Sexed Up

2003 single by Robbie Williams

"Sexed Up"

Single by Robbie Williams

from the album Escapology

Released

3 November 2003 (2003-11-03)

Genre

Soft rock^[1]

Length

4:19 (album version)
4:10 (radio mix)

Label

Chrysalis

Songwriter(s)

Robbie Williams
Guy Chambers

Producer(s)

Guy Chambers
Steve Power

Robbie Williams singles chronology

"Something Beautiful"
(2003)

"Sexed Up"
(2003)

"Radio"
(2004)

Music video

"Sexed Up" on YouTube

"Sexed Up" is a song by British pop singer Robbie Williams, released as the fourth and last single from his album Escapology in November 2003. It was originally recorded for Natalie Imbruglia, who turned it down. Williams had earlier released it in 1998 in demo form as the B-side to his single "No Regrets".

There are two versions of the song, the album/single version and an unplugged version. The unplugged version has one different lyric line ("I'll lay a bet/that I'm okay" instead of "I can't awaken the dead/day after day" on the first verse) and the guitar solo before the bridge is one measure longer.

Chart performance

The single became another top-ten hit for Robbie Williams in the United Kingdom when it was released in November that year, peaking at number 10,^[2] and it reached the top 20 in Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands.^[3]^[4]^[5] In Brazil, the song was a hit after being included in the soundtrack of telenovela Mulheres Apaixonadas, in which it played as the theme to the characters Diogo (Rodrigo Santoro) and Marina (Paloma Duarte), a young married couple plagued by infidelity. The single received a special limited release in Australia and New Zealand featuring a bonus live track, special packing and a bonus fold-out poster.

Music video

The music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund and features the actress Jaime King.

Track listings

UK CD single^[6]

"Sexed Up" – 4:19
"Get a Little High" – 3:55
"Appliance of Science" – 4:52
Trailer
Photo gallery

UK DVD single^[7]

"Sexed Up" (video) – 4:06
"Appliance of Science" (audio) – 4:52
"Big Beef" (audio) – 3:40
Trailer
Photo gallery

European CD single^[8]

"Sexed Up" – 4:19
"Get a Little High" – 3:55

Australian and New Zealand CD single^[9]

"Sexed Up" – 4:19
"Get a Little High" – 3:55
"Appliance of Science" – 4:52
"Rock DJ" (live at Knebworth)
Trailer
Photo gallery

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the Escapology album booklet.^[10]

Recording

Recorded in Los Angeles and London
Mixed at The Record Plant (Los Angeles)
Mastered at Marcussen Mastering (Los Angeles)

Personnel

Robbie Williams – writing, lead vocals
Guy Chambers – writing, piano, production, arrangement
Gary Nuttall – acoustic guitar
Neil Taylor – electric guitar
Melvin Duffy – pedal steel guitar
Phil Spalding – bass
Jeremy Stacey – drums
Luís Jardim – percussion
London Session Orchestra – orchestra
Gavyn Wright – concertmaster
Sally Herbert – orchestral arrangement
Steve Price – orchestral engineering
Tom Jenkins – assistant orchestral engineering
Isobel Griffiths – orchestral contracting
Jim Brumby – programming, additional engineering
Steve Power – production, mixing
J.D. Andrew – assistant mixing
Richard Flack – engineering, programming
Steve Marcussen – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2003–2004)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[3]	17
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[11]	45
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[12]	4
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)^[13]	12
CIS (TopHit)^[14]	65
Croatia (HRT)^[15]	6
Denmark (Tracklisten)^[16]	9
Germany (Official German Charts)^[17]	53
Hungary (Single Top 40)^[18]	5
Ireland (IRMA)^[4]	18
Italy (FIMI)^[19]	8
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[5]	12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[20]	33
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[21]	25
Romania (Romanian Top 100)^[22]	31
Russia Airplay (TopHit)^[23]	49
Scotland (OCC)^[24]	10
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[25]	59
UK Singles (OCC)^[2]	10

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
Brazil (Crowley)^[26]	8
CIS (TopHit)^[27]	125
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)^[28]	82
Russia Airplay (TopHit)^[29]	89

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	3 November 2003	CD DVD	Chrysalis	^[30]
Australia	1 December 2003	CD	Chrysalis	^[31]

References

^ "Robbie Williams - Greatest Hits Review".
^ ^a ^b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ ^a ^b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Sexed Up". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ Sexed Up (UK CD single liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 2003. CDCHS5155, 724355346209.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Sexed Up (UK DVD single liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 2003. DVDCHS 5153, 7243 599103 9 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Sexed Up (European CD single liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 2003. 724355346223.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Sexed Up (Australian & New Zealand CD single liner notes). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 2003. 7243 5 53645 0 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ Escapology (UK CD album booklet). Robbie Williams. Chrysalis Records. 2002. 5439942.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ Robbie Williams — Sexed Up. TopHit. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on 6 December 2003. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up". Tracklisten. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 3, saptamina 19.01 – 25.01, 2004" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 20 February 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Weekly Chart: Jan 15, 2004". TopHit. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
^ "Robbie Williams – Sexed Up". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
^ "Brazilian Top 100 Year-End 2003". Crowley Broadcast Analysis. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
^ "Популярные хиты 2003" [Popular Hits 2003] (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2003". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Annual Chart: 2003". TopHit. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 1 November 2003. p. 29.
^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 1st December 2003" (PDF). ARIA. 1 December 2003. p. 26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 December 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2021.