Baby (Justin Bieber song)
2010 song by Justin Bieber featuring Ludacris
"Baby" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber featuring American rapper Ludacris. It was released as the lead single on Bieber's debut studio album, "My World 2.0". The track was written by the artists alongside Christina Milian and producers Tricky Stewart and The-Dream.
It was available for digital download on January 18, 2010. The song received airplay directly after release, officially impacting mainstream and rhythmic radio on January 26, 2010.
The song received positive reviews from critics, who complimented the song's effective lyrics and chorus and commended Ludacris' part and the song's ability to have an urban twist.
The song was a commercial success, peaking at number one in France and Scotland, and charting in the top ten of the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, Norway, Japan, Ireland, Hungary, Belgium (Flanders), Slovakia and New Zealand. "Baby" was the fourth most successful single of 2010 in France. The accompanying music video takes place in a mall/bowling-alley setting. The video features several cameos such as Drake, Lil Twist and Tinashe, in which Bieber pursues a girl. As of May 2013, the song has sold 3.9 million digital downloads in the United States and is certified 12× platinum by the RIAA.
The official music video is the 39th most-viewed video on YouTube. As of January 2025, it is also the fourth-most-disliked video and the most-disliked music video on the platform. It had been the most-viewed YouTube video from July 16, 2010, when it surpassed the music video for "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga, until November 24, 2012, when it was surpassed by the music video for "Gangnam Style" by Psy. Bieber performed the song several times, including on "Saturday Night Live", and the ninth season of "American Idol". Bieber also performed an acoustic rendition of the remix version with Drake at the 2010 Juno Awards. The official remix in the United Kingdom features British hip-hop artist Chipmunk.
Background and writing.
"Baby" was written by Bieber with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart (who worked on Bieber's debut single "One Time"), R&B singer The-Dream and his then-wife, Christina Milian, as well as Def Jam label-mate and the songs co-performer, Ludacris. When asked how the collaboration initially came about, Bieber said, "[Ludacris and I] both live in Atlanta. I met him a year prior to this and we figured it was a perfect collaboration for him, so we invited him out to do it." A few days before the release of the single, Bieber posted an acoustic version of the song to his YouTube with his guitarist Dan Kanter, similar to the way he did with "Favorite Girl". "Billboard" said that: "Bieber delivers his characteristically clean vocals with conviction: "My first love broke my heart for the first time / and I'm like, 'baby, baby, baby, no!' I thought you'd always be mine." Also in a review of the acoustic version Bill Lamb of About.com said that, "I think the vocals here will convince some that Justin Bieber really does have the vocal chops."
Style and composition.
The song is predominantly upbeat, featuring Bieber's R&B vocals over a backdrop containing a dance infused beat, full of keyboard and "disco string" synths. The song is played at a tempo of 130 BPM and is composed in the key of E♭ major with Bieber's vocal range spanning from the low-note of G3 to the high-note of C5. According to Jody Rosen of "Rolling Stone", the song "blends winks at Fifties doo-wop with hip-hop chants", comparing the style and the lyrics "My first love broke my heart for the first time/And I was like/Baby, baby, baby, ooooh/I thought you'd always be mine" to fifties ballads like "Tears on My Pillow", "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" and "Earth Angel". Lyrically, Bieber's lines explain his distress over his lost love, and promise to get it back, featured in lines like, "And I wanna play it cool/But I'm losin' you…/I'm in pieces/So come and fix me…". The chorus features the distinct and repetitive "baby, baby, baby, ohhhh (nooooo)" hook. After the second verse, Ludacris comes in with the verse-rap, an anecdote of young love when he was thirteen, as it runs "When I was 13/I had my first love/She had me going crazy/Oh, I was star-struck/She woke me up daily/Don't need no Starbucks…".
Critical reception.
Nick Levine of Digital Spy felt the song was "no great departure from what he's given us before", but felt the production of Tricky and The-Dream helped give the song a "simple", "big" chorus about "puppy love" that works. Melanie Bertoldi of "Billboard" said, "The midtempo number's undeniably contagious chorus should keep Bieber's tween fan base satisfied, and Ludacris' brief cameo adds a welcome urban twist." Bertoli went on to say, "The matchup adds a layer of maturity to Bieber's repertoire and should further solidify his growing presence on the charts." "Rap-Up" magazine said that "the sweet pop fare gets a little street cred courtesy of the teen sensation's labelmate Ludacris." Jody Rosen of "Rolling Stone" appreciated the song's vintage doo-wop and fifties aesthetic and hip-hop chants, and said the song included "one of the catchiest choruses concocted by the-Dream and Tricky Stewart, the duo behind "Umbrella" and "Single Ladies". Luke O'Neill of "Boston Globe" had mixed thoughts about the song calling Ludacris' cameo "goofy", and said, the song "effects a musical anachronism, albeit a catchy one, but in this sped-up recycling moment all styles all at once are grist for the mill."
Chart performance.
In the United States, "Baby" debuted at number five on the "Billboard" Hot 100, becoming Bieber's highest-charting single in the US. Bieber then went on to surpass this chart position when "Boyfriend" debuted at number two in April 2012. The song was also Ludacris's biggest song to date, solo or featuring, since 2007's "Glamorous". "Baby" was beaten out as the week's highest debut by Taylor Swift's "Today Was a Fairytale", which debuted at number two. The debuting of the pair of songs was just the third time in history that the Hot 100 had two new top-five debuts. The instance had last happened in 2003 when "American Idol"'s Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken's debut singles charted at number one and two.
During its first week of radio impact, the song had over 1400 spins, and was the top gainer for mainstream and rhythmic radio formats.
The song debuted at thirty-three on the Pop Songs chart on the week labeled February 13, 2010. The song missed out becoming the greatest gainer by one spot, which was Kesha's "Blah Blah Blah". However the following week, the song did collect greatest gainer recognition, jumping to twenty-five on the chart, and has since peaked at sixteen. On August 2, 2010, the song was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of 2,000,000 units.
As of May 2013, the song had sold 3.9 million digital downloads in the United States. With the inclusion of streaming in the RIAA certifications in 2013, the song became the highest certificated single of all time at 12× Platinum (surpassing "Candle in the Wind 1997" by Elton John at 11× Platinum).
"Baby" debuted and peaked on the Canadian Hot 100 at number three, becoming his highest-charting single at the time. On the issue dated February 8, 2010, the song debuted in Australia on the official ARIA Singles Chart at number thirty-seven. After twelve weeks of ascending and descending the charts the single reached a peak of three. "Baby" has since been certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 70,000 units.
In New Zealand, the song entered the chart at nineteen. After weeks of ascending and descending the charts, "Baby" reached a peak of four. The song dropped to the number five position the following week and after weeks of fluctuating around the chart it attained the number four position once again. It has since been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ).
The song peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart on the issue date March 14, 2010. The following week, "Baby" fell to number four, but climbed back to its previous peak position of three on the issue date March 28, 2010. In the process of climbing the charts, "Baby" gained a new peak of two on the R&B Singles Chart.
By June 2012, Baby had sold 442,432 copies in the United Kingdom.
Music video.
Filming for the music video began during the week of January 25, 2010, in Los Angeles. It was filmed at Universal CityWalk and Lucky Strike Lanes, by director Ray Kay, who had previously directed videos for Beyoncé Knowles, Lady Gaga, Alexandra Burke, and Cheryl Cole, among others. Ludacris said that the video "is like a 2010 version of Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel"." Bieber said that the video "will capture the song's message of trying to woo back a girl." In explaining the concept of the video, Bieber said, "It starts off, I really like this girl, but we didn't [get] along; we couldn't be together. Basically I want her back and [I'm] kind of going through the whole thing. I'm chasing her around, trying to get her, and she's kind of playing hard to get, but I'm persistent. I keep going." The video premiered exclusively on Vevo on Friday, February 19, 2010. Singer and actress Jasmine Villegas portrays Bieber's love interest in the video. Bieber's friends, Young Money artists Drake and Lil Twist also appeared in the video, along with Tinashe and jerkin' crew The Rangers.
The video takes place in a mall-like setting with a bowling alley and more. After the video was released, MTV commented on the video being the new version of "The Way You Make Me Feel" saying, "... and the choreography does use a few of Jackson's less-suggestive moves." The MTV review goes on to say, "most of the video takes place in the bowling alley, there are also scenes of Bieber in other settings, hanging out with Luda, doing the moonwalk, messing with his hair and mugging for the camera. During the video Bieber's friends and Villegas's friends have several dance offs and Villegas eventually smiles at him. Regardless of his crush's apparent frustration with him, Bieber eventually wins her over. The video concludes with the pair walking off into the night holding hands."
