Royal silver
Tarrus Riley ballad getting “props” in UK 17 years after release
Singer Tarrus Riley recalls the studio session for his multi-award-winning hit She’s Royal.
“The rhythm was recorded at Tuff Gong studio and the vocal was done at Grafton Studio. Dean Fraser [the song’s producer] was not comfortable with the bass line and so it was re-recorded. The song was written in one day and it was recorded in one take,” said Riley in an interview with the Jamaica Observer on the weekend.
He continued: “The overdubs were all done on the same day that the song was recorded. So the entire song was completed in two hours.”
She’s Royal was last Friday certified silver in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry for digital sales and streaming equivalent exceeding 200,000 units.
“It feels good [to hear about the certification] because the song keeps growing. I wanted to make something that would stand the test of time, and that’s how I approach music. It feels really good to see these things happening. I know my mother and father are proud of my work and I am also thankful for the support,” Riley disclosed.
She’s Royal spent several weeks at #1 on the local music charts in 2007. The song is featured on Riley’s VP Records album Parables, which was released in October 2006.
The song won the awards for Best Reggae Song and Most Popular Song at the first and only staging of the Reggae Academy Awards in 2008. Additionally, Riley also won the awards for Breakthrough Artiste and Best Solo Male Vocal Performance.
At the Excellence in Music and Entertainment Awards that year, Riley took home the awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, while She’s Royal won for Song of the Year. He was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best Reggae Artiste and also in the same category for the MOBO Awards.
In 2009 She’s Royal was named Most Admired Song in the Past 15 Years at CVM-TV’s 15th anniversary awards.
She’s Royal marks the second Brit-certified silver award for Riley. He is featured on Major Lazer’s Powerful along with British singer Ellie Goulding, which was certified silver in 2015.
