Musicology (song)

"Musicology"
German CD single
Single by Prince
from the album Musicology
B-side	"On the Couch" (CD single) "Magnificent" (download)
Released	April 3, 2004
Recorded	November 2002
Studio	Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota, US
Genre	Funk
Length	4:26 (album version) 4:04 (radio edit)
Label	NPG
Songwriter(s)	Prince
Producer(s)	Prince
Prince singles chronology
"Controversy (Live in Hawaii)" (2004) "Musicology" (2004) "Cinnamon Girl" (2004)

"Musicology" is a song by Prince, and title track from his 2004 album of the same name. The song is an obvious ode to James Brown's style of funk music popularized in the early 1970s. The song is also reminiscent of Prince's own "The Work, pt. 1", from his 2001 album The Rainbow Children.

The B-side of the single is the Musicology track "On the Couch", a seductive ballad with a gospel flavor. In addition, Prince released a song on his website titled "Magnificent", which was listed as the "virtual B-side" to "Musicology".

In the United States, the song received airplay on Urban Adult Contemporary radio stations. The song had larger success as a video with television airplay, as it was played regularly on MTV, BET, and VH1. Outside the US, the song had considerable success on the pop charts in a number of countries. Specifically, "Musicology" went Top 40 in Argentina, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland.^[1]

The song won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.

Charts

Chart performance for "Musicology"

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[2]	29
Australian Urban (ARIA)[3]	9
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[4]	4
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[5]	16
Greece (IFPI)[6]	41
Italy (FIMI)[7]	20
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[8]	2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9]	32
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[10]	32
Norway (VG-lista)[11]	19
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[12]	7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13]	27

References

1. "Musicology [video search]".
2. "Prince – Musicology". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
3. "Issue 745" ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
4. "Prince – Musicology" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
5. "Prince – Musicology" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
6. "IFPI Greece Top 50 Singles". Archived from the original on 2004-06-05. Retrieved 2004-06-05.
7. "Prince – Musicology". Top Digital Download. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
8. "Tipparade-lijst van week 24, 2004" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
9. "Prince – Musicology" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
10. "Prince – Musicology". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
11. "Prince – Musicology". VG-lista. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
12. "Prince – Musicology" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
13. "Prince – Musicology". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 2, 2016.