"Billboard" reviewed the video, saying, "Those new dance moves he's showing off can only mean one thing: all over the world, tweens' hearts are melting right now." In July 2010, the video became the most viewed video in YouTube history until it was surpassed by Psy's hit single, "Gangnam Style", in November 2012.
The video received 7.7 million views within its first seven days.
As of September 2023, the video has received over 3 billion views on the video-sharing website YouTube. It was also the most disliked video of all time (briefly surpassed by "Friday" by Rebecca Black upon that video's release in 2011). "Baby"'s music video held the record for the most disliked video for over 7 years, until it was surpassed in December 2018 by (the current most disliked video). The video currently sits as the fourth most disliked YouTube video.
Live performances.
Bieber first premiered the song performing on the MuchMusic series "Live at Much" on December 28, 2009. He sang the song on VH1's Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, along with other performers Rihanna, JoJo and Timbaland, and on CBS' "The Early Show" as a part of their "Super Bowl" programming. He performed the song the first time with Ludacris on BET's "SOS: Saving Ourselves – Help for Haiti Telethon", on February 6, 2010, which also aired on VH1, and MTV. During the chorus, he changed the lyrics to "Baby, baby, Haiti", to show support for the cause, and the reason everyone came together for the show. In the week of his album release, he performed the song on "The View" and "106 & Park". Bieber also performed the song at the 2010 Kids Choice Awards on March 27. Bieber performed the song along with "U Smile" on the eighteenth episode of season thirty five of "Saturday Night Live". Bieber performed an acoustic rendition of the song along with a freestyle by good friend Drake at the 2010 Juno Awards. In April 2010, Bieber noted that due to his voice changing, he could no longer hit all the notes in "Baby", and for live performances, the key is lowered. Bieber performed the song live in Sydney, Australia on April 26, 2010, in the "Sunrise" studios after his public performance was cancelled. Bieber also performed the song on May 11, 2010, on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Bieber performed the song on June 4, 2010, on the Today Show along with "Never Say Never", "Somebody to Love", and "One Time". He performed the song with "Somebody to Love" at the 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards.
Cover versions and samples.
Jazz pianist Jacky Terrasson covered "Baby" with his trio on his 2012 album "Gouache".
The song was also covered by Relient K in 2011 for their cover album "Is For Karaoke". It was also covered by "Weird Al" Yankovic in the polka medley, "Polka Face" in the same year for his 2011 album "Alpocalypse".
It was sampled 40 times. In 2012, Alexa Ilacad, Mika Dela Cruz, Noemi Oineza and Angel Sy, AKA T.O.P., sampled this song for their single "Crush".
Parody versions.
Yes We Canberra released a parody version satirising then Opposition leader Tony Abbott during the lead-up to the 2010 Australian federal election.
In the 2012 film "", Greg Heffley's older brother Rodrick (portrayed by Devon Bostick) performs a hard rock cover of the song with his band, Löded Diper, in an attempt to impress his love interest Heather Hills (older sister of Greg's love interest, Holly) during her Sweet 16th party. His performance causes the event to end in disaster.
In the Annoying Orange episode, "OMG" (parody of TMZ), there is a clip of Justin Bieberry (portrayal of Bieber) singing a parody version called "Gravy".
Charts.
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One Less Lonely Girl
"One Less Lonely Girl" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was written and produced by Ezekiel Lewis and Balewa Muhammad of The Clutch, and Sean Hamilton, John "J.R." Harris and Hyuk Shin of the production team A-Rex. The song was released exclusively to iTunes as the second single from his debut release, "My World", on October 6, 2009, and was later released to more digital distributions and mainstream and rhythmic radio soon after.
The song's accompanying music video was published on YouTube on November 30, 2009; both of which saw positive reception, with critics commending the song's delivery and comparing it to pop-R&B songs by Chris Brown and Rihanna. It was a success in the United States and Canada, Bieber's highest peaks in the countries at sixteen and ten, respectively until "Baby" bested both in 2010. It also charted in the Belgium (Flanders) tip chart and in Germany within the top thirty, and also charted in Austria, Australia, and United Kingdom. The music video features Bieber attracted to a girl he sees in the laundromat, as he leads her on a scavenger hunt to win a date with her. Bieber has performed the song in a number of live appearances including the Fearless Tour, "The Next Star", and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest".
Background and release.
Regarding the concept of the song, Bieber told MTV News, "I think it's really important these girls have something so they can be one less lonely girl." Bieber joked that "Lonely Girl" wasn't always the choice for his second single stating "It was either between that or 'I Love High School.'", a remix of "I Love College" by label mate, Asher Roth. "One Less Lonely Girl" was released digitally on the iTunes Store on October 6, 2009.
Composition and critical reception.
Crystal Bell of "Billboard" gave the song a generally positive review stating "much as he did on his debut single, "One Time," Bieber makes a strong case for why he's the next pop heartthrob. 'I'm gonna put you first, I'll show you what you're worth/If you let me inside your world,' he sings. The stump speech is hard to resist, especially when set to an arrangement that follows the lineage of hit midtempo ballads "With You", and "Irreplaceable". Although the lyrics are generic, Bieber's smooth delivery is right on point, and his tender vocals blend well with the song's easy-flowing beat." Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" called the song along with "Down to Earth", "uncomplicatedly beautiful and earnest." Andy Kellman of "Allmusic" listed the song as one of his recommended tracks from the album.
Chart performance.
In the U.S., the single had 113,000 downloads in its first week, propelling it to debut at number sixteen on the "Billboard" Hot 100 on the issue dated October 24, 2009. Bieber scored the second highest debut of the week, only being surpassed by "3" by Britney Spears. Due to the impact of mainstream radio in the U.S., the song entered at thirty-six on the Billboard Pop Songs on the week ending December 12, 2009, and in turn also re-entered the Hot 100 at sixty-nine. It dropped the next week on the Hot 100, but rose to thirty-two on the Pop Songs, and rose again to twenty-six the following week. The single peaked at twenty-one on the pop chart. Due to increased airplay and digital sales of "My World", on the week ending January 9, 2010, the song rose thirty positions from sixty to thirty on the Hot 100.
As of February 2011, the single has sold over 1,025,000 digital copies in the United States. The song debuted at number ten on the Canadian Hot 100 on the issue dated October 24, 2009.
It debuted in Austria at number fifty-four, where it peaked, and remained four weeks on the chart. It debuted on the Belgian Tip Chart in Flanders at number twenty-five, where it peaked, and remained for two weeks. It debuted in Germany at number twenty-two, where it peaked, and remained for nine weeks. The song also peaked at sixty-eight in Australia and sixty-two in the United Kingdom.
Music video.
In an October 7, 2009, exclusive with MTV News, Bieber confirmed that a music video had been shot in Watertown, Tennessee (a small town approximately 50 miles east of Nashville, Tennessee) with Roman White who directed the music video for "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift. The video premiered on perezhilton.com on October 9, 2009, and was released to iTunes three days later. It later premiered on Bieber's official site and YouTube on October 13, 2009, Bieber's mother, Pattie Mallette, makes a cameo during the flower stand scene in the music video. While filming the music video, Bieber joked and said, "It’s like the biggest town I’ve ever been in." He went on to say, ""It’s really small and quaint and cute and cool. Everyone probably knows everyone I guess." Promotional photography took place around the town a few days before the rest of the video shoot, including Bieber holding posters of his first shoot, and with an old turquoise truck. The video was the first to feature Bieber wearing his signature dog tag. In a behind-the-scenes feature, Bieber said that a fan gave it to him, and it belonged to one of their friends that died in the war. Bieber stated, "I wear it because its cool and kind of a memory." The basic concept of the video is Bieber's goal to win a girl's heart after leading her around the town. Director Roman White said, "It’s romantic, it’s in a laundromat...that’s all it takes to win a girl is strung lights".
