Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)

"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"
Single by Blu Cantrell
from the album So Blu
ReleasedApril 23, 2001 (2001-04-23)
StudioD.A.R.P. (Atlanta, Georgia)
Length4:10
LabelArista
SongwriterDallas Austin
ProducerDallas Austin
Blu Cantrell singles chronology
"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)"
(2001)		 "I'll Find a Way"
(2001)

"Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" is a song by American R&B and soul singer Blu Cantrell, written and produced by Dallas Austin and included on Cantrell's debut album, So Blu (2001). The song was released in the United States on April 23, 2001, as Cantrell's debut single. It is her most successful single in the US and her only single to enter the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number two for two weeks in July 2001. It experienced similar success worldwide, becoming a top-10 hit in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Cantrell received a Grammy nomination for Best Female R&B Performance for the single.

Composition

The lyrics propose that women should take revenge on cheating men by draining them of their available assets, both monetary assets and property. Cantrell has said that she did not particularly care for the song artistically, but the bitter feelings she was experiencing at the time led her to include it on the album anyway. "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" takes a small snippet sample from Frank Sinatra’s "Boys' Night Out". The song is written in the key of F minor and is written in half time with a tempo of 90 beats per minute. The song features the chords Fm and B♭m6, and Cantrell's vocals span from B♭3 to A♭5.

Track listings

The snippets from So Blu consist of "Till I'm Gone" (1:01), "I'll Find a Way" (1:03), "The One" (1:09), "U Must B Crazy" (0:59), and "Waste My Time" featuring L.O. (1:08)

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the US CD single liner notes.

Studios

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) Gold 35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ) 2× Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) Gold 400,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States April 23, 2001 Radio Arista
Europe September 1, 2001 CD
Denmark September 3, 2001
Finland
Australia September 17, 2001
United Kingdom November 12, 2001
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette

References

  1. ↑ Cantrell, Blu. (March 1, 2008). Interview. Baisden After Dark, TV One
  2. ↑ Austin, Dallas (February 27, 2012). "Blu Cantrell "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)" Sheet Music in F Minor – Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ "BPM for 'hit em up style' by blu cantrell | songbpm.com". songbpm.com. Retrieved June 7, 2016.[dead link]
  4. 1 2 Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) (US CD single liner notes). Arista Records. 2001. 07822-13974-2.
  5. ↑ Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) (US 12-inch single vinyl disc). Arista Records. 2001. 07822-13943-1.
  6. ↑ Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) (UK CD single liner notes). Arista Records. 2001. 74321 891632.
  7. ↑ Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Arista Records. 2001. 74321 891631.
  8. ↑ Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) (UK cassette single sleeve). Arista Records. 2001. 74321 90786 4.
  9. ↑ Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) (European CD single liner notes). Arista Records. 2001. 74321888132.
  10. ↑ Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!) (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). Arista Records. 2001. 74321888122.
  11. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  12. ↑ "The ARIA Report, Issue 605". ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  15. ↑ "Blu Cantrell Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Canadian Top 20 in 2001" (PDF). Cross Canada Countdown. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)". Tracklisten. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 49. December 1, 2001. p. 9. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Blu Cantrell". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)". Top Digital Download. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 40, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)". VG-lista. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  28. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 18/11/2001 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  29. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  30. ↑ "Blu Cantrell – Hit 'em Up Style (Oops!)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  31. ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 24/11/2001 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  32. ↑ "Official Dance Singles Chart on 18/11/2001 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Chart on 10/11/2001 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart on 18/11/2001 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  35. ↑ "Blu Cantrell Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  36. ↑ "Blu Cantrell Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  37. ↑ "Blu Cantrell Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  38. ↑ "Blu Cantrell Chart History (Rhythmic Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  39. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2001". ARIA. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on January 26, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  41. ↑ "BDS CHART : Top 100 of 2001". Jam!. Archived from the original on July 1, 2002. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2001". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2001" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  44. ↑ "End of Year Charts 2001". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  45. ↑ "Top 40 Urban Tracks of 2001" (PDF). Music Week. January 19, 2002. p. 26. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  46. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 2001". Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  47. ↑ "The Year in Music 2001: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 52. December 29, 2001. p. YE-44.
  48. ↑ "Most-Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 2001". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 9, no. 51. December 21, 2001. p. 60.
  49. ↑ "Most-Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 2001". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 9, no. 51. December 21, 2001. p. 48.
  50. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  51. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications – Blu Cantrell – Hit Em Up Style (Ooops!)". Radioscope. Type Hit Em Up Style (Ooops!) in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  52. ↑ "British single certifications – Blu Cantrell – Hit Em Up Style". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 28, 2026. Select singles in the Formats field. Type Hit Em Up Style Blu Cantrell in the "Search:" field.
  53. ↑ King, Aliya S. (June 16, 2001). "Arista Newcomer Cantrell Sounds 'So Blu' on Heartfelt Debut Album" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 113, no. 24. p. 25. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  54. 1 2 Cairo, Raul (October 13, 2001). "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 19, no. 42. p. 18. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  55. ↑ "Blu Cantrell: Single". click2music.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on February 20, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  56. ↑ "Blu Cantrell: Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)". click2music.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on January 19, 2004. Retrieved November 13, 2025.
  57. ↑ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 17th September 2001" (PDF). ARIA. September 17, 2001. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 20, 2002. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  58. ↑ "New Releases – For Week Starting November 12, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. November 10, 2001. p. 29. Retrieved August 18, 2021.