“Sorry, Blame It On Me” by Akon

As the title suggests the singer is in fact willing to take the blame – for a variety of instances at that. Or let’s say he is cool with the idea of being a scapegoat. But this isn’t because he’s passive. Rather he is genuinely sorry for the pain he has caused others, as well as the emotional suffering they go through which he is not directly involved in. Or another way of putting it is that he is very-sympathetic. And during the first two verses these feelings are extended specifically to a romantic partner whom he has neglected, in addition to the members of his family, which appears to be dysfunctional.

Meanwhile the third verse takes on a more-sarcastic tone, albeit remaining overall apologetic. It speaks specifically to the incident which apparently spurred the concoction of this song in the first place.

The Incident

And this incident was when Akon was captured, on video, whining with an underaged girl on stage.

His actions caused a monumental backlash which he did, in a way, actually take the blame for. But the major repercussion of this action was that Verizon, a powerful telecommunications’ company, decided to pull its sponsorship away from Gwen Stefani’s The Sweet Escape Tour. This was because Akon was one of her main opening acts. So he apologizes in the song for causing her this misfortune. However, he defends himself by pointing out that both the club and the girl’s family, not himself, were responsible for her being in such an adult venue. Or simply put, his defense is that he didn’t know she was that young.

Then he goes on to take a jab at Verizon, basically accusing them of unjustifiably ‘disgracing his name’. But at the end of day since he ‘loves his fans’ he’ll play the role of the martyr, if you will, and “take that blame”. Indeed he concludes the song by flipping the chorus, stating outrightly that this time around he’s accepting the blame even though he knows it’s not his fault.

In Conclusion…

So all things considered, the overall sentiment of this song is one where Akon recognizes the imperfections which are part and parcel of being human. Indeed during the intro he even apologizes for the mistakes he hasn’t made yet. And later when talking about the aforementioned lady, he classifies her as “just a little young girl trying to have fun”. And as illustrated in the second, family-centered verse especially, the singer has come to realize that all people give and receive emotional pain. But oftentimes they do so, as illustrated throughout this song, unintentionally.

More about Incident that inspired this song

The aforementioned incident between Akon and the girl happened in Trinidad & Tobago in early 2007. And when Verizon pulled out of Gwen Stefani’s The Sweet Escape Tour as a result, it reportedly cost her $3 million in sponsorship money.

Writing Credits for “Sorry, Blame It on Me”

“Sorry, Blame It on Me” was written exclusively by Akon and produced by Clinton Sparks.

Chart Performance

This track charted in over 15 nations, including peaking at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Brazilian Singles Chart.

Release Date of “Sorry, Blame It On Me”

“Sorry, Blame It on Me” was released as the fifth single from “Konvicted” on 17 July 2007. “Konvicted” was second official studio album of Akon’s career.

This song was put out by Interscope Records, Motown Records and Akon’s own Konvict Muzik.