"Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent from his second commercial album, The Massacre (2005). It features Olivia and was written by 50 Cent and the song's producer, Scott Storch. The single was released through Interscope Records, Eminem's Shady Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and 50 Cent's G-Unit Records.
"Candy Shop" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming 50 Cent's third number one single and fifth top-ten single. It received mixed reviews from critics, with some calling it a retread of 50 Cent's collaboration with Lil' Kim on "Magic Stick" (2003). At the 2006 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Rap Song, and at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, the music video was nominated for Best Male Video.
Background In an interview with XXL magazine, rapper Fat Joe claimed that he helped produce the track while working with producer Scott Storch. He stated: When writing the song, 50 Cent stated:
Composition "Candy Shop" is a mid-tempo dancefloor track.Reid, Shaheem (January 11, 2005). "50 Cent's Sticky New Single, 'Candy Shop,' Hits the Streets". MTV. Retrieved June 22, 2007.Brackett, Nathan (March 10, 2005). "The Masscre Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 22, 2007. The song was produced by Scott Storch, who took influence from Middle Eastern music.Touré (June 29, 2006). . Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 5, 2010. The track samples The Salsoul Orchestra's "Love Break"."50 Cent – 'The 50 Collection Vol. 1 (Original Samples)' ". Underground Hip Hop. Retrieved June 24, 2007. The production was described by IGN as having a "Middle Eastern tinge" with synthesized strings that "unleash a darkly atonal whirl that sounds too much like something either Timbaland or The Neptunes or Mannie Fresh have concocted".D., Spence (March 3, 2005). "The Massacre". IGN. Retrieved June 22, 2007. The Guardian wrote that the production contains "wan-sounding imitations of the Neptunes' sparse, breathy funk".Petridis, Alexis (March 11, 2005). "50 Cent, The Massacre". The Guardian. Retrieved June 22, 2007. PopMatters described the bridge as being "relaxed yet faintly ominous" with 50 Cent and Olivia crooning: "Girl what we do (what we do) / And where we do (and where we do) / The things we do (things we do) / Are just between me and you (oh yeah)."Taylor, Nicholas (March 4, 2005). "The Massacre Review". PopMatters. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Rolling Stone noted the chorus for 50 Cent's "amateur-sounding tenor croon".
Critical reception The song received mixed reviews from critics. PopMatters described it as "dripping with sexual energy and cool" and is "sexy as hell, but contains a pretty unmistakable edge of hostility, macho swagger, and thunderous chest thumping." Entertainment Weekly wrote that it was an "appealing throwaway single" and lyrics such as "after you work up a sweat, you can play with the stick" are not seductions; "they're orders".DaBrowne, vid (March 7, 2005). "The Massacre (2005) ". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 22, 2007. MusicOMH wrote that the chemistry between 50 Cent and Olivia "is almost as explicit as the lyrics ... the bass line is made for grinding to".Ahmad, Azeem (2005). "50 Cent – Candy Shop (Interscope) ". MusicOMH. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Author Ethan Brown, in a review of The Massacre, called the track "uninspiring" and "nearly identical" to his previous collaboration with Lil' Kim on "Magic Stick". He stated that 50 Cent seemed too content with his "hypersexual image" among other things and "not inspired enough to work beyond the same old attention-getting schemes."Brown, Ethan (March 14, 2005). "The Half-Buck Stops Here". New York magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Pitchfork Media listed "Candy Shop" as a reprise of "Magic Stick" both "in beats and in timbre",Shepherd, Julianne (March 7, 2005). "50 Cent: The Massacre ". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 26, 2007. and Stylus magazine said it was "more of the same" as his previous collaboration.Forgang, Jonathan (March 7, 2005). "The Massacre Review ". Stylus magazine. Retrieved June 30, 2007. Billboard wrote that 50 Cent "shows little growth lyrically" with the song being "typical playa-friendly fodder"."Billboard Goes to the Grammys 2006". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2007. The song was nominated at the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song, but lost to Kanye West's "Diamonds from Sierra Leone"."48th Grammy Awards – 2006". Rock on the Net. Retrieved June 25, 2007.
