The World's Greatest

"The World's Greatest"
Single by R. Kelly
from the album Ali: Original Soundtrack & Chocolate Factory (Bonus Disc Version)
B-side	I Decided
Released	18 February 2002
Format	CD single
Recorded	2001
Genre	R&B, gospel
Length	4:37 (Radio Edit)
Label	Jive
Writer(s)	R. Kelly
Producer(s)	R. Kelly
R. Kelly singles chronology
"A Woman's Threat" (2001) "The World's Greatest" (2002) "Ignition (Remix)" (2003)
Chocolate Factory track listing 24 tracks Track list "Chocolate Factory" "Step in the Name of Love" "Heart of a Woman" "I'll Never Leave" "Been Around the World" "You Made Me Love You" "Forever" "Dream Girl" "Ignition" "Ignition (Remix)" "Forever More" "You Knock Me Out" "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)" "Imagine That" "Showdown" "Snake" "Who's That" Loveland bonus disc "Loveland" "What Do I Do" "Heaven I Need a Hug" "The World's Greatest" "Far More" "Raindrops" "Apologies of a Thug" (Europe bonus track)

"The World's Greatest" is a song written and recorded by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was originally featured on the soundtrack to the film Ali,^[1] and also appeared on bootleg copies of Kelly's unreleased album, Loveland, which later became a bonus disc to Chocolate Factory.^[2] It was covered by folk singer Bonnie Prince Billy on his 2007 EP Ask Forgiveness.

Music video

The music video is directed by Bille Woodruff. Kelly is a boxer in this video, playing the part of Muhammad Ali, as this song was originally a tribute to him. There is no color in the video except for red, Kelly's boxing clothes happen to have that color.

Reception and awards

The song reached number 31 on the Billboard R&B chart.^[3] Its music video, which portrayed Kelly as a boxer,^[4] was in heavy rotation on channels like MTV and BET. In the UK, it peaked at number four.

Track listing

UK CD single^[5]

1. "The World's Greatest" (Radio Edit)
2. "The World's Greatest" (Album Version)
3. "I Decided"

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart Peak position Dutch Singles Chart 2 French Singles Chart 3 German Singles Chart 13 Belgium Single Chart 9 Irish Singles Chart 6 New Zealand Singles Chart 41 Swiss Singles Chart 11 Swedish Single Chart 7 UK Singles Chart 4 US Billboard Hot 100 34 US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 31 US Top 40 Mainstream 24 US Top 40 Tracks 28

Year-end charts End of year chart (2002) Position UK Singles Chart[6] 64 Certifications Territory Certifier Certification Sales UK BPI Silver[7] 200,000 Sweden IFPI Gold[8] 20,000

Cover versions

Year	Artist	Album
2007	Bonnie Prince Billy	Ask Forgiveness
2012	Ellen and the Escapades	All The Crooked Scenes

References

1. Other reviews by Glenn McClanan (2003-08-30). "SoundtrackNet : Ali Soundtrack". Soundtrack.net. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
2. "Don't Just Listen, Be Heard". Soundcrank. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
4. "Video". Technorati. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
5. The World's Greatest: R. Kelly: Amazon.co.uk: Music
6. "UK Top 100 - 2002". Retrieved 2010-08-28.
7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2016.