"Shackles (Praise You)" is a song by American gospel singer-songwriter duo Mary Mary from their first album, Thankful. Released February 29, 2000, as the duo's debut single, it is one of the best-selling gospel songs of all time. Stan North of GospelFlava.com deemed it one of the pioneer songs of urban gospel music. "Shackles" became a top-10 hit in several countries, including Australia, Denmark, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, and charted well in other major music markets. Mary Mary later produced a music video for the song.
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Critical reception
Like many contemporary gospel songs, "Shackles" was not without its criticism; many cited the song as being too modern and not staying true to its gospel roots. Mary Mary responded by saying, "It's definitely contemporary. It's music that everybody in any style of music can relate to. It's universal, but the lyrics are undeniably Gospel."
Commercial performance
"Shackles (Praise You)" became a top-40 hit in the United States, peaking at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was also a worldwide hit, reaching number five on the UK singles chart and number 17 on the Irish Singles Chart. Across mainland Europe, the song was a top-10 hit in Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. It also charted strongly in France, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland, peaking within the top 20. In Australia, the song reached number two in September 2000 and was the highest-selling song of the year that did not reach the number-one spot, coming in at number 10 on Australia's year-end chart for 2000.
Usage in media
The song has been used twice as a "lip sync for your life" on RuPaul's Drag Race. In the 2009 sixth episode of season one, "The Absolut Ball", Rebecca Glasscock defeated Shannel in a lip sync of Shackles, and in 2021 tenth episode of season 13, "Freaky Friday Queens", Olivia Lux defeated Denali in a lip sync of the same song.
The song was featured in "Breakup", the 2024 fifth episode of the third season of American sitcom Abbott Elementary, performed by Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph).
Track listings
Personnel
Vocals: Mary Mary
All instruments: Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell
Producer: Warryn Campbell
Vocal producer: Mary Mary
Writers: Warryn Campbell, Erica Atkins, Tina Atkins