Baby Baby (Corona song)

"Baby Baby"
Single by Corona
from the album The Rhythm of the Night
Released27 February 1995
StudioCasablanca, Italy
GenreEurodance
Length3:45
LabelZYX
Songwriter(s)
  • Francesco Bontempi
  • Antonia Bottari
Producer(s)
  • Checco
  • Soul Train
Corona singles chronology
"The Rhythm of the Night"
(1993) 		"Baby Baby"
(1995) 		"Try Me Out"
(1995)
Music video
"Baby Baby" on YouTube
Alternative cover
2007 Sunblock version

"Baby Baby" is a song by Italian band Corona, released in February 1995 by ZYX Music as the second single from their debut album, The Rhythm of the Night (1995). The song, written by Francesco Bontempi and Antonia Bottari, was originally a hit in 1991 for Italian project Joy & Joyce as "Babe Babe". Both tracks were produced by Bontempi under his Lee Marrow guise.[1] It was very successful on the singles charts around the world, peaking at number-one in Italy, and on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada. In the UK, it peaked at number five for two weeks. Two different music videos were produced for the song.

The lyrics and melody are interpolation of Alisha Warren's 1989 song "Touch Me" (which was similarly sampled in the 1989 italo house hit "Touch Me" by the 49ers) combined with 1988's K.I.S.S.I.N.G. by Siedah Garrett. [2]

In 2007, the Swedish dance group Sunblock made a cover of the song, which peaked at number one in Spain and number four in Finland.

Critical reception

[edit]

AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis described the song as the "aggressive" follow-up to "The Rhythm of the Night", naming it one of the standout tracks on the album.[3] On Attitude's list of "The Top 10 Dance Tunes of the '90s" in 2016, it was ranked number six.[4] Upon the release, Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that it "steamrolls down a similar Euro-NRG dance/pop path." He added, "Although the airwaves are now flooded with similarly giddy fare, this jampacks a chorus that is insistently contagious—and it is voiced with a fullthrottle diva energy. To that end, both radio and club tastemakers should climb aboard early."[5]

Swedish Expressen said that it is "at least as good" as their first single.[6] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report noted that "it took awhile for some to come to the party on "The Rhythm of the Night", but they were happy with the results. This pumpin', thumpin' follow-up will keep 'em dancing and create the same excitement."[7] Alan Jones from Music Week described "Baby Baby" as "a storming house/Nu-NRG track that has already soared to the apex of RMs On a Pop Tip chart. If it charts lower than top five, I'll be very surprised."[8] James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update declared it as "more squawking simple Italo catchiness".[9] In a retrospective review, Pop Rescue complimented it as "an absolute feel-good euro belter".[10]

Chart performance

[edit]

"Baby Baby" peaked at number one in Italy in April 1995, as well as on the European Dance Radio Chart. It entered the top 10 in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, it peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.[11] On the UK Dance Chart, the song reached number four, while peaking at number one on the UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart. Additionally, it was a top-20 hit in Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it peaked at number five. Outside Europe, "Baby Baby" reached number one on the Canadian RPM Dance chart, number seven in Australia and number 22 in New Zealand. In the US, "Baby Baby" peaked at number 39 on the Cash Box Top 100 and number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, the song reached number five.

Music videos

[edit]

Two different music videos were made for "Baby Baby"; a European version and an US version. One of them was directed by Mark Humphrey.[12] The first video features frontwoman Olga de Souza attending a party in the disused Aldwych tube station in London.[13] In the second video, an overweight man is watching TV and switching from one channel to another with a remote control. Suddenly Olga appears on the screen, singing the chorus. When the music starts, he suddenly finds himself lying on a big bed with her. It has a headboard shaped as giant lips and she crawls on the bed, singing to him. Apparently frightened by this, he looks for an exit and tries to escape through a closed door. But behind the door, two women are standing. He is then placed in a chair, while the women are teasing and trying to seduce him. In the end, the man is seen smiling, with lipstick kiss-marks all over his head.[14] A re-edited version of this video omits all footage of the man.[15]

Track listings

[edit]


Personnel

[edit]
  • Written by Francesco Bontempi and Antonia Bottari
  • Published by Many Edizioni Musicali - B. Mikulski Publ. - SFR Music
  • Created, arranged and produced by Checco and Maurizio Silvestri ITA & Soul Train for a Lee Marrow production
  • Engineered by Francesco Alberti at Casablanca Recordings (Italy)
  • 'Lee Marrow Radio Mix' and 'Lee Marrow Extended Mix' : Additional editing by Robyx
  • 'Robyx Piano Remix Short Edit' and 'Robyx Piano Remix' : Remixed and reconstructed by Robyx
  • 'Dancing Divaz Club Mix' and 'Dancing Divaz Rhythm Mix'
    • Remix and additional editing by production by Dancing Divaz
    • Additional keyboards by Colin Thorpe

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Lee Marrow Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Babe Babe WhoSampled". WhoSampled. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. ^ Promis, Jose F. "Corona - The Rhythm of the Night". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  4. ^ Fussell, Glyn (9 June 2016). "The Top 10 Dance Tunes Of The '90s". Attitude. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. ^ Flick, Larry (15 April 1995). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ^ Expressen. 17 March 1995.
  7. ^ Sholin, Dave (21 April 1995). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2051. p. 54. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  8. ^ Jones, Alan (25 March 1995). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 14. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  9. ^ Hamilton, James (18 March 1995). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 15. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Review: "The Rhythm Of The Night" by Corona (CD, 1995)". Pop Rescue. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b UK Singles Chart Everyhit.com Archived 12 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 13 February 2008)
  12. ^ "Mark Humphrey: director videography". Mvdbase.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Corona - Baby Baby (Extended Mix) 1994 - YouTube". YouTube.
  14. ^ "Corona - Baby Baby (Official Video)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Corona - Baby Baby (Official Music Video) - YouTube". YouTube.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Baby Baby", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 12 February 2008)
  17. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 9217." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  18. ^ "European Dance Radio". Music & Media. 15 April 1995.
  19. ^ Finnish peak for "Baby Baby"
  20. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (27.05.1995 – 02.06.1995)" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir – Tónlist. Retrieved 1 February 2018.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 12 February 2008)
  22. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 15. 15 April 1995. p. 30. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  23. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Corona" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  24. ^ "Corona – Baby Baby" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  25. ^ Scottish Single Chart. 18 April 1995. Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  27. ^ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts.
  28. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 11 March 1995. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  29. ^ "The RM on a Pop Tip Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 18 March 1995. p. 10. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Corona Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  31. ^ "Corona Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  32. ^ "Corona Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  33. ^ "Corona Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  34. ^ "Corona Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  35. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. 22 July 1995. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  36. ^ a b c "Baby Baby" (Sunblock version), in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 12 February 2008)
  37. ^ "1995 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
  38. ^ "RPM Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1995". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  39. ^ "1995 Year-End Sales Charts: Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 51/52. 23 December 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  40. ^ "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1995" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  41. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1995" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  42. ^ "Årslista Singlar, 1995" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  43. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 1995" (in German). Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  44. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
  45. ^ "British single certifications – Corona – Baby Baby". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
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