In the music video, Bieber is attracted to a girl (Grace Marie Wilson) he sees every day washing clothes at the local laundromat. In the opening scenes, Bieber is wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, similar to the gray one he wore in the "One Time" video, along with a cranberry shirt. One day while he is waiting for his clothes and is tuning his guitar, she drops a scarf, and he picks it up. In the laundromat scene Bieber is wearing a mixed purple, blue & orange plaid collared shirt, with a dark purple tee. The girl comes back the next day however he is not there. He then posts a sign beside the washer that he found her missing scarf. He leads the girl on a scavenger hunt for the scarf, posting signs with pictures of him on them around the town to encourage her to go on a date with him. He takes pictures of him in situations such as buying chocolate for her and the puppies scene, and others, with notes doting quips of what he would do for her. During the date and ending scenes Bieber has on a white striped collared shirt, with a dark cyan tee. She finally finds him at the end of the video, and they have their date.
MTV called the video "lost-and-found action with a scarf that eventually leads to some young love," and gives credit to Bieber as a new sensation, stating "The setting for "One Less Lonely Girl" seems to be Main Street, USA...And why not? Is this kid not the slice of apple pie cooling on the window sill of the American teen dream?" AOL calls the video a "treasure hunt" and commended the pet store scene, saying "And then, as if the video couldn't get more cute, they bring out the puppies." "One Less Lonely Girl" officially published on YouTube on .
Merchandise.
The "One Less Lonely Girl" phrase spawned several products from Bieber's official store to have the coined phrase on them. One of the products is a cranberry colored scarf, the same color as a shirt Bieber wore in the music video. One end of the scarf has a patch with the "One Less Lonely Girl" phrase on it and the other end has a signature by Bieber. Tamar Antai of "MTV Buzzworthy" called the scarf "boundsly adorable" and "a total bargain for less loneliness". Another product was a white t-shirt that had the phrase stylized as "1LessL♥nelyGirl" in variations of sky blue colors. In December 2009, Bieber teamed up with 1-800-Flowers for a promotion. The company came out with a "One Less Lonely Girl"-branded bouquet of red "intuition" roses and a Valentine's Day card from Bieber, depicting the singer holding a heart. Packages could either have a twenty-four or twelve count stems, and a red, silver or clear vase. The flowers could be set for delivery between January 12-February 12, 2010, before Valentine's Day. The first one thousand customers received a free replica of the scarf in the "One Less Lonely Girl" video. A portion of the proceeds went to Pencils of Promise, a charity that helps build schools in developing areas of the world. Bieber frequently participates in the charity. A contest was also set in place in which a winner would be greeted with their flowers by Bieber himself, or could win the flower bouquet and other Justin Bieber merchandise.
Live performances.
Bieber has performed "One Less Lonely Girl" as an acoustic rendition and with the original musical background. He premiered the song, performing an acoustic rendition when he made a return appearance to his native Canada on the finale of YTV's "The Next Star". Bieber performed the song along with his lead single "One Time" on September 26, 2009. He also performed the song acoustically when he appeared on "It's On with Alexa Chung" on November 19, 2009. When Bieber performs the song with the musical background, he invites one or two girls on stage to be the object of his affection or the "lonely girl" during the performance and gives them flowers. (The "lonely girl" traditionally does not appear on stage until the song's bridge.) Bieber performed the song with the original musical background along with "One Time", and "Favorite Girl" on his U.S. network television debut on "The Today Show". He also performed the song with the musical background on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", and during Winter 2009 when he performed at several different Jingle Ball concerts. When Bieber performed at Q100's Jingle Ball in Atlanta, Georgia, where Bieber's career is based out of, he invited good friend and former girlfriend, Caitlin Beadles, who had recently recovered from a boating accident, on stage as the girl during the song. Bieber performed the single as his second song during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest, and invited his friend and fellow performer that night, Selena Gomez on stage to act as the lonely girl. The performance onstage fueled further speculation of a relationship between Bieber and Gomez but both claimed they were just friends, as they did before. He sang the song on VH1's Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam, along with other performers Rihanna and Timbaland, and on CBS' The Early Show as a part of their Super Bowl programming. He performed a medley of "One Less Lonely Girl" and "Never Let You Go", along with "Baby" at BET's SOS: Help for Haiti Telethon. With the telethon also being broadcast in Haiti, Bieber sang the first verse in French. The song was also on the set list for the My World Tour and the Believe Tour. When Bieber performed the song as part of the Believe Tour, instead of giving the "lonely girl" flowers, he placed a wreath of flowers on her head. During the Purpose World Tour, Bieber unexpectedly performed the song during the tour for the last time.
Controversy.
A parody of the song performed by Bieber caused controversy after a video of it was released by the entertainment news website TMZ on June 4, 2014. The video featured a then 15-year-old Bieber, parodying the song with the main lyric "One less lonely nigger," and singing that if he were to kill "one less lonely nigger," he'd be "part of the KKK." Sources stated that Bieber told his mentors, musicians Usher and Will Smith, about the video after it was filmed, after which Usher showed Bieber some videos about the history of racism in an effort to teach him about the derogatory intent of the word "nigger" and other racial epithets. On June 5, 2014, the rapper and president of Young Money Entertainment, Mack Maine chose to defend Bieber after the racist remarks. Maine said Bieber is still family for the artists on Young Money, according to TMZ. The publication reports that Maine says Bieber has black friends and that "Bieber does not have a slave mentality." According to Mack Maine, Bieber "treats his people with respect." Mack Maine has said that he brought up a racial joke in his past. "I remember telling a White man, Chinese man, Black man joke as a kid that was terrible," Maine says, "and I told it to my friends because I thought they'd think it was funny." Mack Maine also confirms that Young Money and Justin Bieber are slated to continue working together. On the same day, Bieber apologized for the parody, saying "I didn’t realize at the time that it wasn’t funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance" and "I take all my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable behavior."
Credits and personnel.
Source
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Baby-Baby-Baby
1992 single by TLC
"Baby-Baby-Baby" is a song by American girl group TLC. It was the second single released from their debut studio album, "Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip" (1992), and their second consecutive top-10 hit. It was the most successful single from the album, reaching number two on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and number one on the "Billboard" Hot R&B Singles chart, giving them their first number-one on the latter.
Background.
"Baby-Baby-Baby" was written and produced by Babyface, L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons. The song features lead vocals from Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas adlibbing and singing the middle-8 sections. It is the first song not to contain a rap by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who instead recorded a rap for the song's remix version.
Critical reception.
Allmusic gave "Baby-Baby-Baby" a 5-star rating.
Commercial performance.
"Baby-Baby-Baby" held the runner-up spot on the "Billboard" Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks, from August 15 to September 19, 1992. It also reached number one on the "Billboard" Hot R&B Singles chart. "Baby-Baby-Baby" finished at number five on the "Billboard" Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1992, and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1992.
Music video.
"Baby-Baby-Baby" had a video depicting TLC at Bowie State University campus and in their dorms, where they have a slumber party. One of the posters reads 'Protection is Priority'.
Charts.
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The Lonely Island
American comedy troupe
The Lonely Island is an American comedy trio, formed by Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer in Berkeley, California, in 2001. They have written for and starred in the American TV program "Saturday Night Live" ("SNL").
The three first met in junior high. After graduating from college, they regrouped and moved to Los Angeles, where they struggled to find work and began making short films, combining absurdist comedy and occasionally music. Among the first performers to post their material on the Internet, they involved themselves with Channel 101, a non-profit monthly short film festival. Their popularity at the screenings led to unsuccessful pilot deals with Fox and Comedy Central and a writing job for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. Subsequently, that show's host, Jimmy Fallon, recommended them to Lorne Michaels, the creator of "Saturday Night Live".
The group was hired for "SNL" in 2005, with all three as writers and Samberg as a featured player. Bypassing the traditional process of pitching, they recorded their own material independently and submitted it to the program. Their second sketch to air, "Lazy Sunday", became an internet sensation, the first of many viral videos they produced while at "SNL". They led their own division at the program — "SNL" Digital Shorts — which led to numerous viral videos, including "Motherlover", "Dick in a Box", "Jizz in My Pants", "I'm on a Boat", "Like a Boss", "I Just Had Sex", "Jack Sparrow", and "YOLO". Their musical comedic work has comprised four full studio albums: "Incredibad" (2009), "Turtleneck & Chain" (2011), "The Wack Album" (2013), and "The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience" (2019), along with a soundtrack album for their 2016 film "". The three retired from "SNL" in the early 2010s, but occasionally make guest appearances.
The troupe has written, directed and starred in two feature-length films, "Hot Rod", released in 2007, and "", co-produced by Judd Apatow and released in 2016. The group also produced the 2020 film "Palm Springs", starring Samberg and Cristin Milioti.
