Fast Car
"Fast Car" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was released on April 6, 1988, as the lead single from her 1988 self-titled debut studio album. Chapman's appearance on the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute helped the song become a top-ten hit in the United States, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it initially reached number five on the UK Singles Chart in 1988; it would later reach number four in 2011 after Michael Collings performed it on Britain's Got Talent. Other artists who have covered the song include Swedish producer Tobtok, British producer Jonas Blue, and American country music singer Luke Combs, whose version made chart history.

"Fast Car" received three Grammy Award nominations: Record of the Year,  Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, the latter of which it won. It also received an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Female Video in 1989.

Music and lyrics
According to Metro Weekly critic Chris Gerard, "Fast Car" tells a grittily realistic story of a working poor woman trying to escape the cycle of poverty, set to folk rock music. The song's arrangement was described by Orlando Sentinel writer Thom Duffy as "subtle folk-rock", while Billboard magazine's Gary Trust deemed the record a "folk/pop" song. Dave Marsh said it was perhaps an "optimistic folk-rock narrative", whose characters are in a homeless shelter.

Release and promotion
Elektra Records released "Fast Car" on April 6, 1988, one day after the parent album, Tracy Chapman. That June, Chapman appeared at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, where she was initially scheduled to sing three songs. Just before surprise guest Stevie Wonder walked onstage, he learned that his keyboard's floppy disk had gone missing. He left in a panic, forcing the event organizers to usher Chapman back to the stage with nothing but a microphone and her guitar. As the organizers readied the stage for the following act, Chapman performed "Fast Car" and "Across the Lines". This performance brought attention to Chapman's music, with sales for Tracy Chapman increasing greatly, enough for it to top the Billboard 200 chart on August 27, 1988. "Fast Car" itself would reach number six on the Billboard Hot 100 the same week.

Critical reception
Rolling Stone ranked "Fast Car" number 167 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is Chapman's only song on the list, and the highest-ranking song performed and written solely by a female artist. When Rolling Stone updated the list in 2021, "Fast Car" was promoted to the 71st spot. Pitchfork named it the 86th-best song of the 1980s.

Renewed British success
In April 2011, "Fast Car" entered the UK top ten for the second time at number four after Michael Collings performed it on Britain's Got Talent, one position higher than its initial chart success in 1988. The single was certified triple platinum in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2022, based on downloads and streaming. By 2016, it had sold 661,500 copies in the United Kingdom.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Tobtok version

In 2015, a tropical house version was released by Swedish record producer Tobtok, featuring vocals from British singer River. Tobtok's version was published on SoundCloud on October 30, 2015, and released commercially on November 27, 2015 through Good Soldier Records, and subsequently licensed to Neon Records in Australia and  in the United States. Tobtok also released an accompanying music video. Although the Jonas Blue version released shortly after was far more successful, Tobtok's version also charted in a number of charts, notably Australia, where it received significant airplay (some stations like 2Day FM played it over the Jonas Blue version) and reached number 19 on the ARIA Singles Chart in January 2016, while Jonas Blue's version was at number 2. The Tobtok version also charted in the Norwegian VG-lista, Irish IRMA, and Danish Tracklisten charts.

Track listing
"Fast Car" – 3:27
"Fast Car" (L'Tric Remix Radio Edit) – 2:57

Charts

Certifications

Jonas Blue version

In 2015, a tropical house cover of "Fast Car" was released by British record producer Jonas Blue. It is Blue's debut single and features the vocals from British singer Dakota. It is the lead single of Blue's debut album Blue (2018). The Club Mix was included on Blue's compilation, Jonas Blue: Electronic Nature – The Mix 2017.

Background and inspiration
In an interview with iHeartRadio, Blue stated Chapman's original 1988 hit is a favorite of Blue's mother, who would often play it in the car. "It was a good song in London [during] that time when I was growing up, so it was always on the radio," he went on to say. "And it just kind of stuck with me. It was that song on the long journeys, and I loved it."

