 | Schnappi: Encyclopedia II - Schnappi - Success
Schnappi - Success
In 2004 Schnappi became popular on the Internet and was downloaded often. So in December 2004, the song Schnappi, das kleine Krokodil was released on CD. The single reached #1 on the German Pop-Charts by January 3, 2005.
This phenomenon was widely taken as a counterexample to recent claims by representatives from major music labels that sharing music over the internet is harmful to the sales numbers of that music songs. The huge commercial success of Schnappi may not have been possible without P2P networks...
Bringing this around full circle, a bootleg translation into English was recorded and released on the Internet on the 20th February, 2005 by the Bronx artist DJ Damien (in conjunction with b0n3m4n, and featuring vocals by French Girl). Somehow, despite being an unofficial cover, this version has made it onto the "official Schnappi website in English." Other translations by collaborations involving DJ Damien include a French version "Crocky le Petit Crocodile", and a forthcoming Japanese version "Togetogeshi, chisaii wani" (刺々しい、小さい鰐).
The song reached number one in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden; it even reached the top 10 in Australia and New Zealand; a rare feat for non-English songs. The song was released in the UK on Monday 3rd October 2005, but it only reached the bottom end of the UK Singles Chart top 40.
Alternative versions of the song - varying from simple remixes of the basic vocal track, to a full cover version by Belgian techno group Dynamite - were also at numbers seven and ten in Belgium, and at number two in the Netherlands.
Swedish "humor metal" band Black Ingvars also recorded a cover version in heavy metal style with Rammstein-like vocals. The song was released on a compilation album in Sweden.
With the popularity of the Crazy Frog ringtone, it was only a matter of time before Schnappi was also covered this way, and in August 2005 Jamba! released Schnappi in a number of downloadable formats.
Other related archives2001, 2004, 2005, AT, AU, April 21st, April 23rd, April 25th, April 9th, Australia, Austria, BE, Belgium, CH, Crazy Frog, DE, DK, December 20th, December 24th, December 26th, Die Sendung mit der Maus, Egypt, FI, February 1st, February 25th, February 5th, GR, German, HK, IE, Internet phenomenon, Jamba!, January 2nd, January 3, July 11th, May 13th, NL, NO, NZ, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, October 10th, October 31st, October 6th, Rammstein, SE, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, UK Singles Chart, cover version, crocodile, tune
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Success", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
