The Ketchup Song", or "Aserejé" (pronounced [aseɾeˈxe] in Spanish and [aseɾeˈhɛː] in English), is a Latin dance-pop song recorded by the Spanish pop group Las Ketchup. It was released in July 2002 as the lead single from their debut studio album, Hijas del Tomate and it became an international hit that year.

The song exists in three versions, Spanish, a version in a mixture of English and Spanish (labeled as "Spanglish") and a version in Portuguese. The chorus of the song, since it's nonsensical, is identical in the three versions. This song reached number-one in the United Kingdom, as well as 26 other countries worldwide. As of 2006, the song has sold over 7 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.^[1]

Despite its title, The Ketchup Song is not about ketchup. It tells the story of a pimp-like, gypsy (afrogitano) with mystical qualities. Just after its release, the song became controversial because of rumors that it had emphatic references to Satanism, the devil and the inferno.^[2] The song's dance routine was a novelty in the early 2000s. Furthermore, the song and its dance moves were featured in the 2012 game Just Dance 4.

Background

	"The Ketchup Song (Asereje) (Spanish Version)" A 20 second sample of "The Ketchup Song", which features the chorus.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Las Ketchup was first introduced to Columbia Records through Shaketown Music, a small record label in Córdoba, Andalusia, who sent out the group's demo to a number of different record companies.^[3] The demo featured the songs “Asereje” and “Kusha Las Payas.” When A&R Javier Portugués and Columbia director Raúl López listened to the demo, they stared at each other in delight exclaiming, "Wow, this is fantastic!"^[3] At first the intention was to arrange a distribution deal with ShakeTown Music but upon hearing the song they realised its international potential and so negotiated for Las Ketchup to sign with Sony.^[3]

Composition

The song is written in the key of Eb minor and follows the chord progression of Ebm–C#–B–Abm–Bb7 in the chorus. The pre-chorus uses an altered chord (B minor), or a modal interchange, as the cadence.^[4] According to Pandora.com, the song features "mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, humorous lyrics, and electric guitar riffs".^[5]

Content

The song is about a transcendentally seductive man called Diego, who walks into a crowded nightclub at midnight on a Friday. He is described as "looking fine" with the "moon in his pupils (con la Luna en las pupilas)" as he checks out "every girl in sight". He is a regular, always "there in the disco (allí en la disco)", "playing sexy", "feeling hotter" and he dances like "he does the mambo". The DJ, who knows Diego, routinely plays the song "on the spot always around twelve" for him, where Diego dances to it. His dance moves and visage "hypnotize" the spectators in the club, where "some will call" him "charming (chuleria)". Mystically, Diego habitually "comes and disappears" in the club, convincing the people there that this a work of "witchcraft ("brujeria"). Due to this conjure, they are led to believe that he is "the real, Rastafari afrogitano".^[6]

Transliteration

The chorus is reminiscent of Spanish, but actually is a nonsensical distortion of the 1979 rap hit "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang.^[7]

I said a hip, hop, the hippie to the hippie

Aserejé ja de je de jebe

the hip-hip-hop, a you don't stop

tu de jebere sebiunouva (seibiunouva)

the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie

majabi (majavi) an de bugui

to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

an de buididipí

Music video

The music video was shot at Palm Beach, Estepona in Spain, at Chiringuito bar.

The video starts with the female band members laying out a carpet on the ground and putting the bar stools on display to set up their musical show. They then serve people exotic beverages at the beach bar. A male bar attendant with an afro enthusiastically pours drink in a glass and juggles a bottle around. Meanwhile, more and more beach-goers are shown drawing in to the bar, to watch the trio's performance. In some shots of the video, the trio would be performing near wooden window frames which are laid individually on the sandy beach.

