Sean Paul And Beyoncé’s ‘Baby Boy’ Certified Platinum In The UK
Sean Paul and Beyoncé’s Baby Boy is now certified platinum in the United Kingdom, almost 20 years after its release.
According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), the collaboration was issued the Brit Certified Platinum Award on Friday (April 14), after it sold over 600,000 units in the UK, as measured by The Official Charts Company.
First released on August 3, 2003, as the second single off Beyoncé’s Grammy Award-winning Dangerously in Love album, Baby Boy was later added to the September 2003 re-release of Paul’s Grammy Award-winning Dutty Rock album.
The song was certified Platinum in the US last year.
It was an early hit for Beyoncé after she went solo following the breakup of Destiny’s Child. It spent 29 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, nine of which were at No. 1, and also 17 weeks on the UK Singles chart, where it peaked at No. 2.
Produced by Scott Storch and Beyoncé, it was also the singer’s longest-running No. 1 single in the US, until 2007 when Irreplaceable surpassed it. The song remains Paul’s longest-running No. 1 record in the US, ahead of Cheap Thrills (with Sia), which was No. 1 for four weeks.
Bey’s Dangerously in Love album peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and the UK Albums chart and is currently certified 6X Platinum in the US, for selling over 6 million units, and 4X Platinum in the UK, for selling over 2.4 million units.
Paul’s Dutty Rock peaked at No. 9 on the 200 chart, No. 2 on the UK Albums chart and is currently certified 3X Platinum in the US and the UK, for selling 3 million and 1.8 million units, respectively.
Baby Boy‘s music video was directed by Jake Nava, who also shot Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love video. The two artists were featured in separate scenes in the video, which is currently at 177 million views on YouTube.
Sean Paul has said that it “would be cool” to team up with Beyoncé once again. “The first time it was her asking me so maybe I should ask her now,” he told ET Canada in 2021.
However, the two have been dogged by reports that her husband Jay-Z, who co-wrote Baby Boy, had somehow felt threatened by their working relationship.
Last year, when asked whether he did indeed “hook up with Beyoncé,” Sean laughed and told the Daily Beast, “Nah! I wish I did! She’s beautiful.”
Baby Boy is Sean Paul’s tenth song to be certified Platinum or higher in the UK.
The Dancehall star’s other Platinum-certified singles in the country are Cheap Thrills with Sia (Platinum 5x), Breathe with Blu Cantrell (Platinum 2X), No Lie with Dua Lipa (Platinum 2X), What About Us with Saturdays (Platinum), Get Busy (Platinum), She Doesn’t Mind (Platinum), Boasty with Wiley and Stefflon Don (Platinum), Temperature (Platinum), and Dangerous Love with Fuse Odg (Platinum).
His Platinum-certified songs in the US are Shake Señora with Pitbull and T-Pain (Platinum), Cheap Thrills with Sia (8X Platinum), Rockabye with Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie (3X Platinum), Bailando with Enrique Iglesias (4X Platinum), Do You Remember with Jay Sean and Lil John (2X Platinum), We Be Burnin’ (Platinum), Get Busy (Platinum), and Temperature (3X Platinum).