Dur dur d'être bébé!

"Dur dur d'être bébé!"
Single by Jordy
from the album Pochette Surprise
B-side	Remix
Released	September 1992
Format	CD single, CD maxi, 7" single, 12" maxi, cassette
Recorded	France, 1992
Genre	Pop, dance, children's song
Length	3:23
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Patricia Clerget Alain Maratrat Frédéric Taïeb
Producer	Claude Lemoine
Jordy singles chronology
"Dur dur d'être bébé" (1992) "Alison" (1993)

"Dur dur d'être bébé!", which was retitled "Dur dur d'être bébé! (It's Tough to Be a Baby)" for its American audience, is a 1992 song recorded by French singer Jordy Lemoine, and was credited to him under the name Jordy. The first single from his debut album Pochette surprise, it was released in September 1992 and achieved notable success across the world, particularly in France.

Background

After having tried to involve Jordy in TV advertisements for nappies where the baby should repeat "hard, hard to be wet", Claude Lemoine, Jordy's father, had the idea of using dance music and simple lyrics to create a catchy song. The result was well-received in discothèques, which convinced Lemoine to release it as a commercial single.^[1]

Charts performances and records

Thanks to this song, Jordy was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest singer ever to reach number one on a singles chart. He achieved this feat in France in October 1992 at the age of four and a half, beating the previous world record held by Osamu Minagawa and French record held by Elsa Lunghini. Jordy was also the youngest artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 58 with the song.

"Dur dur d'être bébé!" entered the French chart at number four on 26 September 1992, rose to number two for two weeks, and then topped the chart for 15 weeks, which was the record at the time. The previous record for the longest stretch atop the French chart had belonged to Images' "Les Démons de minuit" (1986) and Licence IV's "Viens boire un p'tit coup à la maison" (1987), at 13 weeks apiece. Following its stay atop the chart, Jordy's single held the number two slot for another four weeks, eventually totalling 26 weeks in the French top ten and 30 weeks in the top 50. "Dur dur d'être bébé!" was also a dance hit across Europe, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Japan.

The song is currently the 224th best-selling single of all time in France.^[2] An English-language version and a mix version were also recorded and are available on the album Pochette Surprise.

Cover versions

In 2010, the song was covered by Bébé Lilly and released as single in France, where it hit number 15 for two weeks on the singles chart.^[3]

Track listings

CD single "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (single mix) — 3:23 "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (techno mix) — 4:07 CD maxi "Dur dur d'être bébé" (single mix) — 3:24 "Dur dur d'être bébé" (club mix) — 5:21 "Dur dur d'être bébé" (dob mix) — 5:21 "Dur dur d'être bébé" (techno mix) — 4:07 7" single "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (single mix) — 3:23 "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (techno mix) — 4:07

12" maxi "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (single mix) — 3:23 "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (techno mix) — 4:07 Cassette "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (single mix) — 3:23 "Dur dur d'être bébé!" (techno mix) — 4:07

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1992/93) Peak position Australian ARIA Singles Chart[4] 37 Austrian Singles Chart[4] 3 Dutch Top 40[5] 3 French SNEP Singles Chart[4] 1 New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[4] 8 Norwegian Singles Chart[4] 5 Swedish Singles Chart[4] 14 Swiss Singles Chart[4] 20 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[6] 58 U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks[6] 11

End of year charts End of year chart (1993) Position Dutch Top 40[5] 89 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales France[7] Platinum 1993 500,000 751,000

Chart successions

Preceded by "Rhythm Is a Dancer" by Snap!

French SNEP number-one single 17 October 1992 - 23 January 1993 (15 weeks)

Succeeded by "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston

References

1. ^ Habib, Elia (2002) (in French). Muz hit.tubes. Aliné Bis. p. 250. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X. 
2. ^ "Best-selling singles of all time in France" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/S_ToutTemps.php?debut=200. Retrieved 7 September 2008. 
3. ^ "Bébé Lilly - "Dur dur d'être bébé", French Singles Chart" (in French). Lescharts. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=B%E9b%E9+Lilly&titel=Dur+dur+d%27%EAtre+b%E9b%E9&cat=s. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Jordy - "Dur dur d'être bébé", in various singles charts" (in French). Lescharts. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?key=2574&cat=s. Retrieved 7 September 2008. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Single top 100 over 1993" (in Dutch) (pdf). Top40. http://www.top40.nl/pdf/Top%20100/top%20100%20-%201993.pdf. Retrieved 15 April 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Jordy singles, Billboard". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p39719/charts-awards. Retrieved 7 September 2008. 
7. ^ "Les certifications depuis 1973, database" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 7 September 2008.