History.
Formation and early years (1990–2004).
The Lonely Island first formed at Willard Junior High School in Berkeley, California, in the early 1990s. Schaffer and Taccone first met in seventh grade Spanish class, and the group later expanded to include Samberg, a year behind the two. The trio belonged to a large group of friends interested in skateboarding. Each had plans to pursue the arts following their graduation from Berkeley High School, but they split apart, attending different colleges. Taccone attended the University of California, Los Angeles to study theatre, while Schaffer and Samberg both attended the University of California, Santa Cruz as film students. Samberg later transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in his sophomore year, with the three communicating over the phone during this period. Following college, the trio regrouped in Berkeley to decide their future. Their two options — either stay in Berkeley and begin making short films or move to Los Angeles, "get real jobs," and eventually begin making films —ended in a compromise.
In September 2000, they moved to Los Angeles and created their website, which would host short films. They named themselves The Lonely Island, after the "modest, low-rent" L.A. apartment that they shared with roommates Chester Tam and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin. The latter was a musician, and their late nights together often led to the trio making comedic rap songs, which they began to upload online. Their videos were produced via borrowed equipment and edited on a single PowerMac, and they were first uploaded to websites such as iFilm and Heavy.com. Their first "fake rap" song, "Ka-Blamo!", was uploaded in September 2001. They released their work under Creative Commons licenses, which allowed anyone to distribute their content (such as blogs and peer-to-peer networks), perhaps leading to wider audiences. In December 2001, they produced a pilot for a television series titled "The Lonely Island"; the first episode involved the three becoming addicted to teeth whitening products. The video gained the trio agents, and it was notable for a scene in which they mug an elderly woman. During the shoot, actor Kiefer Sutherland, not realizing it was a video, stopped and tried to intervene. Their agents requested they convert their shorts to VHS tape because they did not have high-speed internet at the time.
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 We would come home every night after having some drinks and challenge ourselves. Like: 'It's only midnight. By 2am, let's have this video done.' It would be the shittiest 8mm camcorder effort, and


Chelsea F.C.
Association football club in England
Football club
Chelsea Football Club is a professional football club based in Fulham, West London, England. Named after neighbouring area Chelsea, they compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1905, the team play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club won their first major honour, the League championship, in 1955. They won the FA Cup for the first time in 1970, won their first European honour, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1971, and became the third English club to win the Club World Cup in 2022.
Chelsea is one of five clubs and the first English club to have won all three pre-1999 main European club competitions, the "European Treble" of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, European/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League. They are the only club to have won all three major European competitions twice. They are the only London club to have won the Champions League and the Club World Cup. Domestically, the club has won six league titles, eight FA Cups, five League Cups, and four FA Community Shields. Internationally, they have won the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup twice each, and the FIFA Club World Cup once. In terms of overall trophies won, Chelsea is the fifth-most successful club in English football.
The club has rivalries with fellow London teams Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, and a historic rivalry with Leeds United. In terms of club value, Chelsea is the ninth-most-valuable football club in the world (as of 2024[ [update]]), worth $3.13 billion, and is the ninth-highest-earning football club in the world.
History.
Founding and early years (1905–1952).
In 1904, Gus Mears acquired the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium in Fulham with the aim of turning it into a football ground. An offer to lease it to nearby Fulham F.C. was turned down, so Mears opted to found his own club to use the stadium. As there was already a team named Fulham in the borough, the name of the adjacent borough of Chelsea was chosen for the new club; names like "Kensington FC", "Stamford Bridge FC" and "London FC" were considered. Chelsea F.C. was founded on 10 March 1905 at The Rising Sun pub (now The Butcher's Hook), opposite the present-day main entrance to the ground on Fulham Road, and were elected to the Football League shortly afterwards.
Chelsea won promotion to the First Division in their second season, and yo-yoed between the First and Second Divisions in its early years. The team reached the 1915 FA Cup final, where they lost to Sheffield United at Old Trafford, and finished third in the First Division in 1920, the club's best league campaign to that point. Chelsea had a reputation for signing star players and attracted large crowds. The club had the highest average attendance in English football in ten separate seasons including 1907–08, 1909–10, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1913–14 and 1919–20. They were FA Cup semi-finalists in 1920 and 1932 and remained in the First Division throughout the 1930s, but success eluded the club in the inter-war years.
Modernisation and the first league championship (1952–1983).
Former Arsenal and England centre-forward Ted Drake was appointed manager in 1952 and proceeded to modernise the club. He removed the club's Chelsea pensioner crest, improved the youth set-up and training regime, rebuilt the side with shrewd signings from the lower divisions and amateur leagues, and led Chelsea to their first major trophy success – the League championship – in 1954–55. The following season saw UEFA create the European Champions' Cup, but after objections from The Football League, Chelsea were persuaded to withdraw from the competition before it started. Chelsea failed to build on this success, and spent the remainder of the 1950s in mid-table. Drake was dismissed in 1961 and replaced by player-coach Tommy Docherty.
Docherty built a new team around the group of talented young players emerging from the club's youth set-up, and Chelsea challenged for honours throughout the 1960s, enduring several near-misses. They were on course for a treble of League, FA Cup and League Cup going into the final stages of the 1964–65 season, winning the League Cup but faltering late on in the other two. In three seasons the side were beaten in three major semi-finals and were FA Cup runners-up. Under Docherty's successor, Dave Sexton, Chelsea won the FA Cup in 1970, beating Leeds United 2–1 in a final replay. The following year, Chelsea took their first European honour, a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup triumph, with another replayed win, this time over Real Madrid in Athens.
Redevelopment and financial crisis (1983–2003).
The late 1970s through to the '80s was a turbulent period for Chelsea. An ambitious redevelopment of Stamford Bridge threatened the financial stability of the club, star players were sold and the team were relegated. Further problems were caused by a notorious hooligan element among the support, which was to plague the club throughout the decade. In 1982, at the nadir of their fortunes, Chelsea were acquired by Ken Bates from Mears' great-nephew Brian Mears, for the nominal sum of £1. Bates bought a controlling stake in the club and floated Chelsea on the AIM stock exchange in March 1996 although by now the Stamford Bridge freehold had been sold to property developers, meaning the club faced losing their home. On the pitch, the team had fared little better, coming close to relegation to the Third Division for the first time, but in 1983 manager John Neal put together an impressive new team for minimal outlay. Chelsea won the Second Division title in 1983–84 and established themselves in the top division with two top-six finishes, before being relegated again in 1988. The club bounced back immediately by winning the Second Division championship in 1988–89.
After a long-running legal battle, Bates reunited the stadium freehold with the club in 1992 by doing a deal with the banks of the property developers, who had been bankrupted by a market crash. In the mid-1990s Chelsea fan and businessman Matthew Harding became a director and loaned the club £26 million to build the new North Stand and invest in new players. Chelsea's form in the new Premier League was unconvincing, although they did reach the 1994 FA Cup final. The appointment of Ruud Gullit as player-manager in 1996 began an upturn in the team's fortunes. He added several top international players to the side and led the club to their first major honour since 1971, the FA Cup. Gullit was replaced by Gianluca Vialli, whose reign saw Chelsea win the League Cup, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the UEFA Super Cup in 1998, and the FA Cup in 2000. They mounted a strong title challenge in 1998–99, finishing four points behind champions Manchester United, and made their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League. Vialli was sacked in favour of Claudio Ranieri, who guided Chelsea to the 2002 FA Cup final and Champions League qualification in 2002–03.
Abramovich ownership (2003–2022).
With the club facing an apparent financial crisis, Bates unexpectedly sold Chelsea F.C. in June 2003 for £60 million. In so doing, he reportedly recognised a personal profit of £17 million on the club he had bought for £1 in 1982 (his stake had been diluted to just below 30% over the years). The club's new owner was Russian oligarch and billionaire Roman Abramovich, who took on responsibility for the club's £80 million of debt, quickly paying some of it. Sergei Pugachev alleged Chelsea was bought on Putin's orders, an allegation Abramovich has denied. Bates mentioned that Abramovich was in talks to buy Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur before he bought Chelsea in a deal sealed in a day.
Over £100 million was spent on new players, but Ranieri was unable to deliver any trophies, and was replaced by José Mourinho. Under Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back-to-back league championships since the Second World War (2004–05 and 2005–06), in addition to winning an FA Cup (2007) and two League Cups (2005 and 2007). After a poor start to the 2007–08 season, Mourinho was replaced by Avram Grant, who led the club to their first UEFA Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United. The club did not turn a profit in the first nine years of Abramovich's ownership, and made record losses of £140m in June 2005.
