"Lonely" is a song by American singer-songwriter Akon from his debut studio album, Trouble. Featuring a prominent, high-pitched sample of the 1962 song "Mr. Lonely" by Bobby Vinton, the single was released on February 22, 2005. "Lonely" reached number one in several countries, including in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, where it stayed for eight weeks. It also entered the top five in France, where it reached number two, and in the United States, where it peaked at number four.

Background

When Akon was signed by Universal imprint SRC Records it was "Lonely" that had immediately caught the attention of SRC A&R Jerome Foster and convinced him of Akon's talents. On hearing the demo track he had said, "This kid is official - this is a huge record." The song's tempo is 90 beats per minute in common time. "Lonely" is written in the key of C major.

Track listings

UK CD1

  1. "Lonely" (clean version) – 3:58
  2. "Trouble Nobody" (explicit) – 3:21

UK CD2

  1. "Lonely" (UK radio edit) – 3:33
  2. "Trouble Nobody" (clean) – 3:21
  3. "Kill the Dance (Got Something for Ya)" (featuring Kardinal Offishall) – 2:54
  4. "Lonely" (video) – 3:58

US CD single

  1. "Lonely" (clean version) – 3:58
  2. "Lonely" (instrumental version) – 3:58
  3. "Belly Dancer (Bananza)" (snippet) – 1:31

Charts

The song was a number-one hit in several countries, including Australia, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, and Switzerland. The song reached number two in France, Norway, and Sweden. The song also reached number 19 in Finland.

|2

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!scope="row"|Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100 Oficiální)

|1

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!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|1

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!scope="row"|Poland (Polish Airplay Chart)

|8

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!scope="row"|Ukraine Airplay (TopHit)

|3

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!scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)

|3

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!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)

|10

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!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)

|5

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!scope="row"|Brazil (Crowley)

|11

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!scope="row"|CIS Airplay (TopHit)

|59

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!scope="row"|Germany (Media Control GfK)

|3

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!scope="row"|Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)

|52

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!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

|12

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!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)

|15

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!scope="row"|New Zealand (RIANZ)

|15

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!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)

|23

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!scope="row"|Russia Airplay (TopHit)

|51

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!scope="row"|Sweden (Hitlistan)

|14

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!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

|4

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!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)

|7

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!scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100

|44

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!scope="row"|US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)

|51

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!scope="row"|US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)

|37

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Decade-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

!Chart (2000–2009)

!Position

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!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)

|49

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!scope="row"|Germany (Media Control GfK)

|55

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Certifications

Release history

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

!scope="col"|Region

!scope="col"|Date

!scope="col"|Format(s)

!scope="col"|Label(s)

!scope="col"|

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!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United States

|February 22, 2005

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|rowspan="4"|

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|April 4, 2005

|Urban radio

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!scope="row"|United Kingdom

|May 2, 2005

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!scope="row"|Australia

|July 4, 2005

|CD

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References