Fired Up!

"Fired Up!" is a song by American house music duo Funky Green Dogs, also known as Murk. Written and produced by group members Ralph Falcon and Oscar Gaetan, the track's vocals are performed by Pamela Williams. "Fired Up!" was released on September 2, 1996, as the lead single from Funky Green Dogs' debut album, Get Fired Up (1996). Music critics responded positively to the song, praising its hook and tribal sound. The song became a number-one hit on the US Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales chart, the Canadian RPM Dance chart, and the Ultratop 50 chart of Belgium's Flanders region. It also reached the top 20 in the United Kingdom and in Belgium's Wallonia region. Critical reception Larry Flick of Billboard magazine called "Fired Up!" a "percussive, tribalistic anthem" and noted that the remixes by Danny Tenaglia are "too hot for mere words". In later reviews for the same publication, he referred to the song's hook as "mind-numbing" and described the track as a "stomper that melds the throaty sass of singer Pamela Williams with infectious tribal drums". Music & Media magazine also praised the song's hook, with Marc Pinte of Flemish radio station BRTN Radio Donna calling the track an "absolutely fantastic record" and noting its appeal for both radio and dance clubs. Commercial performance Following its commercial release in the United States, "Fired Up!" appeared on the Billboard Maxi-Singles Sales chart, debuting at number 21 on September 14, 1996. The following week, it jumped to number one, giving Funky Green Dogs their only number-one single on this chart. On the Billboard Dance Club Play chart, the song reached number two in early November 1996 and spent 15 weeks on the ranking, making it their joint-longest-charting single on this listing along with "Body" and "Rise Up". The song also appeared on the main Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1997, peaking at number 80 that April and charting for 14 weeks; it is the band's only appearance on this ranking. In Canada, the track topped the RPM Dance chart in December 1996 and was the country's 26th-most-successful dance hit of 1997. Outside North America, "Fired Up!" charted in several Western European countries. In the Flanders region of Belgium, the song debuted at number 15 on the Ultratop 50 chart on March 22, 1997. Over the following four weeks, it rose and fell within the top 10, eventually ascending to number one on April 26.