Regarding Dakota, who provides vocals on the song, Blue said, "... she [said], 'Oh, I've never done dance music before or anything like that so, I'm not kind of sure.' And I was like, 'Listen, you'd be great.' And she came the next day to record it, and what you hear on the radio is her coming in the next day after her show to record it." Blue also admitted that he wanted to create a Swedish-esque sound on the record: "I think with things like the synth lead lines in it, giving it that second hook, I was kind of going for a very kind of Swedish-y kind of sound. That's kind of the influence behind that kind of lead synth line, and that was something which I don't think people have picked up on yet, but they just like the song because  of what it is."

Composition
Jonas Blue's version of "Fast Car" is performed in the key of A major with a tempo of 114 beats per minute in common time, with Dakota's vocals ranging from E3 to F4.

Chart performance
The Jonas Blue version peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, behind Zayn Malik's "Pillowtalk". Its UK peak meant it charted higher than Chapman's original, which peaked at number five on the chart in May 1988 and a position higher upon a re-release in April 2011.

Outside the United Kingdom, the Jonas Blue version reached number one in Australia and Hungary, while peaking within the top ten in Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, and Sweden. In the United States, the Jonas Blue version went to number one on Dance Club Songs.

It reached 1 billion streams on Spotify in late February 2023.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Luke Combs version

American country music artist Luke Combs released a version of the song on his 2023 album Gettin' Old. It was sent to US Top 40 and Hot AC radio as the second single from the album, marking the first time that Combs has had a song sent to contemporary hit radio, as well as the first single that he did not have a hand in writing. The track became a smash hit on radio, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, higher than Chapman's original version, and on the Canadian Hot 100. On the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated August 5, 2023, it sat at number three, behind Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" and Morgan Wallen's "Last Night" at numbers one and two, respectively, making it the first time in that chart's history that the top three positions were all occupied by country artists.

Combs' version uses Chapman's original lyrics including the line "I work in the market as a checkout girl". Combs' manager Chris Kappy told Billboard magazine, "Luke is a songwriter too and Tracy is one of his favorite artists. So his goal was to never change the song. His goal was to honor the perfection that it is, and changing the gender never crossed his mind."

When Combs' version reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in July 2023, Chapman became the first black woman to score a country number one with a solo composition. Additionally, the rendition became the first cover of a pop single to top a Billboard chart based on country radio airplay since Blake Shelton's version of Michael Bublé's 2005 single "Home" reached number one in 2008.

In an interview with Billboard, Chapman spoke favorably of Combs and his rendition of "Fast Car", stating, "I never expected to find myself on the country charts, but I’m honored to be there. I’m happy for Luke and his success and grateful that new fans have found and embraced 'Fast Car.'" According to Billboard, Chapman earned about $500,000 in publishing royalties in the first few months of the release.

Charts

Certifications

Other notable versions 

 In  2002 Hitomi Yaida released a cover of "Fast Car" translated by her into Japanese as a B-side to Yaida's single "Andante."
 The initial version of the song "Dreams" by Gabrielle was based around a sample of "Fast Car" but this was removed from the final version because the sample could not be cleared.
The song is sampled in the 1992 song “Sometimes I Rhyme Slow” by Nice & Smooth.

See also
 List of number-one singles of 2016 (Australia)
 List of number-one dance singles of 2016 (U.S.)

References

1988 songs
1988 debut singles
Tracy Chapman songs
The Wilkinsons songs
Luke Combs songs
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Folk ballads
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
Songs written by Tracy Chapman
Elektra Records singles
Capitol Records singles
Positiva Records singles
Virgin EMI Records singles
Columbia Nashville Records singles
Song recordings produced by David Kershenbaum
Songs about poverty
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in Hungary
Number-one singles in Portugal
Number-one singles in Scotland
2015 debut singles
2016 singles
2023 singles
Songs about cars
Songs about parenthood
Songs about alcohol
Tropical house songs
Jonas Blue songs
Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
1980s ballads