During the song's chorus, the band members perform their signature dance moves of this song, alongside other visitors who also joyously participate. The band is then assisted to stand up on a table, where they execute their Asereje dance in front of a larger, jubilant crowd who gleefully jive in to the dance. By the end of the video, the crowd becomes jam-packed and in multitudes, with the young and old dancing to the song near the beach bar.^[8]

Dance routine

For the first dance move, the hands must be held open facing down and continuously waving them over another two times for six beats. The second involves tossing the thumb over the shoulder twice, right before spinning one's arm around each other while raising from the waistline to face level. The last move of the dance involves placing the back of one's hand on the forehead and the palm of the other hand on the back of the head while knocking one's knees together a couple of times.^[9]

Reception

Critical reviews

Andy Thomas from Drowned In Sound gave the song a 9 out of 10, stating, "The Ketchup Song is better than the Macarena...", while acknowledging that the song is "not smart, it's not clever, and it's not going to get a single positive review outside of the teeny bop press." Thomas described the song's band members (Las Ketchup) as "three slightly odd looking women from Spain who are the proud exponents of this year's Macarena. It's got dance moves (wiggle your hands, thumb a lift, raise your arms, knock your knees together) and a sunny video where the trio serve drinks in a beach bar."^[10]

Commercial success

The song reached the top of the charts in virtually every country it charted, except for the Billboard chart, where it peaked at number 54. In France, the song reached number-one for eleven weeks and eventually sold 1,310,000 copies, making it the best-selling single of 2002, and the second best-selling of the 21st century in the country, behind "Un Monde parfait" by Ilona Mitrecey.^[11] Furthermore, the song was the 50th best-selling single of the 2000s in the UK.^[12]

Controversy

The controversy that sparked was rooted in the title of the song, "Aserejé", which—if broken down—supposedly makes reference to a demonic being. The letter 'A' in Spanish means (to); ser (be); and hereje (heretical).^[13]

Aserejé, ja, de je, de jebe tu de jebere sebiunouva, majabi an de bugui an de buididipi reportedly means "Asejeré" (Spanish: un ser hereje — "a heretic being"), ja (the letters of Jehovah), deje, dejebe tu dejebe (deja tu ser — leave your being); if connected, it reads un ser hereje Jehová deja tu ser, or, "a heretic being Jehovah leave your being."^[2][13] Other lyrics like No es cosa de brujería que lo encuentre to' los días (pecando) por donde voy caminando ("It's not witchcraft the fact that I find him (sinning) everyday wherever I walk through") supposedly make references to a demonic being, just like Diego tiene chulería ("Diego has natural charm"), which some critics say it literally means that the Devil is a beautiful angel.

The Spanish lyrics, such as, Mira lo que se avecina, a la vuelta de la esquina viene Diego ("Look what's coming up, around the corner comes Diego") supposedly signifies Diego as some kind of messenger.^[13] Con la Luna en las pupilas ("With the moon in his pupils") supposedly means Diego can only be seen at night; Y donde más no cabe un alma ("And there, where no soul can be squeezed in") supposedly means hell; Y el DJ que lo conoce toca el himno de las doce ("And the DJ that knows him [the messenger] plays the midnight hymn") is supposedly a reference to Satanic rituals, which usually occur at midnight.

The group members, however, have insisted that the song is in large parts nonsensical rather than satanical.^[13]

Track listings

CD maxi
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Spanglish Version)	3:32
2.	"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Spanish Version)	3:32 Song (Aserejé)
4.	Untitled (Motown Club Single Edit)	3:41

CD maxi
No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Crystal Sound Xmas mix)	3:50
2.	"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Karaoke Version)	3:44
3.	"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (Chiringuito Club mix)	5:30
4.	"The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (video – Crystal Sound Xmas mix)

Charts and sales

Weekly charts Chart (2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[14] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[17] 1 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[18] 1 Denmark (Tracklisten)[19] 1 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[20] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] 1 France (SNEP)[22] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[23] 1 Greece (IFPI)[24] 1 Hungary (Single Top 40)[25] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[26] 1 Italy (FIMI)[27] 1 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[28] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[31] 1 Poland (Polish Singles Chart)[32] 1 Portugal (Portuguese Singles Chart)[33] 1 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[34] 1 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[35] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 1 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[38] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[39] 54 US Hot Latin Songs (Billboard)[40] 1 US Tropical Songs (Billboard)[41] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2002) Position Australian Singles Chart[42] 5 Austrian Singles Chart[43] 2 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[44] 1 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[45] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[46] 1 French Singles Chart[47] 1 Irish Singles Chart[48] 3 Swiss Singles Chart[49] 1 UK Singles Chart[50] 8 Swedish Singles Chart[51] 1 Chart (2003) Position Australian Singles Chart[52] 8 Austrian Singles Chart[53] 23 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[54] 62 French Singles Chart[55] 24 Swiss Singles Chart[56] 45 UK Singles Chart[57] 171 Decade-end charts (2002–2009) Position Australian Singles Chart[58] 11 German Singles Chart[59] 8

