Hey Ya! - Sales and Impact

Sales and Impact

"Hey Ya!" was successful in North America, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, from December 13, 2003 to February 7, 2004. The digital sales topped the Billboard Hot Digital Tracks for nineteen weeks. The song performed well in urban contemporary markets, topping the Rhythmic Top 40 chart and reaching number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. It was also successful in mainstream music, topping the Top 40 Mainstream and Top 40 Tracks and reaching number 13 on the Adult Top 40. The song's pop rock origins allowed it some crossover success, and it reached number 16 on the Modern Rock Tracks. In September 2005, the Recording Industry Association of America certified the single triple platinum for shipping three million copies. At the 46th Grammy Awards, the song won Best Urban/Alternative Performance and was nominated for Record of the Year, but lost to Coldplay's "Clocks". "Hey Ya!" also topped the Canadian Singles Chart.

The song performed well in Europe, though not as strong as in the U.S. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number three after 12 weeks, remaining on the chart for a total of 21 weeks. "Hey Ya!" topped the Norwegian singles chart for seven weeks, and it reached the top in Sweden for the first week of 2004. It performed well across the continent, reaching the top ten in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland.

"Hey Ya!" debuted at number 17 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart, eventually topping the chart for two consecutive weeks. The song remained on the chart for 16 weeks and was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The song charted at number 61 for the 2003 end of year chart and was listed at number 15 on the 2004 chart and number five on the 2004 urban chart. It was also successful in New Zealand, reaching number two and staying on the RIANZ Singles Chart for 23 weeks.

The lyric "shake it like a Polaroid picture", along with the song's commercial success, helped to revitalize the Polaroid Corporation. Because current Polaroid film is sealed behind a clear plastic window, casually waving the picture has no effect on the film's development. Vigorously shaking the film may actually distort the image by causing the film to separate prematurely and creating blobs in the final image. Nevertheless, Polaroid sought to market off of the allusion, hiring Ryan Berger of the Euro RSCG advertising agency. Polaroid sponsored parties for OutKast, where Euro RSCG distributed Polaroid cameras. OutKast made a deal to hold Polaroid cameras during some of its performances. Polaroid does not release sales figures, but its public image, previously in decline with the growing popularity of digital cameras, was bolstered by the song.