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I am a fan of special nature. I'm excited before every single game. The trophy at the end is less important than the process itself.
—Abramovich discussing two trophy-laden years at Chelsea (2006).
In 2009, under caretaker manager Guus Hiddink, Chelsea won another FA Cup. In 2009–10, his successor Carlo Ancelotti led them to their first Premier League and FA Cup Double, becoming the first English top-flight club to score 100 league goals in a season since 1963. In 2012, Roberto Di Matteo led Chelsea to their seventh FA Cup, and their first UEFA Champions League title, beating Bayern Munich 4–3 on penalties, the first London club to win the trophy. The following year the club won the UEFA Europa League, making them the first club to hold two major European titles simultaneously and one of five clubs to have won the three main UEFA trophies. Mourinho returned as manager in 2013 and led Chelsea to League Cup success in March 2015, and the Premier League title two months later. Mourinho was sacked after four months of the following season after a poor start.
In November 2012, Chelsea announced a profit of £1.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2012, the first time the club had made a profit under Abramovich's ownership. This was followed by a loss in 2013 and then their highest ever profit of £18.4 million for the year to June 2014. In 2018 Chelsea announced a record after-tax profit of £62 million.
In 2017, under new coach Antonio Conte, Chelsea won their sixth English title and the following season won their eighth FA Cup. In 2018 Conte was sacked after a fifth-place finish and replaced with Maurizio Sarri, under whom Chelsea reached the League Cup final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester City and won the Europa League for a second time, beating Arsenal 4–1 in the final. Sarri then left the club to become manager of Juventus and was replaced by former Chelsea player Frank Lampard.
In Lampard's first season, he guided Chelsea to fourth place in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final, losing 2–1 to Arsenal. Lampard was dismissed in January 2021 and replaced with Thomas Tuchel.
Under Tuchel, Chelsea reached the FA Cup final, losing 1–0 to Leicester City, and won their second UEFA Champions League title with a 1–0 win over Manchester City in Porto. The club subsequently won the 2021 UEFA Super Cup for the second time by defeating Villarreal 6–5 in a penalty shootout, after it had ended 1–1 in Belfast after extra time, and the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup (the first for the club) in Abu Dhabi after beating Brazilian Palmeiras 2–1.
On 18 April 2021, Chelsea announced it would be joining a new European Super League, a league competition comprising the biggest European clubs. After a backlash from supporters, the club announced their withdrawal days later. The club opted against furloughing their non-matchday staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the decision reportedly coming from Abramovich himself. Chelsea, one of the first clubs to help the National Health Service, lent the club-owned Millennium Hotel for the NHS staff.
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"[Chelsea] have been a success machine for the last 10–20 years. That doesn't just come with money, we've seen at Manchester United and Arsenal where they've put billions into the team and not had the success that Chelsea have had. Chelsea can feel comfortable that they'll have rich owners, but will they have football-smart owners? Because that's what Abramovich has been.
—Gary Neville on Abramovich's legacy.
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"I don't want to throw my money away but it's really about having fun and that means success and trophies."
—Roman Abramovich, in an interview with the BBC following the takeover.
Amidst financial sanctions leveled at Russian oligarchs by Western governments in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich stated on 26 February that he would hand over the stewardship of Chelsea to the trustees of the Chelsea Foundation. The trustees did not immediately agree, due to legal concerns regarding the rules of the Charity Commission for England and Wales. A week later, Abramovich wrote-off the £1.5 billion the club owed him, and put the club up for sale, pledging to donate net proceeds from it to the victims of the war in Ukraine.
On 10 March 2022, the British government announced sanctions on Abramovich with Chelsea allowed to operate under a special license until 31 May. In the following weeks, reports emerged of Abramovich's involvement in brokering a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia and securing safe evacuation corridors in besieged Ukrainian cities. An American government official revealed that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had requested that the US government not levy sanctions against Abramovich given his importance to war relief efforts.
BlueCo ownership (2022–present).
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We're all in – 100% – every minute of every match. Our vision as owners is clear: we want to make the fans proud.
—Todd Boehly, addressing the press after the takeover.
On 7 May 2022, Chelsea confirmed that terms had been agreed for a new ownership group, led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjörg Wyss, to acquire the club. The group was later known as BlueCo. The UK government approved the £4.25bn takeover, ending Abramovich's 19-year ownership of the club. Bruce Buck, who served as chairman since 2003, was replaced by Boehly, while long-serving club director and "de facto" sporting director Marina Granovskaia left, as did Petr Čech from the role of technical and performance advisor.
The club brought in Graham Potter from Brighton & Hove Albion to replace Tuchel on 8 September 2022. Chelsea won six of the first 11 games of the 2022–23 season, but only five of the remaining 27. Potter would be sacked on 2 April 2023 and eventually be replaced by Frank Lampard as caretaker manager. Under Lampard the club would only win one of their last 11 matches resulting in a 9% win percentage. Lampard's win percentage was the worst for any Chelsea manager who managed three games or more. Chelsea scored a record-low 38 goals across the entire season and finished in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 1995–96.
Mauricio Pochettino was announced as Lampard's replacement in 2023. He led Chelsea to a 6th-place finish, and a place in the Conference League play-off round qualification. After clashing with the sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley over strategy and management of the young squad, Pochettino agreed to leave the club at the end of the season.
On 3 June 2024, Enzo Maresca was announced as Pochettino's replacement, with the Italian beginning his term as manager on 1 July 2024.
League history.
L1 = Level 1 of the football league system; L2 = Level 2 of the football league system
Stadium.
Chelsea have only had one home ground, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since the team's foundation. The stadium was officially opened on 28 April 1877 and for the next 28 years it was used by the London Athletic Club as an arena for athletics meetings. In 1904, the ground was acquired by businessman Gus Mears and his brother Joseph, who had purchased nearby land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m2) site. Stamford Bridge was designed for the Mears family by the noted football architect Archibald Leitch, who had designed Ibrox, Craven Cottage and Hampden Park. Most football clubs were founded first, and then sought grounds in which to play, but Chelsea were founded for Stamford Bridge.
Starting with an open bowl-like design and one grandstand with seating, Stamford Bridge had an original capacity of around 100,000, making it the second biggest stadium in England after Crystal Palace. The early 1930s saw the construction of a terrace on the southern part of the ground with a roof that covered around 20% of the stand. As the roof resembled that of a corrugated iron shed, the stand eventually became known as the "Shed End", although it is unknown who first coined this name. From the 1960s, it became known as the home of Chelsea's most loyal and vocal supporters. In 1939, another small seated stand was added, the North Stand, which remained until its demolition in 1975.
In the early 1970s, the club's owners announced a modernisation of Stamford Bridge with plans for a state-of-the-art 50,000 all-seater stadium. Work began in 1972 but the project was beset with problems and ultimately only the East Stand was completed; the cost brought the club close to bankruptcy. The freehold was sold to property developers and the club were under threat of eviction from the stadium. Following a long legal battle, it was not until the mid-1990s that Chelsea's future at Stamford Bridge was secured and renovation work resumed. The north, west and southern parts of the ground were converted into all-seater stands and moved closer to the pitch, a process completed by 2001. The East Stand was retained from the 1970s development. In 1996, the north stand was renamed the Matthew Harding stand, after the club director and benefactor who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier that year.
When Stamford Bridge was redeveloped in the Bates era many additional features were added to the complex including two Millennium & Copthorne hotels, apartments, bars, restaurants, the Chelsea Megastore, and an interactive visitor attraction called Chelsea World of Sport. The intention was that these facilities would provide extra revenue to support the football side of the business, but they were less successful than hoped and before the Abramovich takeover in 2003 the debt taken on to finance them was a major burden on the club. Soon after the takeover a decision was taken to drop the "Chelsea Village" brand and refocus on Chelsea as a football club. However, the stadium is sometimes still referred to as part of "Chelsea Village" or "The Village".
The Stamford Bridge freehold, the pitch, the turnstiles and Chelsea's naming rights are now owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners, a non-profit organisation in which fans are the shareholders. The CPO was created to ensure the stadium could never again be sold to developers. As a condition for using the Chelsea FC name, the club has to play its first team matches at Stamford Bridge, which means that if the club moves to a new stadium, they may have to change their name.
