Lady (Hear Me Tonight)

Romain Tranchart and Yann Destagnol, the members of Modjo, were attendees of the American School of Modern Music in Paris, France when they signed a record deal with UMG. Until signing the deal, they had not agreed on their band name, and "Lady" was only the "third or fourth" song they had written.^[3]

"Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" is written in the key of B-flat minor and proceeds at a moderately fast tempo of 128 beats per minute, in common time.^[4] It features a guitar sample of the 1982 single "Soup for One" performed by Chic, as written by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards.^[5] Since 2009, Chic has added the song to their concert setlist, which is often performed as a mash-up song with "Soup for One".^[6]

The single includes the original version of the track, plus an acoustic version, both performed by Modjo. Remixes have been provided by Harry Romero, Roy Davis Jr. and Danny Tenaglia.^[7]

The song debuted at number one in the United Kingdom on 10 September 2000,^[8] where it stayed for two weeks to become the sixteenth-best-selling single of 2000.^[9] The song earned Modjo an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first French group to debut at number one on the UK Singles Chart.^[10] It also reached number one in seven other European countries and became a top-10 hit in several others, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.^[11][12] In the United States, the song peaked at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100^[13] and number one on the Dance Club Play chart.^[14][15] As of 2017, the single has sold two million copies worldwide.^[3]

Upon release, Scottish Daily Record named "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" a "brilliant" house track.^[16] Billboard called it “one of the summer anthems throughout Europe”, and describing the track as “awash in retro memories and of-the-moment dancefloor sensibilities.” The magazine commended its “male vocals, incessant rhythm guitars, filtered effects, and unshakable melodies” for creating “an incredible feel-good atmosphere.”^[17]

In 2012, Australian music channel Max ranked the song number 790 in their list of the "1000 Greatest Songs of All Time".^[18] In 2018, Mixmag included it in their list of "The 30 Best Vocal House Anthems Ever".^[19] In 2019, Insider featured the song in their list of the "102 Songs Everyone Should Listen to in Their Lifetime".^[20] In 2025, Billboard magazine ranked it number 22 in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time", writing, "When you build your song on a Chic sample, it's guaranteed to be gold, but the pure disco perfection of French band Modjo's "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" is somehow even more emotionally powerful than the Nile Rogers original. This French Touch love song is tinged with the genre's signature sense of bittersweet melody, giving it a nostalgic sort of sepia tone that plucks on the heartstrings, even if it's your first time hearing it. Released in the summer of 2000, it has become a classic of the time period with a walking bassline that begs you to dance across the room, look your crush in the eye and declare your love for all to hear."^[2] Same year, it was also ranked number 15 in the magazine's "The 50 Best House Songs of All Time" list.^[21]

In 2024, Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo interpolated the chorus of the song in his single "For Life" featuring British singer Zak Abel and Nile Rodgers, whose 1982 song "Soup for One" with his group Chic was sampled in "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)".^[22]

The accompanying music video for "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" was directed by François Nemeta and was filmed in June 2000 in various locations in Quebec, Canada.^[23][24]

The video starts off with a teenager with a shaved head who walks into a restaurant where his friends, a teenage couple, are waiting for him. The three pool all their money together, take it to a used car dealership (the two members of Modjo have a cameo in this scene as a car salesman and a mechanic), buy a car and drive it to a country fair. The three watch a band playing in a bar and then grab their instruments during a break. Their efforts aren't appreciated, and the teenager with the shaved head is hit with a bottle thrown from the crowd, after which they are chased out. They then sneak into a motel, where they proceed to shower and sleep. The next morning, they are chased out by the hotel manager, and drive until their car breaks down. The girl leads the boys into the woods, and they come across a cliff with a view of a city, which they gaze at in awe as the sun sets.

Quick facts from the EP ForMe+You and the album Dirty Work, Released ...

"Lady"
Single by Austin Mahone featuring Pitbull
from the EP ForMe+You and the album Dirty Work
Released	10 February 2017
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:31
Label	AM Music LLC Mr. 305 Inc. BMG
Songwriters	Yann Destagnol Romain Tranchart Bernard Edwards Nile Rodgers Austin Mahone Pitbull
Producer	Jerome Price
Austin Mahone singles chronology
"Deserve Better" (2016) "Lady" (2017) "Creatures of the Night" (2017)
Pitbull singles chronology
"Greenlight" (2016) "Creatures of the Night" (2017) "Options" (2017)

Close

"Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" was covered by American singer Austin Mahone featuring rapper Pitbull under the shortened title "Lady". It was released on 10 February 2017, along with its lyrics video.^[116]

• List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s