Simple Plan, Sean Paul’s ‘Summer Paradise’ Certified Silver In The UK

Sean Paul’s surfing-inspired collab with Canadian rock band Simple Plan was certified Silver in the UK on Friday, August 12.

According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the song was issued the Brit Certified Silver Award after it sold over 200,000 units in the UK, as measured by The Official Charts Company.

Summer Paradise was first released with Somali rapper K’Naan on Simple Plan’s Get Your Heart On! album in 2011.   The version, which was released as a single in early 2012, had featured Sean Paul instead.

Written by Emanuel Kiriakou, band members Chuck Comeau and Pierre Bouvier and Sean Paul, the song was inspired by Bouvier’s surfing hobby.  The official video, which has over 137 million views on YouTube, was shot in Barbados.

The song peaked at No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart and at No. 8 on Billboard’s Canadian Hot 100.  It was also a Top 10 hit in Australia, Austria, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Sweden.

Summer Paradise is currently certified 3X Platinum in Canada (240,000 units), 2X Platinum in Australia (140,000 units), and Platinum in Italy and Switzerland, after selling 30,000 units each.

Simple Plan, whose musical style is often described as alternative rock or punk rock, is known for other hit songs such as I’m Just A Kid, Perfect , and Welcome To My Life. The Dutty Rock deejay has often spoken about how “moody” grunge and punk rock melodies have influenced his sound.

“I had an appetite for rock music, but when grunge came around, it just hit me on a different level,” Paul told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe last year.  “It hit me with a feeling, of some feelings like, ‘Yo, this is moody.’ And it’s not just like ‘we’re winning all the time’ type music. It was like, sometimes I lose bro. Sometimes I lose big time and I’m saying it to you and you feel it in the heart.”

In addition to Nirvana and the late Kurt Cobain, who he hailed as a “prolific writer”, Paul recently told BBC Sounds that The Beatles and Red Hot Chili Peppers were among his biggest musical influences.