Boombastic (song)


"Boombastic" is a song by Jamaican-American musical artist Shaggy from his third studio album, Boombastic. Released on June 5, 1995, the single achieved commercial success in many countries, including Ireland, UK, Sweden, New Zealand, and Australia, where it topped the singles charts. It spent a week at number one on the US Billboard R&B chart, and a similar stint atop the UK Singles Chart. It also reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. A remix featuring Sting International, which features a sample of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On", was released in January 1996. The latter is featured on some versions of the Boombastic album as a bonus track.

Critical reception

Bill Lamb from About.com said Shaggy "exhibits oodles of personal charm alongside the funky grooves" of the song. AllMusic editor David Jeffries called it "pivotal". Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that the song "jerks about with a hypnotic groove that owes as much to hip-hop and rave/pop as it does to traditional island music. Shaggy's toasting is quite friendly to mainstream pop ears, and he masterfully twists and bends the chorus. Primed for immediate picking by jeep listeners, smoking track comes in two radical versions that are designed to lure both street kids and their more mature counterparts." Tom Ewing from Freaky Trigger noted that Shaggy is "the benevolent monarch of this world, giving a comical, flirtatious, crowd-tickling performance, his army of mechanical instruments dancing in and out of his phrasing. His main trick here is using his voice like a yo-yo, winding his vowels out on "rohhhhhh-" before he flicks the word back "-mantic!"." John Kilgo from The Network Forty called it a "reggae/rap masterpiece". Gerald Martinez from New Sunday Times stated that "with sparse, hypnotic backig, Shaggy's boastful rapping carries the song." People said that the album "is more like the real reggae thing" and stated that "the raw title song is the style's most uncompromising Top 10 trip yet." Mark Sutherland from Smash Hits called it a "gruff, grinding ragga-lite track". In their review of Boombastic, Svenska Dagbladet stated that the song is the "gold particle" of the album.

Track listings

;United Kingdom
  1. "Boombastic" – 3:52
  2. "Boombastic" – 5:59
  1. "Boombastic" – 3:52
  2. "Boombastic" – 3:52
  3. "Boombastic" – 4:19
  4. "Boombastic" – 6:32
  5. "Boombastic" – 5:59
  6. "Boombastic" – 6:05
  1. "Boombastic" – 3:52
  2. "Boombastic" – 3:52
  3. "Boombastic" – 6:32
  4. "Boombastic" – 5:59
  1. "Boombastic" – 3:52
  2. "Boombastic" – 5:59
  1. "Boombastic" – 4:08
  2. "Boombastic" – 3:52
  3. "Boombastic" – 4:19
  4. "Boombastic" – 6:32
  5. "Boombastic" – 5:59
  6. "Boombastic" – 6:05
  1. "Boombastic" – 6:32
  2. "Boombastic" – 6:05
;United States
  1. "Boombastic" – 4:08
  2. "Boombastic" – 4:16
  3. "Boombastic" – 6:32
  4. "In the Summertime" – 4:00
  5. "Gal Yu a Pepper" – 4:16
  1. "Boombastic" – 4:08
  2. "Boombastic" – 4:16
  3. "In the Summertime" – 4:00
  4. "Gal Yu a Pepper" – 4:16
  1. "Boombastic" – 4:08
  2. "Boombastic" – 4:16
  3. "Boombastic" – 6:05
  4. "In the Summertime" – 4:00
  5. "Gal Yu a Pepper" – 4:16

    Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Australian Singles Chart16
Eurochart Hot 10075

Certifications