Hey Ya!

André 3000 wrote and produced it. He wrote the song in 2000 and began recording it in December 2002 at Stankonia Studios in Atlanta, working from an acoustic guitar, and later worked with Pete Novak at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles. He has named the Ramones, Buzzcocks, the Smiths and the Hives as inspirations. Kevin Kendricks played the bassline on a synthesizer, and the answering voice of the ladies is Rabeka Tuinei, an assistant to the engineer. The song uses four chords, G, C, D and E, the first four chords André 3000 learned on guitar. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis called it the weirdest of all the songs that have become wedding-disco staples. Asked in 2005 about the line "What's cooler than being cool?", Benjamin told the Guardian he wrote it as a joke. Pitchfork's Brent DiCrescenzo heard it glitter and tower, blending synth-bass and acoustic guitar with the rebellious joy of Little Red Corvette.

Released on 25 August 2003, it entered the Hot 100 at 57 and reached number one for nine weeks from 13 December 2003 to 7 February 2004. It also reached number one in Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Norway and Sweden, and number three in the UK, and it was the first song on iTunes to reach one million downloads. It won the Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance and was nominated for Record of the Year, which went to Coldplay's Clocks. Bryan Barber's video recreates the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show of 9 February 1964, set in London, with André 3000 playing all eight members of a fictional band called The Love Below. It won four MTV Video Music Awards in 2004, including Video of the Year. André 3000 closed the 2004 Grammy ceremony with the song. Rolling Stone ranked it 10th on its 2021 list of the 500 greatest songs.