Sisqó hit song “Thong Song” became a musical phenomenon when it was released back in 1999. However, the story behind this song and who owns the majority of its rights is quite shocking.

A Vice Documentary series named “A Story Of” featured the story of this widely-known pop-hit where they talked about how most of this song’s publishing rights are owned by Desmond Child, the man responsible for writing Ricky Martin’s ‘Livin La Vida Loca.’

While initially it feels unlikely, you can spot the connection yourself by checking out Thong Song. It references ‘Livin La Vida Loca’ at the end of all three verses.

The episode explores how the Child went on to own most of the song. The producers of the Thong Song warned Sisqó about leaving the samples into the song, who at the time told them off because he had a connection with Child Desmond. However, after the song blew up in 2000, Ricky Martin threatened to sue. Both the legal parties went on to settle through arbitration. Sisqó says:

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We just gonna have to take the L on this one. Like we just got to pay them for that. So we paid them.

Sisqó’s Thong Song was produced by the duo Tim & Bob, also known as Funktwons. The song was featured on the album Unleash The Dragon. It reached in the top 10 lists in several countries and continues to be featured in popular media from time to time.

Nitish Vashishtha

Nitish is a freelance writer and correspondent who has been covering celebrity news, pop culture and entertainment for over 4 years. He has experience writing for various media outlets and continues to be passionate about bringing the latest news and insights to readers.

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