"They" is the first single released by Welsh singer Jem from her debut album, Finally Woken (2004). It includes a sample of the Swingle Singers' 1963 adaptation of Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude in F minor (BWV 881) from Book II of Well-Tempered Clavier from their album Jazz Sebastian Bach. Jem recorded the song's vocals in her mother's spare bedroom. "They" was released in the United States in February 2004 and was issued worldwide the following year. The song became Jem's most successful single, reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart, number one in Hungary, and further top 10 places in Wallonia, Ireland, and Greece.

Music videos

Jem released two music videos for "They". The UK version, directed by Laurent Briet, features Jem stripping herself in a spaceship in the style of Jane Fonda in the opening scene of Barbarella (although she remains covered by strategically placed light based holograms of planetary orbital paths); this is actually a boy dreaming about her as he constructs a model of the same spaceship back on Earth. The US version features Jem walking at a park while being accompanied by a number of children. She then encounters several signs and decides to disobey them. Some intercut scenes show her at a roundabout being spun by children.

Track listings

UK CD1 UK CD2 and Australian CD single

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the Finally Woken album booklet. Locations Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history