"Sugar" is a song by Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down. It was released as the band's first ever single and on May 24, 1998, and as an EP on May 26, 1999. The song was taken from their debut studio album, System of a Down (1998). The song propelled the band into the front of the then current metal scene, giving them the opportunity to open for Slayer and Metallica, get second stage at Ozzfest, and getting them their first headlining tour. The video for the song was often played on MTV after release. Music and lyrics "Sugar" has been described as "a spazzy, jazz-spattered noise rock freak-out". The song features rapped verses from lead singer Serj Tankian, along with death metal growls and shrieks, the latter two being signatures of the band's early sound. The verses of the song feature guitarist Daron Malakian on backing vocals. Later in the band's career, he would move on to be more of a co-lead vocalist (although he sang on demos of "Roulette" and DAM"). The ending of the song features the band speeding up from the original tempo. "Sugar" is about the world's population's over use and reliance on drugs and other substances, as well as the predatory state of media like the news. Music video The music video for "Sugar" shows the band playing on a stage, with an American flag intercut with images of public violence, hangings from the Holocaust, armies, footage of the Upshot-Knothole Grable nuclear test and footage from the German film Metropolis. The video was directed by Nathan Coxx. The video, along with the band's next single, would be an MTV mainstay for a long time to come, much to the surprise of the band. Reception The song was well received by critics and fans alike. It is regarded to be the best song from this album, and one of the band's best overall. "Sugar" is System of a Down's 7th most streamed song on Spotify, having almost 180 million streams. The music video for the song also has over 128 million views on YouTube. Track listing Personnel System of a Down Serj Tankian – lead vocals, keyboards/samples Daron Malakian – guitars, background vocals Shavo Odadjian – bass John Dolmayan – drums Production Produced by Rick Rubin with System of a Down Mixed by D. Sardy Engineered by Sylvia Massy Engineer/assistant engineer: Greg Fidelman