"Doo Wop (That Thing)" is the debut solo single from American recording artist Lauryn Hill. The song is the lead single from her debut album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It was written and produced by Hill. The song was officially released in October 1998, after it was initially released as a radio only single, two months prior.
It was Hill's first and only US Billboard Hot 100 number one to date, "Doo Wop (That Thing)" became the first single by a female artist since Debbie Gibson's 1988 single "Foolish Beat", to reach number one in the US, that was written, produced and recorded by one sole woman;[3] it debuted at number one on the Hot 100, making it the tenth song in the chart's history to do so,[4] the first debut single to do so,[5] and the first solo hip hop song to do so.[6] It was the first song by a female rapper to peak at number one on the Hot 100,[7] and the only solo song by a female rapper to debut at number one.[8] The song stayed at number one for two weeks, making Hill the third female solo artist to do so with a song that debuted at number one, following Mariah Carey and Celine Dion,[9] while also setting the record for the longest-running number one by a solo female rapper, holding that record for almost 19 years.[10]
The song was named the best single of the year by Rolling Stone.[11] It won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 1999 Grammy Awards. According to Apple Music, It is one of the most streamed songs of the 1990s.[12] NPR named it one of the 300 most important songs of the 20th century.[13] The song's accompanying music video won four awards at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, including the top prize Video of the Year, becoming the first hip hop video to win the award,[14] and made Hill the first solo black artist to win.[15] At the Soul Train Music Awards the song was awarded the Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video. In 2001, VH1 placed it on their list of the '100 Greatest Videos'.[16] In 2021, the song ranked number 49 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.[17]
