"Il Pulcino Pio" (in English version titled as "The Little Chick Cheep") is an Italian song released as a single on 18 July 2012 on Globo Records by the Rome radio station Radio Globo. The song was interpreted by Morgana Giovannetti, an actress and host of the station.

"Il pulcino Pio"
Single by Pulcino Pio
from the album Il Pulcino Pio & Friends
LanguageItalian
ReleasedJuly 18, 2012 (2012-07-18)
GenreChildren's song
Length2:40
LabelGlobo Records
Composer(s)uncertain (by SIAE is ascribed to Pedro Alberto Farías Gómez, But the music video to the revenge version says it's Erisvaldo Da Silvia)
Lyricist(s)
  • Alessandro Tirocchi
  • Bruno Benvenuti
  • Lucio Scarpa
  • Maurizio Paniconi
  • Morgana Giovannetti
Music video
"Il Pulcino Pio" on YouTube
Music video
"Il Pulcino Pio" (alternative video) on YouTube

The song became a hit single in Italy topping the FIMI Singles Chart and staying at top for 8 consecutive weeks (2012 August–October). It also became a hit in France, Spain, the Netherlands, and other European countries in their respective local language versions.

It is a remake of a Brazilian children's song from the 1950s post-war period, known by various names, including "Na Minha Casa Tem...", "A Minha Velha (Tem um Pintinho)", "O Pintinho Piu."[1][2][3]

Background

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The rights to the song were acquired by Globo Records S.r.l. The song was produced by Bruno Benvenuti and Max Moroldo. Lyrics were translated into Italian by Bruno Benvenuti, Lucio Scarpa, Alessandro Tirocchi, and Maurizio Paniconi. Vocals were provided by Morgana Giovannetti.

Radio Globo had previously scored a hit by releasing its own version of "Mr. Saxobeat," featuring Maurizio Paniconi, Alessandro Tirocchi, and Morgana Giovannetti and produced by Lucio Scarpa. Named "Radio Globo Morning Show - Mr. Saxobeat Ostia Beach version") Video on YouTube, the Radio Globo Italian version.

The station followed up with "Il pulcino Pio," featuring Morgana Giovannetti, during their Morning Show, based on a Brazilian tune. In similar fashion to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," "Il pulcino Pio" features sounds of a hen, a rooster, a turkey, a pigeon, a cat, a dog, a goat, a lamb, a cow and a bull. However, in the Portuguese version, a deer is included, a lamb is replaced to a male goat and the pigeon is replaced with a guinea fowl. The song culminates with a tractor hitting and running over the chirping chick.

Reception

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After the huge success of the Italian version of the song, a more racy faster version was produced with an accompanying music video by Do It Yourself Multimedia Group S.r.l. with animation created by Federico Mancosu. It was launched online in May 2012. The YouTube music video for the Spanish version of the song attracted more than 6 million views in the three months that followed and has been viewed over 1.5 billion times as of July 2023.[4] After the popularity of the single in France, a compilation album was released in February 2013 called Piou Piou Dance Party (2013) featuring a number of local French and international hits of the previous year. The album entered the SNEP French Albums Chart at #10 in its first week of release.

On 17 September 2012, Radio Globo launched an alternative version called "La Vendetta" in which the chirping chick takes revenge on the tractor that ran over it in the original music video. The Pulcino Pio character and distinctive voice was used in other releases as well in different settings. For example, the follow-up single "Superstar" Video on YouTube features Pulcino Pio, now a big star.

Charts

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Besides Italy, the song has charted in other countries. In November 2012, the French station NRJ promoted the song heavily resulting in chart success in France.

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[21] 5× Platinum 150,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[22] 3× Platinum 180,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Jorge Luiz de Souza (June 4, 2016). "Nairzinha: O Pintinho Piu". avosidade.com.br (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2021. Nairzinha Spinelli Lauria study for forty years the traditions that are handed down with children's songs and games, and states that "O Pintinho Piu" and its variants as title and incipit ("A Mina Velha" and "Na minha casa") have deep historical roots.
  2. ^ María Evangelina Cobo Zaballa (January 6, 2013). "Pulcino Twitter and Its Brazilian Copy". Blogger. Retrieved November 6, 2021. The author states that in the 1950s the song "A minha velha tem" was popular in Brazil (especially in São Paulo) and served as riddle: children used to play "Ring Around the Rosie" by guessing the name of the animal chosen, its natural sound and its aspect described.
  3. ^ "A minha velha (1950 Partitura Braille)". Repositório de Informação Acessível. Retrieved November 6, 2021. The electronic catalog of materials accessible to the disabled people (established in 1970) confirms that the score of "A minha velha" in Braille dates back to 1950 and is part of the Brazilian folklore, i.e. there's no recognized author.
  4. ^ "PULCINO PIO - El Pollito Pio (Official video)". YouTube. 29 November 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  5. ^ "Pulcino Pio – Das kleine Küken piept" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Pulcino Pio – Het kuikentje Piep / Le poussin Piou" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Pulcino Pio – Le poussin Piou" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Pulcino Pio – Le poussin Piou" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Pulcino Pio – Das kleine Küken piept" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Pulcino Pio – Il pulcino Pio". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 4, 2013" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Pulcino Pio – Het kuikentje Piep" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Pulcino Pio – El Pollito Pio" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2012" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  15. ^ "Ferro è il re degli album più venduti nel 2012". TGCOM (in Italian). Mediaset. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  16. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2013". Ultratop. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2013" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  19. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2013". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2013". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Italian single certifications – Pulcino Pio – Il pulcino Pio" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 31 January 2015. Select "2015" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Il pulcino Pio" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  22. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved 31 January 2015. Type Pulcino Pio in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Il pulcino Pio in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.