Wikipedia

Layla (DJ Robin & Schürze song)

"Layla" (pronunciation: [ˈlaɪ̯.lɐ]) is a hit song by DJ Robin & Schürze that reached number one on the music charts of Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the summer of 2022.

"Layla"
Song by DJ Robin & Schürze
ReleasedMarch 25, 2022 (2022-03-25)
GenreParty-Schlager
Length3:07
LabelSummerfield
Songwriter(s)Michael Müller, Robin Leutner
Producer(s)Dennis Geist, Thomas Wendt

Lyrics and music edit

The song is entirely in German and tells of the singer recently having been approached on the street by the owner of a brothel whose madam is called Layla, a woman who is described as being "schöner, jünger, geiler"[1] ("prettier, younger, sexier";[2] the word "geil", of which "geiler" is the comparative, is somewhat hard to translate into English, see the article on a 1986 song under that name). The singer decides to enter the facility to convince himself of Layla's reported beauty, finding that she is indeed very attractive. There is no further clue as to whether the singer engages in any further contact with Layla or with any other person in the brothel.[citation needed]

The song belongs to the genre of so-called "Party-Schlager" style songs. This kind of music is often played in large disco pubs and seaside resorts on Mallorca which are often frequented by younger visitors from German-speaking countries; on mainstream radio stations, however, this genre usually receives only very limited airplay.[3]

Reception edit

The song entered the German chart in the spring of 2022 and climbed to the top position within five weeks; later, the song entered the Austrian and Swiss charts where it eventually also went to number one. Because of its success in these three countries, the song also entered the Billboard Global 200 chart where it reached #42.[4]

Controversy edit

After some concern of the song being "sexist" due to its lyrics, the song was recommended not to be played at volksfests in some cities, notably Würzburg, Düsseldorf and Munich. This was seen by many as an outright ban, which sparked a reaction by German Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann, who stated on Twitter that while lyrics of this sort need not be liked by everyone, a ban by local authorities would be "a bit too much".[5] Other public figures and musicians joined the debate, often defending artistic license and freedom of speech. The controversy around the song is believed to have contributed much to its success. Austrian radio station Ö3, which broadcasts the Austrian top 40 chart show every week, but does not play songs containing foul language (e.g. certain rap songs in German), decided to play "Layla" without any censoring;[6] so did German TV station ZDF in a family show on daytime television.[7]

Charts edit

Weekly charts edit

Weekly chart performance for "Layla"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 1
Global 200 (Billboard)[9] 42
Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 1

Year-end charts edit

2022 year-end chart performance for "Layla"
Chart (2022) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 16
Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 30

Certifications edit

Certifications for "Layla"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[15] Platinum 30,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[16] 3× Gold 600,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[17] Platinum 20,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers and renditions edit

The song has also been published in Dutch[18] and in English. Additionally, instrumental covers by professional and amateur musicians have appeared on the Internet, including a rendition by a band from the Bundeswehr.[citation needed]

References edit

  1. ^ ""Schöner, jünger, geiler": Ballermann-Song "Layla" ist Sommerhit 2022". rollingstone.de. August 4, 2022.
  2. ^ "'Sexist' party hit Layla gets the elbow from German beer festivals". thetimes.co.uk. August 4, 2022.
  3. ^ Koch, Tanit; mattwithers (2022-07-27). "Germansplaining: The song of the silly season". The New European. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  4. ^ Cabral, R. J. (September 15, 2020). "Billboard Global 200". Billboard.
  5. ^ Schulze, Katrin (July 13, 2022). "Ist der Partyhit "Layla" sexistisch?". Der Tagesspiegel Online – via Tagesspiegel.
  6. ^ "Ballermann-Hit "Layla" nicht im regulären Ö3-Programm". DER STANDARD.
  7. ^ NACHRICHTEN, n-tv. "ZDF holt sich "Layla" in den "Fernsehgarten"". n-tv.de.
  8. ^ "DJ ROBIN & SCHÜRZE – Layla" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Billboard Global 200". Billboard. 6 August 2022. Rank 89, shows peak at 42. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  10. ^ "DJ Robin and Schürze – Layla" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  11. ^ "DJ Robin & Schürze – Layla". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  12. ^ "Ö3-Austria Top40 Single-Jahrescharts 2022". Ö3 Austria Top 40. 8 November 2019. Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Jahrescharts 2022" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2022". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Austrian single certifications – DJ Robin & Schürze – Layla" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (DJ Robin & Schürze; 'Layla')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  17. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Layla')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  18. ^ ""Layla" ist jetzt auch Puffmama in Holland". www.bz-berlin.de. July 18, 2022.
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