"Fill Me In" is the debut solo single by British singer Craig David. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, Born to Do It. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in April 2000. It was then released in the US in May 2001 and peaked at number 15 on the BillboardHot 100. According to the Official Charts Company, it was the tenth best-selling single of 2000 in the UK, having sold 495,000 copies. The track contains a sample from an Artful Dodger bootleg remix of BBMak's "Still on Your Side". There is a second part of the song which features on Born to Do It. In the 2019 BBC New Years Eve production, the song was performed, 20 years after it was recorded.
Content
The narrator tells a story of trying to hang out with the girl next door but her parents remain suspicious about what she is up to. The song is a commentary on the "helicopter parenting" that was becoming more prominent in the early 2000s. In the hook, the parents ask if their daughter can fill them in on what is going on in her life.
Chart performance
The single reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, spending 15 weeks inside the top 75. It was also David's first top 20 single in the US, peaking at number 15. On 28 December 2009, when BBC Radio 1 presenter Nihal revealed "The Official Top 100 Songs of the Decade", "Fill Me In" was at number 93. After his success with Artful Dodger, Craig's first solo hit debuted at number one in the UK top 40 in the week of 15 April 2000. "Fill Me In" topped the charts in an unusual week: all top six positions in the top 10 were new entries, including hits by Sweet Female Attitude's "Flowers", Richard Ashcroft and Steps. After one week at the top, Craig dropped to number two for two weeks, replaced at number one by "Toca's Miracle" by Fragma. Nevertheless, "Fill Me In" managed to clock an impressive 10 weeks inside the top 40, being the chart's longest-running hit at the time it departed on 24 June. The single had a delayed release in the US until late spring 2001. On 30 June – almost a year after it left the UK top 40 – "Fill Me In" entered the Billboard Hot 100 top 40 at number 28. The song climbed easily into the top 20 the following week, remaining there until October, peaking at number 15 on 1 September. After a brief dip, the song revived for another two weeks at number 15 in late October. In total, Craig managed 23 weeks inside the US top 40 before finally bowing out on 8 December.
Music video
There are different versions of the music video released in the UK and in the US. The UK music video, directed by Max & Dania, has David telling a story about how he tried many times to romance his girlfriend who lived next door to him but each of his attempts to be alone with his girlfriend failed as his girlfriend's parents always interrupted and he had to hide before they left again. According to an interview on his first Greatest Hits album, the girl in the UK music video is a South African woman whose identity has never been known. The US version, directed by Darren Grant, has a different picturisation and this time Craig's girlfriend is mixed race.
"Fill Me In" was sampled in Justin Bieber's 2013 single "Recovery", and Loud Luxury's 2017 single, "Something to Say". In 2015, Pia Mia and Austin Mahone recorded a cover of the song as a duet with new instrumentals.