Chelsea's training ground is located in Cobham, Surrey. Chelsea moved to Cobham in 2004. Their previous training ground in Harlington was taken over by QPR in 2005. The new training facilities in Cobham were completed in 2007.
Stamford Bridge hosted the FA Cup final from 1920 to 1922, has held 10 FA Cup Semi-finals (most recently in 1978), ten FA Charity Shield matches (the last in 1970), and three England international matches, the last in 1932; it was the venue for an unofficial "Victory International" in 1946. The 2013 UEFA Women's Champions League final was played at Stamford Bridge as well.
The stadium has been used for a variety of other sports. In October 1905 it hosted a rugby union match between the All Blacks and Middlesex, and in 1914 hosted a baseball match between the touring New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox. It was the venue for a boxing match between world flyweight champion Jimmy Wilde and Joe Conn in 1918. The running track was used for dirt track racing between 1928 and 1932, greyhound racing from 1933 to 1968, and Midget car racing in 1948. In 1980, Stamford Bridge hosted the first international floodlit cricket match in the UK, between Essex and the West Indies. It was the home stadium of the London Monarchs American Football team for the 1997 season.
The previous owner Abramovich and the club's then executive board determined that a larger stadium is necessary in order for Chelsea to stay competitive with rival clubs who have significantly larger stadia, such as Arsenal and Manchester United. Owing to its location next to a main road and two railway lines, fans can only enter Stamford Bridge via the Fulham Road, which places constraints on expansion due to health and safety regulations. The club have consistently affirmed their desire to keep Chelsea at their current home, but have nonetheless been linked with a move to various nearby sites, including the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Battersea Power Station and the Chelsea Barracks. In October 2011, a proposal from the club to buy back the freehold to the land on which Stamford Bridge sits was voted down by Chelsea Pitch Owners shareholders. In May 2012, the club made a formal bid to purchase Battersea Power Station, with a view to developing the site into a new stadium, but lost out to a Malaysian consortium. The club subsequently announced plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seater stadium,
and in January 2017 these plans were approved by Hammersmith and Fulham council. However, on 31 May 2018, the club released a statement saying that the new stadium project had been put on hold indefinitely, citing "the current unfavourable investment climate".
In July 2022, it was reported that the club's new owner Todd Boehly had appointed American architect Janet Marie Smith to oversee the renovation of the stadium.
Identity.
Crest.
Chelsea has had four main crests, which all underwent minor variations. The first, adopted when the club was founded, was the image of a Chelsea Pensioner, the army veterans who reside at the nearby Royal Hospital Chelsea. This contributed to the club's original "pensioner" nickname, and remained for the next half-century, though it never appeared on the shirts. When Ted Drake became Chelsea manager in 1952, he began to modernise the club. Believing the Chelsea pensioner crest to be old-fashioned, he insisted that it be replaced. A stop-gap badge which comprised the initials C.F.C. was adopted for a year. In 1953, the club crest was changed to an upright blue lion looking backwards and holding a staff. It was based on elements in the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea with the "lion rampant regardant" taken from the arms of then club president Viscount Chelsea and the staff from the Abbots of Westminster, former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea. It featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs. This was the first Chelsea crest to appear on the shirts, in the early 1960s. In 1975, a heraldic badge was granted by the College of Arms to the English Football League for use by Chelsea. The badge took the form of the familiar lion and staff encircled by a blue ring but without lettering and without the red roses and red footballs (blazoned as "A lion rampant reguardant azure supporting with the forepaws a crozier or all within an annulet azure"). In 1986, with Ken Bates owner of the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and because the old rampant lion badge could not be trademarked. The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, in white and not blue, standing over the C.F.C. initials. This lasted for the next 19 years, with some modifications such as the use of different colours, including red from 1987 to 1995, and yellow from 1995 until 1999, before the white returned. With the new ownership of Roman Abramovich, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the popular 1950s badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2005. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2005–06 season and marked a return to the older design, used from 1953 to 1986, featuring a blue heraldic lion holding a staff. For the centenary season this was accompanied by the words '100 Years' and 'Centenary 2005–2006' on the top and bottom of the crest respectively.
Colours.
Chelsea's first home colours (1905 – c. 1912)
Chelsea have always worn blue shirts, although they originally used the paler eton blue, which was taken from the racing colours of then club president, Earl Cadogan, and was worn with white shorts and dark blue or black socks. The light blue shirts were replaced by a royal blue version in around 1912. In the 1960s Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty changed the kit again, switching to blue shorts (which have remained ever since) and white socks, believing it made the club's colours more modern and distinctive, since no other major side used that combination; this kit was first worn during the 1964–65 season. Since then Chelsea have always worn white socks with their home kit apart from a short spell from 1985 to 1992, when blue socks were reintroduced.
Chelsea's away colours are usually all yellow or all white with blue trim. More recently, the club have had a number of black or dark blue away kits which alternate every year. As with most teams, they have had some more unusual ones. At Docherty's behest, in the 1966 FA Cup semi-final they wore blue and black stripes, based on Inter Milan's kit. In the mid-1970s, the away strip was a red, white and green kit inspired by the Hungarian national side of the 1950s. Other away kits include an all jade strip worn from 1986 to 1989, red and white diamonds from 1990 to 1992, graphite and tangerine from 1994 to 1996, and luminous yellow from 2007 to 2008. The graphite and tangerine strip has appeared in lists of the worst football kits ever.
Songs and fan chants.
The song "Blue is the Colour" was released as a single in the build-up to the 1972 League Cup final, with all members of Chelsea's first team squad singing; it reached number five in the UK Singles Chart. The song has since been adopted by a number of other sports teams around the world, including the Vancouver Whitecaps (as "White is the Colour") and the Saskatchewan Roughriders (as "Green is the Colour").
Chelsea released the song "No One Can Stop Us Now" in 1994 for reaching the 1994 FA Cup final. It reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart. In the build-up to the 1997 FA Cup final, the song "Blue Day", performed by Suggs and members of the Chelsea squad, reached number 22 in the UK chart. In 2000, Chelsea released the song "Blue Tomorrow". It reached number 22 in the UK Singles Chart.
At matches, Chelsea fans sing chants such as "Carefree" (to the tune of "Lord of the Dance", whose lyrics were probably written by supporter Mick Greenaway), "Ten Men Went to Mow", "We All Follow the Chelsea" (to the tune of "Land of Hope and Glory"), "Zigga Zagga", and the celebratory "Celery". The latter is often accompanied by fans throwing celery at each other, although the vegetable was banned inside Stamford Bridge after an incident involving midfielder Cesc Fàbregas at the 2007 League Cup final. Popular fan chants include, "Super Chelsea", "Super Frank" (dedicated to all-time leading goal scorer Frank Lampard), "We love you Chelsea" and "Come on Chelsea". There are situation-specific or team-specific chants meant to rile up opposition teams, managers or players.
Support.
Chelsea is among the most widely supported football clubs in the world. It has the sixth-highest average attendance in the history of English football, and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the ninth best-supported Premier League team in the 2023–24 season, with an average gate of 39,700. Chelsea's traditional fanbase comes from all over the Greater London area including working-class parts such as Hammersmith and Battersea, wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the home counties. There are numerous official supporters clubs in the United Kingdom and all over the world. Between 2007 and 2012, Chelsea were ranked fourth worldwide in annual replica kit sales, with an average of 910,000. As of 2023, Chelsea has 118.9 million followers on social media, the fourth highest among football clubs.
During the 1970s and 1980s in particular, Chelsea supporters were associated with football hooliganism. The club's "football firm", originally known as the Chelsea Shed Boys, and subsequently as the Chelsea Headhunters, were nationally notorious for football violence, alongside hooligan firms from other clubs such as West Ham United's Inter City Firm and Millwall's Bushwackers, before, during and after matches. The increase of hooligan incidents in the 1980s led chairman Ken Bates to propose erecting an electric fence to deter them from invading the pitch, a proposal that the Greater London Council rejected.
Since the 1990s, there has been a marked decline in crowd trouble at matches, as a result of stricter policing, CCTV in grounds and the advent of all-seater stadia. In 2007, the club launched the Back to the Shed campaign to improve the atmosphere at home matches, with notable success. According to Home Office statistics, 126 Chelsea fans were arrested for football-related offences during the 2009–10 season, the third highest in the division, and 27 banning orders were issued, the fifth-highest in the division.
Rivalries.
