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Shackles (Praise You)
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Wikipedia article
"'Shackles (Praise You)'" is the debut single by American gospel singer-songwriter duo Mary Mary, released on February 29, 2000, in the United States. It is considered the group's signature song. Stan North of GospelFlava.com deemed it one of the pioneer songs of urban gospel music. The song was originally released as a promotional single for their debut album, 'Thankful', in 1999. They both feature the same track listing but different album covers, the second using a picture of the duo.
"Shackles" became a top-10 hit in several countries around the world, including Australia, Denmark, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, and it charted well in other major music markets. Mary Mary later shot a music video for the song. A sample of this song was featured on Stormzy's song titled "Rainfall", which was a part of his 2019 album 'Heavy Is the Head'.
Crossover success
"Shackles (Praise You)" became a crossover hit, being popular with gospel, R&B, and pop audiences. It was a top 10 R&B and top 40 pop hit, and peaked at number 28 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 chart. It became the first gospel song in five years to crack the R&B top ten and gained wide exposure on the MTV video cable channel. In addition, "Shackles" was one of the few gospel songs to receive significant airplay on many CCM stations and appeared on many compilation CDs (including 'WOW Hits').
The song was also a worldwide hit and reached number five in the United Kingdom and number 17 in Ireland. Across mainland Europe, the song was a top 10 hit Belgium, the Netherlands, and Norway. It also charted strongly in France, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland, peaking within the top 20. In Australia, the song reached number two in September 2000, behind Madonna's "Music", and was the highest-selling song of the year that did not reach the number-one spot, coming in at number 10 on Australia's year-end chart for 2000.
The song continues to be played regularly on Heart Radio in the UK.
Critical reception
Like many contemporary gospel songs, "Shackles" was not without its criticism; many cited the song as being too modern and not staying true to its gospel roots. Mary Mary responded by saying, "It's definitely contemporary. It's music that everybody in any style of music can relate to. It's universal, but the lyrics are undeniably Gospel."
Track listings
United States
'CD single'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (album version) 3:18
# "What a Friend" (snippet) 1:03
# "Be Happy" (snippet) 1:42
# "Thankful" (snippet) 1:11
# "Wade in the Water" (snippet) 1:39
'Maxi-CD single'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (single version) 3:18
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's radio mix) 3:45
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix) 8:55
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix instrumental) 8:55
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's New Year's Eve dub mix) 7:15
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (MO-apella) 2:46
'12-inch single'
:A1. "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix) 8:55
:A2. "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's New Year's Eve dub mix) 7:15
:B1. "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix instrumental) 8:55
:B2. "Shackles (Praise You)" (MO-apella) 2:46
:B3. "Shackles (Praise You)" (single version) 3:18
'Cassette single'
:A1. "Shackles (Praise You)" (album version) 3:18
:B1. "What a Friend" (snippet) 1:03
:B2. "Be Happy" (snippet) 1:42
:B3. "Thankful" (snippet) 1:11
:B4. "Wade in the Water" (snippet) 1:39
:B5. "Shackles (Praise You)" (MO-apella) 2:46
International
'Australian CD single'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (album version) 3:18
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's radio mix) 3:45
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix) 8:55
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix instrumental) 8:55
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's New Year's Eve dub mix) 7:15
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (MO-apella) 2:46
'European CD1'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (album version) 3:18
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's radio mix) 3:45
'European CD2'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (album version) 3:18
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's radio mix) 3:45
# "I Got It" 3:52
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix) 8:55
'UK CD1'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" 3:18
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Hil St. Soul mix) 3:33
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (2K mix by Tariq) 3:08
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (The Top Notch remix) 2:50
'UK CD2'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" 3:18
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's radio mix) 3:45
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix) 8:55
'UK cassette single'
# "Shackles (Praise You)" 3:18
# "Shackles (Praise You)" (Maurice's Carnival 2000 mix) 8:55
Personnel
* Vocals: Mary Mary
* All instruments: Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell
* Producer: Warryn Campbell
* Vocal producer: Mary Mary
* Writers: Warryn Campbell, Erica Atkins, Tina Atkins
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"!Chart (2000)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)
|10
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)
|51
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)
|27
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)
|40
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)
|40
|-
!scope="row"|Iceland (slenski Listinn Topp 40)
|45
|-
!scope="row"|Ireland (IRMA)
|89
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)
|24
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)
|17
|-
!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)
|100
|-
!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)
|51
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
|48
|-
!scope="row"|US 'Billboard' Hot 100
|100
|-
!scope="row"|US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ('Billboard')
|32
|}
Certifications
Release history
Mandisa version
In 2007 Mandisa covered "Shackles (Praise You)" on her debut album 'True Beauty'. Mandisa first performed the song during her time on 'American Idol'. Mandisa included a remix version of "Shackles (Praise You)" on her 2014 album "Get Up: The Remixes".
In popular culture
Drag queens Rebecca Glasscock and Shannel lip-synced to the song during the first season of the American reality competition television series 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. It was featured again in season 13 when Olivia Lux and Denali also lip-synced to the song.
References
Buy Shackles (Praise You) now from Amazon
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