The single has peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, as well as topping the Billboard R&B Songschart. It has also become Thicke's most successful song on the Billboard Hot 100, being his first to reach number one on the chart (he previously peaked at number 14 on the Hot 100 with "Lost Without U", in 2007).[2] The song has been a worldwide hit, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom, as well as the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, France, Iceland, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland. As of July 17, 2013, it is the second best-selling single of 2013 in the UK, the Official Charts Company confirmed that it had sold one million copies,[3] behind Daft Punk's single "Get Lucky", which also features Pharrell Williams. In the United States, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for twelve consecutive weeks, becoming the longest running number one single of 2013 and of the 2010s decade surpassing Rihanna's "We Found Love" (2011). This feat also gave him the eighth lead male solo artist in Billboard history to rack ten or more weeks at the number one spot for a single.[4] It sold over 5 million copies in just 22 weeks in the US, faster than any other song in digital history.[5]
The music video was released on March 20, 2013, and was made in two versions; the first video features models Emily Ratajkowski, Jessi M'Bengue, and Elle Evans being topless, the second features them covered. The topless version of the video was removed from YouTube on March 30, 2013, for violating the site's terms of service regarding nudity, though it was later restored, but flagged as inappropriate.
On July 28, 2013, "Blurred Lines" broke the record for radio audience previously held by Mariah Carey's We Belong Together in 2005. A press release from Interscope said as of the last week in July 2013, the track reached more than 242.65 million listeners.[6]
"Blurred Lines" was produced by Thicke and Williams with an intention of creating a sound similar to Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up". The song was completed in less than an hour.[7]In an interview with GQ's Stelios Phili, Thicke explained: "Pharrell and I were in the studio and [...] I was like, 'Damn, we should make something like that ["Got to Give It Up"], something with that groove.' Then he started playing a little something and we literally wrote the song in about half an hour and recorded it. Him and I would go back and forth where I'd sing a line and he'd be like, 'Hey, hey, hey!' We started acting like we were two old men on a porch hollering at girls like, 'Hey, where you going, girl? Come over here!'"[8] In a separate interview, Thicke clarified the meaning of the song's title, saying it referred to "the good-girl/bad-girl thing and what’s appropriate."[9]
The music video, directed by Diane Martel, was released on March 20, 2013.[10] The video features Thicke, T.I., and Pharrell casually standing in front of light-pink backdrop as they flirt with models (Emily Ratajkowski, Elle Evans and Jessi M'Bengue) who pose and dance. At various points, the hashtag "#THICKE" flashes. In the unrated version of the video, the models wear nothing but a skin-colored G-string. In the edited version, they are scantily clad and the hashtag "#BLURREDLINES" is seen at various points. This is the second time that director Diane Martel and Pharrell join together for a music video project involving two differently rated versions. The 2001 video for the N.E.R.D single "Lapdance" also featured models in two variant editions, one of which, like Blurred Lines, is a topless version.[11][12]
After being on the site for just under one week, the unrated version of the video was removed from YouTube on March 30, 2013, citing violations of the site's terms of service that restricts the uploading of videos containing nudity, particularly if used in a sexual context.[13] However it was later restored on July 12, 2013.[14] The unrated video remains available onVevo, while the edited version is available on both Vevo and YouTube.[15][16][17] The unrated version of "Blurred Lines" generated more than 1 million views in the days following its release on Vevo.[13]
Asked about the racy content of the video, Thicke responded: "We tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely derogatory towards women. Because all three of us are happily married with children, we were like, 'We're the perfect guys to make fun of this.' People say, 'Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?' I'm like, 'Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I've never gotten to do that before. I've always respected women.' "[8]
"Blurred Lines" peaked at number one in 14 countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Republic of Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, becoming Thicke's highest charting song in all of these countries. In Australia, the song was certified quadruple platinum for shipments of 280,000 and triple platinum in New Zealand for sales of 45,000.[22] "Blurred Lines" peaked within the top five of 14 countries including France and Switzerland. The song is currently the longest-running number-one single of 2013 in Australia and New Zealand, having topped the ARIA Singles Chart for eight consecutive weeks in Australia, and the RIANZ Singles Chart for 11 non-consecutive weeks in New Zealand.[23] For the Latin American market, a version featuring Colombian rapper J Balvin was released on Spanish-language radio stations.[24] This version peaked at number 7 in Colombia.[25]
In the United States the song debuted at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100,[26] the following week the song rose to number 89, then to number 70, then to number 54.[27] The single's progress appeared to stabilize in middle of the U.S. charts when, in mid-May, Robin Thicke and Pharrell performed it live on NBC’s The Voice. Immediately afterwards the song flew up to number 12 on the Hot 100.[28] Not long thereafter it peaked at number one, becoming Thicke's highest peaking song on the chart in his recording history. It also became Thicke's first chart entry since "Sex Therapy" and his second top 20 ever, after "Lost Without U". The track is also Pharell's third Billboard Hot 100 number one single and T.I.'s fourth. As of June 12, 2013, "Blurred Lines" has sold 1 million copies in the United States since its release, becoming Thicke's first single to do so.[29] As of the chart issue dated September 7, 2013, the song is the longest-running number-one single of 2013 with 12 weeks at the top, and has sold more than 5,000,000 downloads in the United States.[5] The song is also the first to claim the top "Digital Gainer", top "Airplay Gainer" and the top "Streaming Gainer" simultaneously, and to be awarded the top "Airplay Gainer" for 9 (and afterwards 10) weeks.[29][30] As of August 8, it also broke the record for the all-time highest number of radio impressions during a single week in the US, with 219.8 million impressions (which it later extended to 228.9 million impressions the week after), surpassing the 8-year-old record of 212.2 million impressions, set by Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together", and is the first song to have 4 or more weeks of downloads of over 400,000 in the US.[30] On week ending September 14, 2013 it was knocked off number one by Katy Perry with her single "Roar".[31]
In Canada the song has reached number one for 13 consecutive weeks, becoming this year's longest-running number-one single of 2013. Since the launch of Billboard Canadian Chartslast 2007, the song has become the second most weeks at number one, tying "Apologize" by Timbaland featuring OneRepublic in 2007–2008, and just behind "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas in 2009, with a record of 16 weeks on top of the charts.[32]
In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on June 2, 2013 ― for the week ending date June 8, 2013 selling 190,000 copies in its first week and becoming Britain's fastest-selling single of the year until then in the process, though it would later be surpassed by Avicii's "Wake Me Up" on July 21.[33] "Blurred Lines" then remained at number one the following week, selling even more than it did in its first with 199,000 copies sold.[34] On its fifth week in the charts, the single dropped a place to number two although it shifted a further 100,000 copies, having the fastest one-week sales at number two of 2013 so far. After a two-week break from the top spot, the song returned to number one on July 14, 2013 to claim its 5th week at the top, becoming the first song to spend two weeks off the top-spot before reclaiming the position, since Rihanna's single "We Found Love" in 2011. "Blurred Lines" was confirmed to have sold a million copies on its 50th day of release, becoming Pharrell Williams' second song in only a month to achieve that feat the other being Daft Punk collaboration "Get Lucky".[35]
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