Chelsea have long-standing rivalries with North London clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. A strong rivalry with Leeds United dates back to several heated and controversial matches in the 1960s and 1970s, particularly the 1970 FA Cup final. More recently a rivalry with Liverpool has grown following repeated clashes in cup competitions. Fellow West London clubs Brentford, Fulham and Queens Park Rangers are considered rivals, but less so in recent times as matches have only taken place intermittently due to the teams often being in separate divisions.
A 2004 survey by Planetfootball.com found that Chelsea fans consider their main rivalries to be with (in descending order): Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. In the same survey, fans of Arsenal, Fulham, Leeds United, QPR, Tottenham, and West Ham United named Chelsea as one of their three main rivals. A 2012 survey, conducted among 1,200 supporters of the top four league divisions across the country, found that many clubs' main rivals had changed since 2003 and reported that Chelsea fans consider Tottenham to be their main rivals, above Arsenal and Manchester United. Additionally, fans of Arsenal, Brentford, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, QPR, Tottenham and West Ham identified Chelsea as one of their top three rivals.
Records and statistics.
Chelsea's highest appearance-maker is ex-captain Ron Harris, who played in 795 competitive games for the club between 1961 and 1980. Five other players made more than 500 appearances for the club: Peter Bonetti (729; 1959–79), John Terry (717; 1998–2017), Frank Lampard (648; 2001–2014), John Hollins (592; 1963–1975 and 1983–1984), and César Azpilicueta (508; 2012–2023). With 103 caps (101 while at the club) for England, Lampard is Chelsea's most capped international player. Every starting player in Chelsea's 57 games of the 2013–14 season was a full international – a new club record.
Lampard is Chelsea's all-time top goalscorer, having scored 211 goals in 648 games (2001–2014); he passed Bobby Tambling's longstanding record of 202 in May 2013. Eight other players have scored over 100 goals for Chelsea: George Hilsdon (1906–1912), George Mills (1929–1939), Roy Bentley (1948–1956), Jimmy Greaves (1957–1961), Peter Osgood (1964–1974 and 1978–1979), Kerry Dixon (1983–1992), Didier Drogba (2004–2012 and 2014–2015), and Eden Hazard (2012–2019). Greaves holds the club record for the most goals scored in one season (43 in 1960–61). While a Chelsea player, Greaves became the youngest ever player to score 100 goals in the English top-flight, at 20 years and 290 days.
Chelsea's biggest winning scoreline in a competitive match is 13–0, achieved against Jeunesse Hautcharage in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1971. The club's biggest top-flight win was an 8–0 victory against Wigan Athletic in 2010, which was matched in 2012 against Aston Villa. Chelsea's biggest loss was an 8–1 reverse against Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1953. The club's 21–0 aggregate victory over Jeunesse Hautcharage in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1971 is a record in European competition. Officially, Chelsea's highest home attendance is 82,905 for a First Division match against Arsenal on 12 October 1935. However, an estimated crowd of over 100,000 attended a friendly match against Soviet team Dynamo Moscow on 13 November 1945.
From 20 March 2004 to 26 October 2008, Chelsea went a record 86 consecutive league matches at home without defeat, beating the previous record of 63 matches unbeaten set by Liverpool between 1978 and 1980. Chelsea hold the English record for the fewest goals conceded during a league season (15), the highest number of clean sheets overall in a Premier League season (25) (both set during the 2004–05 season), and the most consecutive clean sheets from the start of a league season (6, set during the 2005–06 season). Chelsea is the only Premier League side to have won its opening nine league games of the season, doing so in 2005–06. From 2009 to 2013, Chelsea were unbeaten in a record 29 consecutive FA Cup matches (excluding penalty shoot-outs).
On 25 August 1928, Chelsea, along with Arsenal, became the first club to play with shirt numbers, in their match against Swansea Town. They were the first English side to travel by aeroplane to a domestic away match, when they visited Newcastle United on 19 April 1957, and the first First Division side to play a match on a Sunday, when they faced Stoke City on 27 January 1974. On 26 December 1999, Chelsea became the first British side to field an entirely foreign starting line-up (no British or Irish players) in a Premier League match against Southampton. In May 2007, Chelsea were the first team to win the FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium, having been the last to win it at the old Wembley. They were the first English club to be ranked No. 1 under UEFA's five-year coefficient system in the 21st century. They were the first Premier League team, and the first team in the English top flight since 1962–63, to score at least 100 goals in a single season, reaching the milestone during the 2009–10 season. Chelsea is the only London club to have won the UEFA Champions League. Upon winning the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Chelsea became the first English club to win all four UEFA club trophies and the only club to hold the Champions League and the Europa League at the same time.
Chelsea have broken the record for the highest transfer fee paid by a British club three times. Their £30.8 million purchase of Andriy Shevchenko from A.C. Milan in June 2006 was a British record until surpassed by the £32.5 million paid by Manchester City for Robinho in September 2008. The club's £50 million purchase of Fernando Torres from Liverpool in January 2011 held the record until Ángel Di María signed for Manchester United in August 2014 for £59.7 million. The club's £71 million purchase of Kepa Arrizabalaga in August 2018 remains a world record fee paid for a goalkeeper.
On 12 February 2022, Chelsea became the first London club to win the FIFA Club World Cup. In the final it beat Palmeiras with Kai Havertz scoring a late penalty. Chelsea broke the spending record in the winter transfer window with a £289 million spending spree on eight new signings, with the £107 million signing of Enzo Fernandez breaking the British transfer record.
Ownership and finances.
Chelsea Football Club was founded by Gus Mears in 1905. After his death in 1912, his descendants continued to own the club until 1982, when Ken Bates bought the club from Mears' great-nephew Brian Mears for £1. Bates bought a controlling stake in the club and floated Chelsea on the AIM stock exchange in March 1996. In the mid-1990s Chelsea fan and businessman Matthew Harding became a director, and loaned the club £26 million to build the new North Stand and invest in new players.
In July 2003, Roman Abramovich purchased just over 50% of Chelsea Village plc's share capital, including Bates' 29.5% stake, for £30 million and over the following weeks bought out most of the remaining 12,000 shareholders at 35 pence per share, completing a £140 million takeover. Other shareholders at the time of the takeover included the Matthew Harding estate (21%), BSkyB (9.9%) and various anonymous offshore trusts.
At the time of the Abramovich takeover, the club had debts of around £100 million, which included a 10-year £75 million Eurobond taken out in 1997 by the Bates regime to buy the freehold of Stamford Bridge and finance the redevelopment of the stadium. The 9% interest on the loan cost the club around £7 million a year and according to Bruce Buck, Chelsea were struggling to pay an instalment due in July 2003. Abramovich paid off some of that debt immediately, but the outstanding £36 million on the Eurobond was not fully repaid until 2008. Since then, the club had no external debt.
Abramovich changed the ownership name to Chelsea FC plc, whose ultimate parent company was Fordstam Limited, which was controlled by him. Chelsea were additionally funded by Abramovich via interest free soft loans channelled through his holding company Fordstam Limited. The loans stood at £709 million in December 2009, when they were all converted to equity by Abramovich, leaving the club themselves debt free, although the debt remained with Fordstam.
Chelsea did not turn a profit in the first nine years of Abramovich's ownership, and made record losses of £140m in June 2005. In November 2012, Chelsea announced a profit of £1.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2012, the first time the club had made a profit under Abramovich's ownership. This was followed by a loss in 2013 and then their highest ever profit of £18.4 million for the year to June 2014. In 2018 Chelsea announced a record after-tax profit of £62 million.
Chelsea has been described as a global brand; a 2012 report by Brand Finance ranked Chelsea fifth among football brands and valued the club's brand value at US$398 million – an increase of 27% from the previous year, valuing it at US$10 million more than the sixth best brand, London rivals Arsenal – and gave the brand a strength rating of AA (very strong). In 2016, "Forbes" magazine ranked Chelsea the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £1.15 billion ($1.66 billion). As of 2016[ [update]], Chelsea was ranked eighth in the Deloitte Football Money League with an annual commercial revenue of £322.59 million.
As of May 2022, Chelsea was ranked the eighth-most valuable club in the world according to "Forbes", and eighth according to Deloitte, with an annual commercial revenue of €493.1 million.
The club's recent accounting records highlight £26.6m they lost in compensation to former head coach Antonio Conte for sacking and to pay off his backroom staff and the legal costs that followed.
