Fill Me In

"Fill Me In" is the debut solo single by British singer Craig David. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, Born to Do It (2000). The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in April 2000. It was then released in the US in May 2001 and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. According to the Official Charts Company, it was the tenth best-selling single of 2000 in the UK, having sold 573,000 copies.[2]

"Fill Me In"
Single by Craig David
from the album Born to Do It
Released	3 April 2000 (UK) May 2001 (US)
Recorded	1999
Genre	2-step garage[1]
Length	4:16 (album version) 3:53 (radio edit)
Label	Wildstar Edel Germany Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Craig David Mark Hill
Producer(s)	Mark Hill
Craig David singles chronology
"Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)" (1999) "Fill Me In" (2000) "7 Days" (2000)
Alternative covers
UK CD: 2 cover
Alternative cover
US CD cover

The track contains a sample from an Artful Dodger bootleg remix of BBMak's "Still on Your Side".[3] There is a second part of the song which features on Born to Do It.

Content

The narrator tells a story of trying to hang out with the girl next door but her parents remain suspicious about what she is up to.[2] The song is a commentary on the "helicopter parenting" that was becoming more prominent in the early 2000s. In the hook, the parents ask if their daughter can fill them in on what is going on in her life.

Chart performance

The single reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, spending 15 weeks inside the top 75. It was also David's first top 20 single in the US, peaking at number 15. On 28 December 2009, when BBC Radio 1 presenter Nihal revealed "The Official Top 100 Songs of the Decade", "Fill Me In" was at number 93.[4]

After his success with Artful Dodger, Craig's first solo hit debuted at number one in the UK top 40 in the week of 15 April 2000.[5] "Fill Me In" topped the charts in an unusual week: all top six positions in the top 10 were new entries, including hits by Sweet Female Attitude's "Flowers", Richard Ashcroft and Steps. After one week at the top, Craig dropped to number two for two weeks, replaced at number one by "Toca's Miracle" by Fragma. Nevertheless, "Fill Me In" managed to clock an impressive 10 weeks inside the top 40, being the chart's longest-running hit at the time it departed on 24 June.

The single had a delayed release in the US until late spring 2001. On 30 June – almost a year after it left the UK top 40 – "Fill Me In" entered the Billboard Hot 100 top 40 at number 28.[6] The song climbed easily into the top 20 the following week, remaining there until October, peaking at number 15 on 1 September. After a brief dip, the song revived for another two weeks at number 15 in late October. In total, Craig managed 23 weeks inside the US top 40 before finally bowing out on 8 December.

Music video

There are different versions of the music video released in the UK and in the US. The UK music video, directed by Max & Dania, has David telling a story about how he tried many times to romance his girlfriend who lived next door to him but each of his attempts to be alone with his girlfriend failed as his girlfriend's parents always interrupted and he had to hide before they left again. According to an interview on his first Greatest Hits album, the girl in the UK music video is a South African woman whose identity has never been known. The US version, directed by Darren Grant, has a different picturisation and this time Craig's girlfriend is mixed race.

Formats and track listings

UK CD 1

1. "Fill Me In" (radio edit)
2. "Apartment 543"
3. "Fill Me In" (Artful Dodger's Bootleg mix)
4. "Fill Me In" (video)

UK CD 2

1. "Fill Me In" (radio edit)
2. "Fill Me In" (Artful Dodger remix)
3. "Fill Me In" (Sunship remix)
4. "Fill Me In" (Full Crew remix)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2000–2001) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 6 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 28 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[9] 6 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[10] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] 10 France (SNEP)[12] 34 Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 37 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[14] 24 Ireland (IRMA)[15] 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 5 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 8 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 11 Norway (VG-lista)[19] 16 Scotland (OCC)[20] 5 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 28 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 45 UK Singles (OCC)[23] 1 UK Indie (OCC)[24] 39 UK R&B (OCC)[25] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[26] 15 US Hot Dance Music Sales (Billboard)[27] Remixes 2 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[28] 19 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[29] 7 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[30] 10

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Australia (ARIA)[31] 68 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[32] 90 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[33] 40 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[34] 59 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[35] 10 Chart (2001) Position US Billboard Hot 100[36] 37 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[37] 85 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position UK Top 100 Songs of the Decade[4] 93 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[38] Platinum 70,000^^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[39] Gold 5,000^* United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Platinum 573,000[2] ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Release date
United Kingdom	3 April 2000
United States	May 2001

Cover versions and sampling

"Fill Me In" was sampled in Justin Bieber's 2013 single "Recovery", and Loud Luxury's 2017 single, "Something to Say" (later titled "Fill Me In"). In 2015, Pia Mia and Austin Mahone recorded a cover of the song as a duet with new instrumentals. In 2019, DJ Spoony together with Katie Chatburn and the Ignition Orchestra featuring Raleigh Ritchie on vocals recorded an orchestral version of the song for the UK garage covers album Garage Classical.

References

1. Sexton, Paul (29 April 2000). Williamson, Nigel (ed.). "Global Music Pulse" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 112 no. 18. p. 73. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
2. "Official Charts Flashback 2000: Craig David – Fill Me In". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
3. Sam, "Mark Hill/Artful Dodger [Producer]". Speakhertz, 24 April 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
4. Radio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on 29 December 2009, presented by DJ Nihal
5. McAleer, David (2009). The Virgin Book of Top 40 Charts. UK: Virgin Books. pp. 798–802. ISBN 978-0-7535-2200-4.
6. "Week of 06/30/2001". Billboard. 30 June 2001. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
7. "Australian-charts.com – Craig David – Fill Me In". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
8. "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Fill Me In" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
9. "Ultratop.be – Craig David – Fill Me In" (in French). Ultratip.
10. "Craig David Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
11. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17 no. 17. 22 April 2000. p. 16. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
12. "Lescharts.com – Craig David – Fill Me In" (in French). Les classement single.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Craig David – Fill Me In". GfK Entertainment Charts.
14. "Íslenski Listinn Sætin 21 til 40 (1.6–8.6 2000)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 June 2000. p. 10. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
15. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Fill Me In". Irish Singles Chart.
16. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 29, 2000" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 14 November 2018.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Craig David – Fill Me In" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
18. "Charts.nz – Craig David – Fill Me In". Top 40 Singles.
19. "Norwegiancharts.com – Craig David – Fill Me In". VG-lista.
20. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
21. "Swedishcharts.com – Craig David – Fill Me In". Singles Top 100.
22. "Swisscharts.com – Craig David – Fill Me In". Swiss Singles Chart.
23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
24. "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
25. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
26. "Craig David Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
27. "Craig David Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
28. "Craig David Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
29. "Craig David Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
30. "Craig David Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
31. "2000 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
32. "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17 no. 52. 23 December 2000. p. 9. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
33. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2000". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
34. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2000" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
35. "Best Sellers of 2000: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media. 20 January 2001. p. 25.
36. "Billboard Top 100 – 2001". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
37. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
38. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
39. "New Zealand single certifications – Craig David – Fill Me In". Recorded Music NZ.
40. "British single certifications – Craig David – Fill Me In". British Phonographic Industry.