Like a G6

"Like a G6" is a song by American music group Far East Movement featuring fellow American musicians Dev and the Cataracs, released as the lead single from Far East Movement's third studio album Free Wired. The song was initially posted on November 4, 2009 on Far East Movement's YouTube page.^[2] "Like a G6" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for three non-consecutive weeks, becoming the first single by Asian-American artists to do so and the first by any artists of East Asian origin since Kyu Sakamoto's 1963 single "Sukiyaki". Outside of the United States, "Like a G6" topped the chart in New Zealand, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in numerous countries, including Australia, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.

"Like a G6"
Single by Far East Movement featuring the Cataracs and Dev
from the album Free Wired
Released	April 13, 2010 (2010-04-13)
Recorded	2009
Genre	Electro-hop[1]
Length	3:38
Label	Cherrytree Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Far East Movement Dev
Producer(s)	The Cataracs
Far East Movement singles chronology
"Girls on the Dancefloor" (2010) "Like a G6" (2010) "Rocketeer" (2010)
The Cataracs singles chronology
"Club Love" (2010) "Like a G6" (2010) "Bass Down Low" (2010)
Dev singles chronology
"Like a G6" (2010) "Bass Down Low" (2010)
Music video
"Like a G6" on YouTube

Background

"Like a G6" samples Dev's "Booty Bounce", and as such she is credited as a featured artist.

Dev's vocals in "Like a G6" are sampled from her previous song "Booty Bounce", another song written and produced by the Cataracs.^[3] The "G6" in the song came about when the Cataracs were looking for a rhyme for the line "Sippin' sizzurp in my ride, like Three 6", a reference to the 2000 song "Sippin' on Some Syrup" by rap group Three 6 Mafia.^[4] They settled on "G6", meant to be a reference to the private airplane model Gulfstream IV, referred to as a "G4". The G4 had been name-checked in songs such as Drake's 2009 "Forever". A G6, they decided, was "flyer than a G4", according to Far East Movement member Kev Nish.^[5] The song has been incorrectly speculated to be about other things, including the Pontiac G6^[6][7] and the Suunto G6 watch. When the song came out, the Gulfstream G650 model already existed, although the song's writers were not aware of this at the time.^[4] Since then, the Gulfstream G600 has also been announced.

Reception

The song sold 4 million paid downloads in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan in 2011.^[8]

Gulfstream Aerospace has stated that they were "thrilled" about the product reference.^[6]

Music video

The music video, which was directed by Matt Alonzo premiered on YouTube and Vevo on June 3, 2010. The line "sippin' sizzurp" and the word "slizzered" are censored on some channels. It follows a woman in a red dress (Erica Ocampo) picking up a friend from a restaurant and going to a liquor store, presumably in preparation for a party. A later scene shows the woman and her friends at the party, Colette Carr also make a cameo, Dev, the Cataracs and the members of Far East Movement can also be seen in this party scene. The final scene shows the members of Far East Movement getting on a Gulfstream IV the next morning.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2010–2011) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 8 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[12] 2 Brazil (Billboard Hot 100)[13] 8 Brazil (Billboard Hot Pop Songs)[14] 2 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[15] 3 CIS Airplay (TopHit)[16] 21 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[17] 21 Denmark (Tracklisten)[18] 19 Europe (European Hot 100)[19] 17 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[20] 15 France (SNEP)[21] 14 Germany (GfK)[22] 15 Ireland (IRMA)[23] 12 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 1 Poland (Dance Top 50)[27] 18 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[28] 19 Scotland (OCC)[29] 8 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[30] 6 South Korea (Gaon)[31] 31 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 7 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 10 UK Singles (OCC)[34] 5 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[35] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[36] 1 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[37] 3 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[38] 83 US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[39] 3 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[40] 4 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[41] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position Australia (ARIA)[42] 27 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[43] 69 Brazil (Crowley)[44] 73 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[45] 35 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[46] 51 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[47] 46 New Zealand (RMNZ)[48] 23 South Korea International (Gaon)[49] 9 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[50] 35 UK Singles (OCC)[51] 63 US Billboard Hot 100[52] 37 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[53] 47 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[54] 32 Chart (2011) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[55] 70 Brazil (Crowley)[56] 21 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[57] 82 France (SNEP)[58] 83 Russia Airplay (TopHit)[59] 41 South Korea International (Gaon)[60] 13 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[61] 80 UK Singles (OCC)[62] 121 US Billboard Hot 100[63] 72 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[64] 39

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[65]	3× Platinum	210,000^
Belgium (BEA)[66]	Gold	15,000*
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[67]	2× Platinum	120,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[68]	4× Platinum	320,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[69]	Gold	45,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[70]	Platinum	300,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[71]	Platinum	15,000*
Sweden (GLF)[72]	Gold	20,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[73]	Gold	15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[74]	2× Platinum	1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[75]	4× Platinum	4,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States	April 13, 2010	Digital download	Cherrytree Interscope
United Kingdom	November 14, 2010[76]

Covers and parodies

• Diddy – Dirty Money covered "Like a G6" as part of their set for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in the United Kingdom, alongside "Coming Home".^[77] The song then appeared on the sixth compilation of the Live Lounge.^[78]
• Connor Anderson made a parody of the song called "Roll a D6".^[79][80][81]
• Russian rapper Big Baby Tape released a remix of the song in December 2022.^[82]

See also

• List of songs recorded by Dev
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2010
• List of UK R&B Singles Chart number ones of 2010
• List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)