“Around the World” by Daft Punk
Lyric-wise, Daft Punk’s “Around the World” features nothing but the phrase “around the world”, being repeated almost 150 times.
So it is sometimes with dance songs by the likes of Daft Punk. So we can confidently say that this piece is definitely open to listener interpretation. But at the same time the title is a discernible phrase, even if only a preposition, which once again is being repeated over and over again.
And if nothing else, of course the term “around the world” conjures up a feeling of globalization or travel or what have you. So regardless how we may interpret this piece individually, such an idea serves as a starting point.
“Around the World” Facts
Artist(s): Daft Punk
Album/EP: “Homework”
Was “Around the World” a single release?
Yes. It was a single that came out in 1997 off their album, “Homework”.
Credits
“Around the World” was written and produced by none other than Daft Punk themselves.
What Music Genre(s) is this Song? French house
It falls within the brackets of a genre known as French house.
Accolades
“Around the World” earned a nomination for “Best Dance Recording” at the Annual Grammy Awards in 1999. The track, however, lost the award to Madonna’s “Ray of Light”. Three other songs listed below had the same fate:
- “When Will You Learn” by Boy George
- “Heaven’s What I Feel” by Gloria Estefan
- “Disco Inferno” by Cyndi Lauper
Chart Performance:
- US (61)
- UK (1)
- Scotland (7)
- Italy (1)
- Ireland (8)
- Iceland (1)
- Canada (1)
Sampling
Since “Around the World” was released in the late 1990s, several artists have sampled it. For example, in 2010, JoJo sampled it in her song “You Take Me (Around the World)”. Then in 2011, Madeon also sampled it in the song “Pop Culture”.
Daft Punk’s “Homework” Album
Daft Punk released the French house song, Around the World, as the second single from their first studio album, Homework, in January 1997. Just as its title, Around the World was a major hit globally. It hugely increased the success of its album, Homework. The duo solely composed all the sixteen songs on the album, while Virgin Records and Soma Quality Records carried out its production and release.
According to the duo, they titled the album Homework because of how they recorded the song on it. They recorded all the songs at home easily, shoddily, and impulsively in the same manner students do their homework at home.
They have also stated that most of the songs on the album were recorded separately over five months. Thus, before recording, they did not intend to record an album. The duo only decided to compile an album after consistently listening to the songs and felt it was good quality.
Homework was distributed in about 35 countries worldwide shortly after its release. At the end of February 2001, Billboard announced that the album had sold over two million records globally, according to a source from Virgin records.
FYI: the album also features the hit song “Da Funk”.
