Jungle Drum

"Jungle Drum" is the third single released from Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini's third album, Me and Armini. It was released as a digital download on 9 March 2009^[1] and later on 19 June 2009 as a CD single in Germany.^[2][3][4]

"Jungle Drum"
Single by Emilíana Torrini
from the album Me and Armini
B-side	"Me and Armini"
Released	9 March 2009
Genre	Indie pop
Length	2:14
Label	Rough Trade
Songwriter(s)	Emilíana Torrini, Dan Carey
Producer(s)	Dan Carey
Emilíana Torrini singles chronology
"Big Jumps" (2008) "Jungle Drum" (2009) "Me and Armini" (2009)

Critical reception

Critics received the song very warmly; Popmatters' reviewer Spencer Tricker called "Jungle Drum" the "catchiest tune" on the album (alongside "Big Jumps"), "every bit as good as the singles from Fisherman's Woman".^[5] He also praised the song for boasting "an irresistible chorus that features some totally unexpected scatting".^[5] Matthew Allard from ARTISTdirect stated the song "should be an iPhone ad".^[6] Clickmusic reviewer Francis Jolley called the song "a sprightly, fun little gem, reminiscent of Nancy Sinatra in her heyday" and "infectious Scandinavian pop".^[7] Both Popmatters and Clickmusic reviews praised the song's rhythm section calling it impossible "to not foot tap along" to.^[5][7]

Appearances in media

In 2009 it also appeared in the Germany's Next Topmodel TV show.^[8] Thus, the song became very popular in German-speaking countries. It was planned to appear in the dance video game Just Dance 3 but it did not appear for unknown reasons.^[8][9]

In 2010 the track was used as a theme song in a video made for the Government of Iceland's official campaign "Inspired by Iceland" to lure tourists to visit Iceland.^[10]

In 2024, the track was used in the trailer for the film, Seize Them!

Track listings

Digital download

1. "Jungle Drum" — 2:13

German CD single

1. "Jungle Drum" — 2:13
2. "Me and Armini" — 4:17

Chart performance

The song debuted on the German Singles Chart at number 12 and peaked at number one on its fourth week, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks. It stayed on that chart for a total of 35 weeks.^[11] The song also reached number one in Austria and Flanders.^[12][13]

Weekly charts Chart (2009–2014) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[14] 76 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 1 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[15] 5 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[16] 37 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[17] 5 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[18] 5 Germany (GfK)[11] 1 Israel (Media Forest)[19] 7 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] 57 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[21] 14 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 11

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[24] 11 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[25] 32 Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 40 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position Germany (Official German Charts)[28] 25

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[29]	Gold
Germany (BVMI)[30]	Platinum	300,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

State	Date	Format
Worldwide	9 March 2009[1]	digital download
Germany[4]	19 June 2009[3]	CD single

Covers

• In 2009, the song had been covered by German band The Baseballs and is featured on their cover album Strike! Back!.
• In 2009, Austrian hip hop artist Chakuza sampled the song on his free track "Jungle Drum Mix".
• In 2019, German metal band Emil Bulls released the song on their cover album called "Mixtape".

References

1. 7digital.com: Jungle Drum by Emiliana Torrini Archived 26 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
2. Emiliana Torrini: Release dates
3. "Jungle Drum: Amazon.de: Musik". amazon.de.
4. "Emiliana Torrini single Jungle Drum - emilianafans.com". emilianafans.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012.
5. "Emiliana Torrini". PopMatters.
6. "Me And Armini by Emiliana Torrini @ARTISTdirect". ARTISTdirect.
7. "The Voice UK quarter final results: who went home?". clickmusic.com.
8. "Der Song aus Germany's Next Topmodel" (in German)
9. http://www.qype.pl/events/441606-Emiliana-Torrini-Muffathalle-Betriebs-GmbH-Au-Haidhausen-Muenchen (in German)
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 November 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
12. "Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
13. "Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
14. "Issue 1004" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
15. "Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
16. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 45. týden 2009 in the date selector. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
17. "Hits of the World: European Hot 100" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 34. 29 August 2009. p. 63. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
18. "Emilíana Torrini: Jungle Drum" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
19. "Media Forest: Airplay chart". mediaforest.biz. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012.
20. "Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
21. "Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
22. "Emilíana Torrini – Jungle Drum". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
23. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2009" (in German). Retrieved 27 August 2021.
24. "Jaaroverzichten 2009" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
25. "Year End Charts: European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
26. "Top 100 Singles–Jahrescharts 2009" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
27. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2009" (in German). Retrieved 27 August 2021.
28. "Gratis: 'Hits des neuen Jahrtausend'-Liste" [Free: 'Hits of the New Millennium' List] (in German). RTL. 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
29. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2009". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
30. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Emiliana Torrini; 'Jungle Drum')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 27 August 2021.