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[60]	3× Platinum	210,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[61]	2× Platinum	0^*
Belgium (BEA)[62]	5× Platinum	250,000^*
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[63]	2× Platinum	20,000^^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[64]	Platinum	15,483[64]
France (SNEP)[65]	Diamond	1,750,000[66]
Germany (BVMI)[67]	2× Platinum	1,000,000^^
Greece (IFPI Greece)[68]	2× Platinum	40,000^^
Japan (RIAJ)[69]	Platinum	50,000^^
Netherlands (NVPI)[70]	Platinum	60,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[71]	2× Platinum	0^*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[72]	6× Platinum	60,000^*
Sweden (GLF)[73]	4× Platinum	120,000^^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[74]	3× Platinum	120,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[75]	Platinum	600,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

References

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2. "Prohiben 'Aserejé' hasta en la TV". Terra Networks (in Spanish). 4 April 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
3. "Interview With Javier Portugués". HitQuarters. 11 Nov 2002. Retrieved 3 Jun 2011.
4. http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0055224
5. https://www.pandora.com/las-ketchup/barbie-girls/aserje-ketchup-song
6. http://www.ndr.de/ndr1niedersachsen/sendungen/Las-Ketchup-Ketchup-Song,lasketchup112.html
7. "TODO LO QUE SUBE DEBE BAJAR, LO IMPORTANTE ES QUE AHORA ESTAMOS ARRIBA". Terra Networks (in Spanish). 2004. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
8. https://www.thelocal.es/20160621/whatever-happened-to-las-ketchup-music-world-music-day
9. Brian Walters (1 May 2004). Call to Prayer: My Travels in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Virtualbookworm Publishing. pp. 148–. ISBN 978-1-58939-592-3.
10. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/5610/reviews/5042
11. "Top 100 des singles les plus vendus du millénaire en France, le top 10 final!". Chartsinfrance, PureCharts. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
12. Radio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday 29 December 2009, presented by Nihal
13. "Tachan de satánicas a Las Ketchup". El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). 15 October 2002. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
14. "Australian-charts.com – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
15. "Austriancharts.at – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
16. "Ultratop.be – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
17. "Ultratop.be – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" (in French). Ultratop 50.
18. "Las Ketchup – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Las Ketchup.
19. "Danishcharts.com – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)". Tracklisten.
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21. "Las Ketchup: The Ketchup Song" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-27).
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24. "Greek peak". Web.archive.org. 1 December 2002. Archived from the original on 2002-12-01. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
25. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
26. "Chart Track: Week 46, 2002". Irish Singles Chart.
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28. "Las Ketchup – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for Las Ketchup.
29. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Las Ketchup search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
30. "Charts.org.nz – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)". Top 40 Singles.
31. "Norwegiancharts.com – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)". VG-lista.
32. "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on 2007-10-15.
33. "Top40-charts.com". Retrieved November 24, 2015.
34. "Romanian Top 100". Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
35. "Spanishcharts.com – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)" Canciones Top 50.
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37. "Swisscharts.com – Las Ketchup – The Ketchup Song (Aserejé)". Swiss Singles Chart.
38. "Las Ketchup: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
39. Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved 19 July 2008)
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46. The first is the list of the best-selling domestic singles of 2002 in Finland, the second is that of the foreign singles:
    • "Myydyimmät kotimaiset singlet vuonna 2002" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
    • "Myydyimmät ulkomaiset singlet vuonna 2002" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-08-27.
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66. "Les Singles Diamant :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
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