Chart performance "Candy Shop" performed well in the United States, becoming 50 Cent's third number one single, fifth solo top-ten single, and seventh overall top-ten single. The song was a fast climber on the Hot 100, debuting at number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100. In its second week on the chart, the song jumped to number 30. "Candy Shop" then jumped to number eight in its third week. In its fourth week, the song charted at number two. It peaked at number one in its fifth week, where it remained for nine straight weeks. It remained on the chart for 23 weeks and finished the year at number eight.Whitmire, Margo (April 21, 2005). "50 Cent's 'Candy' Enters Ninth Week at No. 1". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2007."50 Cent and Olivia – Candy Shop – Music Charts". aCharts. Retrieved June 22, 2007. The track reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Tracks, and Rhythmic Top 40 charts. The song also did well on pop-oriented charts, reaching number two on the Pop 100 and number five on the Top 40 Mainstream. "Candy Shop" was helped on the Hot 100 and Pop 100 by its strong digital downloads, peaking at number one on the Hot Digital Songs chart."[ Billboard Singles]". AllMusic. Retrieved June 22, 2007. The RIAA certified the track quintuple platinum in 2023. Across Europe, the song reached number one in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland, and the top five in Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In Australia, the track peaked at number three, was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association,"ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Singles ". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 25, 2007. and on the 2005 year-end chart, it was listed at number 24."ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2005 ". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 25, 2007. It reached number two in New Zealand.
Music video The music video was directed by Jessy Terrero on January 11–12, 2005, and filmed in Hollywood, California."50 Cent Candy Shop ". mvdbase. Retrieved June 22, 2007. Due to rapper Trick Daddy's music video for "Sugar (Gimme Some)" already having candy references, 50 Cent said, "we tried to do something a little different" and not follow the same route. The video features Olivia as the lead dancer and several models including Erica Mena (as the lead girl), Chessika Cartwright (as a dominatrix)"Chessika Cartwright – Hip Hop Video Model". Hip Hop Video Model. Retrieved June 22, 2007. and Stephanie "Lyric" Evans (as a nurse).Thompson, Bonsu (April 2005). "Can I Get a Flicc Witchu ". XXL. Retrieved June 22, 2007. It features cameo appearances from Lil Scrappy and G-Unit members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck. It was nominated for Best Male Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Kanye West's "Jesus Walks"."2005 MTV Video Music Awards". Rock on the Net. Retrieved June 28, 2007. On February 2, 2005, the video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live at number nine and remained on the chart for 46 days."TRL Archive Debuts". Popfusion. Retrieved June 22, 2007. It also reached number one on the MuchMusic video charts."". Universal Urban (April 24, 2007). Retrieved June 22, 2007.
The music video on YouTube reached 1 billion views on November 6, 2024.50 Cent- Candy Shop (Official Video).YouTube
Track listing UK CD single 1 "Candy Shop" – 3:31 "Disco Inferno" – 3:34
UK CD single 2 "Candy Shop" – 3:34 "Candy Shop" (Instrumental) – 3:34 "Candy Shop" (Ringtone) – 0:38 "Candy Shop" (Music Video) – 5:34
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2005) PeakpositionAustralia (ARIA) 3Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 1Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 1Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 4Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) 7Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records) 1Croatia (HRT)3Denmark (Tracklisten) 4European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard) 1Finland (Suomen virallinen lista) 11France (SNEP) 8scope="row"Hungary (Single Top 10) 4Italy (FIMI) 14Ireland (IRMA) 2Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 4New Zealand (RIANZ) 2Norway (VG-lista) 2Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 18Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 1UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 4US Billboard Hot 100 1US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 1US Pop Songs (Billboard) 5US Rap Songs (Billboard) 1 + 2020s weekly chart performance for "Candy Shop" Chart (2021–2025) PeakpositionCanada Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 41 Latvia (LaIPA) 16 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 99
Year-end charts Chart (2005) PositionAustralia (ARIA) 24Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 20Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 14Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 27Brazil (Crowley) 21European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard) 12France (SNEP) 79Germany (Media Control GfK) 7Ireland (IRMA) 16Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 58Netherlands (Single Top 100) 46New Zealand (RIANZ) 12Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 6UK Singles (OCC) 29UK Urban (Music Week)8US Billboard Hot 100 8US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) 22
Chart (2006) PositionUK Singles (OCC) 178
+ Chart (2025) Position Romania Airplay (TopHit) 196
Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) PositionGermany (Media Control AG) 98US Billboard Hot 100 52
Certifications
Cover versions In 2011, German group The Baseballs released a rockabilly version of "Candy Shop", which reached number 69 on the Austrian singles chart. "Weird Al" Yankovic included the song in his polka medley "Polkarama!" from his 2006 album Straight Outta Lynwood. On the film Little Man, Percy P made his own mixtape over it. Folk artist Suzanne Vega sampled "Candy Shop" for her 2014 release, "Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles". The song was interpolated on Pop Smoke's 2020 single "The Woo", also featuring and produced by 50 cent, and featuring Roddy Ricch. "Candy Shop" was additionally sampled in Riton's 2023 single "Sugar", featuring Soaky Siren.
See also List of European number-one hits of 2005 List of number-one hits of 2005 (Austria) List of number-one hits of 2005 (Germany) List of number-one hits of 2005 (Switzerland) List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2005 (U.S.) List of number-one R&B singles of 2005 (U.S.)
References