On 26 February 2022, during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Abramovich handed over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea FC to the Chelsea Charitable Foundation. Abramovich released an official statement on 2 March 2022 confirming that he was selling the club due to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Although the UK government froze Abramovich's assets in United Kingdom on 10 March due to his "close ties with Kremlin", it was made clear that the Chelsea club will be allowed to operate in terms of activities which are football related. On 12 March, the Premier League disqualified Abramovich as a director of Chelsea Football Club.
On 19 March 2022, there were five confirmed bids to acquire Chelsea FC: submitted to Raine Capital which was handling the sale of the club. Some of these were a consortium led by ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, a group of investors led by the Ricketts family (among them Joe and Pete Ricketts), Swiss and American businessmen Hansjörg Wyss and Todd Boehly, Aethel Partners headed by Portuguese Ricardo Santos Silva and British businessman Nick Candy, supported by former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli.
On 7 May, the club finally confirmed that "terms have been agreed" for a new ownership group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. On 30 May, it was confirmed that the Boehly consortium had completed the purchase of the club. The consortium includes Wyss and Mark Walter. Walter and Boehly are also owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Sparks. The consortium was later known as BlueCo. The transaction had received all necessary approvals from the governments of the United Kingdom and, the Premier League, and other authorities.
Sponsorship.
Chelsea's kit has been manufactured by Nike since July 2017. Previously, the kit was manufactured by Adidas, which was originally contracted to supply the club's kit from 2006 to 2018. The partnership was extended in October 2010 in a deal worth £160 million over eight years. This deal was again extended in June 2013 in a deal worth £300 million over another 10 years. In May 2016, Adidas announced that by mutual agreement, the kit sponsorship would end six years early on 30 June 2017. Chelsea had to pay £40m in compensation to Adidas. In October 2016, Nike was announced as the new kit sponsor, in a deal worth £900m over 15 years, until 2032. Previously, the kit was manufactured by Umbro (1975–81), Le Coq Sportif (1981–86), The Chelsea Collection (1986–87), Umbro (1987–2006), and Adidas (2006–2017).
Chelsea's first shirt sponsor was Gulf Air, agreed during the 1983–84 season. The club was then sponsored by Grange Farms, Bai Lin Tea and Simod before a long-term deal was signed with Commodore International in 1989; Amiga, an offshoot of Commodore, appeared on the shirts. Chelsea was subsequently sponsored by Coors beer (1994–97), Autoglass (1997–2001), Emirates (2001–05), Samsung Mobile (2005–08), Samsung (2008–15) and Yokohama Tyres (2015–20). From July 2020, Chelsea's sponsor was Three; however, it temporarily suspended its sponsorship in March 2022 in response to sanctions leveled by the UK government against Abramovich. It restored its sponsorship after the change of ownership of the club.
Following the introduction of sleeve sponsors in the Premier League, Chelsea had Alliance Tyres as its first sleeve sponsor in the 2017–18 season, followed by Hyundai Motor Company in 2018–19 season. In 2022–23 season, Amber Group became the new sleeve sponsor, with the flagship digital asset platform WhaleFin appearing on the sleeves of both men's and women's teams.
The club has a variety of other sponsors and official partners, which include Cadbury, EA Sports, FICO, Hilton Worldwide, 3 (company), Levy Restaurants, MSC Cruises, Oman Air, Parimatch, Rexona, Singha, The St. James, Trivago and BingX.
Popular culture.
In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, "The Great Game". One-time Chelsea centre forward, Jack Cock, who by then was playing for Millwall, was the star of the film and several scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including on the pitch, the boardroom, and the dressing rooms. It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills, and Sam Millington. Owing to the notoriety of the Chelsea Headhunters, a football firm associated with the club, Chelsea have featured in films about football hooliganism, including 2004's "The Football Factory". Chelsea appeared in the Hindi film "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom". In April 2011, Montenegrin comedy series "Nijesmo mi od juče" made an episode in which Chelsea played against FK Sutjeska Nikšić for qualification of the UEFA Champions League.
Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with the music halls; their underachievement often provided material for comedians such as George Robey. It culminated in comedian Norman Long's release of a comic song in 1933, ironically titled "On the Day That Chelsea Went and Won the Cup", the lyrics of which describe a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical day when Chelsea finally won a trophy. In Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film "The 39 Steps", Mr Memory claims that Chelsea last won the Cup in 63 BC, "in the presence of the Emperor Nero." Scenes in a 1980 episode of "Minder" were filmed during a real match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Preston North End with Terry McCann (Dennis Waterman) standing on the terraces.
 "As of 4 February 2025"
Players.
First-team squad.
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 "As of 13 March 2025"
Development Squad and Academy.
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 "As of 21 February 2025"
Out on loan.
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Management.
Notable managers.
The following managers won at least one trophy when in charge of Chelsea:
Honours.
Upon winning the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Chelsea became the fourth club in history to have won the "European Treble" of European Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, and European Cup Winners' Cup/UEFA Cup Winners' Cup after Juventus, Ajax and Bayern Munich. Chelsea is the first English club to have won all three major UEFA trophies.
Chelsea Women.
Chelsea operate a women's football team, Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies. They have been affiliated to the men's team since 2004 and are part of the club's Community Development programme. They play their home games at Kingsmeadow, formerly the home ground of the EFL League Two club AFC Wimbledon. The club were promoted to the Premier Division for the first time in 2005 as Southern Division champions and won the Surrey County Cup nine times between 2003 and 2013. In 2010, Chelsea Ladies were one of the eight founder members of the FA Women's Super League. In 2015, Chelsea Ladies won the FA Women's Cup for the first time, beating Notts County Ladies at Wembley Stadium, and a month later clinched their first FA WSL title to complete a league and cup double. In 2018, they won a second league and FA Cup double. Two years later, in 2020, they repeated their double success by winning the third league title and the FA Women's League Cup for the first time. In the 2020–21 season, Chelsea won a domestic treble by winning the league, FA Cup and League Cup. They reached the final of the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time, losing to Barcelona 4–0.
John Terry, former captain of the Chelsea men's team, is the president of Chelsea Women.
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Footnotes.
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Cobham Training Centre
Training ground of Chelsea Football Club
The Cobham Training Centre, is the training ground of Chelsea Football Club located in the village of Stoke d'Abernon near the village of Cobham, Surrey. The Chelsea first team have trained at Stoke D'Abernon since 2005, but it was not officially opened until 2007.
History.
When Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea FC in July 2003, the club's training facilities were identified as an important area for new investment. Chelsea had used the Harlington training ground since the 1970s, but it was owned by Imperial College, and its facilities were regarded as outdated in comparison to those of clubs such as Manchester United (Trafford Training Centre) and Arsenal (Arsenal Training Centre). Then-Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho regarded the move to a new, modern, training ground as "significant step forward" in the club's ambitions. Planning permission for a new state-of-the-art complex in Cobham was granted by Elmbridge Borough Council in 2004. Chelsea began training at Cobham in 2005, while construction was still ongoing, and the facility was officially unveiled in July 2007. In 2008, the final phase of the complex, an Academy and Community Pavilion for Chelsea's youth teams and "Football in the Community" department, was opened.
Facilities.
Costing a reported £20 million, the training ground is on a 140-acre site and, like a campus, it houses all of the club's football activities, from the first team to the academy, reserve and women's teams. It features "the latest in training, rehabilitation, medical, pitch and media technology" and its facilities include nine football pitches (three with undersoil heating and six to Premier League standard), an indoor artificial pitch, a media centre, gyms, cold immersion pools, a sauna, a steam room and a 56 ft HydroWorx hydrotherapy pool.
As a condition for receiving planning permission, none of the buildings in the complex were permitted to be taller than others in the surrounding area. Thus, approximately a third of the facility is underground; a moat was installed to reflect light into the basement rooms and to reduce energy usage. The main building also has a turf roof in order to help it blend into its surroundings and to improve air quality. Water from the surrounding area is collected in a reservoir for use on the pitch irrigation system.
Academy graduates.
Players who have graduated from the Cobham academy include:
Other uses.
Cobham has hosted the Surrey Positive Mental Awareness League, a football league for people with mental health problems. It also hosts the "Cobham Cup", a tournament for under-16 teams from around the world, including River Plate and Bayern Munich. In 2007, the Chinese Olympic football team trained at Cobham for two weeks in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Old Malvernians play their home matches at Cobham. The training facilities are also used by Cobham Rugby Football Club.
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