Sweet Dreams (La Bouche song)

"Sweet Dreams"
Single by La Bouche
from the album Sweet Dreams
ReleasedApril 13, 1994
RecordedJanuary 1994
Genre
Length
  • 3:23 (radio version)
  • 4:50 (club version)
LabelRCA[1]
Songwriter(s)
  • Robert Haynes
  • Mehmet Sönmez
  • Melanie Thornton
Producer(s)
La Bouche singles chronology
"Sweet Dreams"
(1994) 		"Be My Lover"
(1995)
Music video
"Sweet Dreams" on YouTube
Alternative cover
CD-Maxi - Remix

"Sweet Dreams (Ola Ola E)" is a song recorded by German Eurodance duo La Bouche. It was originally released in April 1994 by RCA Records as the lead single from the duo's debut album of the same name (1995). In North America, the song was released in November 1995. It was written by Melanie Thornton with Robert Haynes and Mehmet Sönmez, and produced by Frank Farian, Ulli Brenner and Gerd Amir Saraf.

"Sweet Dreams" received favorable reviews from music critics and was a global commercial success, reaching number one in both Italy and on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart. In the United States, it reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, number three on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number eight on the Cash Box Top 100, while in Australia, it also peaked at number eight.[2] Two different music videos were produced to promote the single, directed by Nigel Simpkiss and Zak Ové.

In 2017, BuzzFeed ranked "Sweet Dreams" at number 53 in their list of the "101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s".[3]

Background and recording

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American singer and songwriter Melanie Thornton began pursuing her dream of being a professional singer while singing in a band called Danger Zone. After two years with the band, she was looking to move on. Her sister then urged Thornton to come overseas, where the sister's family had contacts in the music industry. Thornton arrived in Germany in 1992 with $15 in her pocket[4] and found work with some small-time record producers who needed a vocalist for demo tracks. She then discovered she could make more money in studio sessions than performing live gigs.

Thornton came to German producer Frank Farian's attention just accidentally. She was working as a studio session vocalist, recording "Sweet Dreams", a song she had co-written. It was recorded as her fifth or sixth song, when Farian heard it. Thornton told in an interview, "I wasn't actually looking for a record deal. He (Farian) loved it and wanted to release it on his label."[4] Farian liked the song but wanted a rapper to perform on it also. Thornton then suggested American rapper Lane McCray, which she had met three weeks earlier, while working with a cover band when he filled in as a replacement vocalist. McCray, a North Carolina native, was stationed in Germany while in the U.S. Air Force. Thornton told in the same interview, "He was still in the Air Force at the time, but he agreed to do it. The next thing you know we're released and shooting up the charts in Italy."[4]

Composition

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"Sweet Dreams" was written by Gerd Amir Saraf, Mehmet Sönmez, Melanie Thornton and Robert Haynes, and produced by Ulli Brenner, Saraf and Frank Farian. The song has a tempo of 134 beats per minute[5] and is written in the key of B minor. It follows a chord progression of Bm7 – G – A, and the vocals span from A3 to B4.[6]

The song's bridge samples American funk band Ripple's 1973 song "I Don't Know What It Is, but It Sure Is Funky".

Reception

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Critical response

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An editor from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named "Sweet Dreams" a "high-energy hit".[7] Michael Saunders from The Boston Globe praised the song as "glorious" and "effervescent".[8] Gil L. Robertson IV from Cash Box magazine named it a standout track of the Sweet Dreams album.[9] A Los Angeles Daily News reviewer considered it "energetic".[10] Simon Price from Melody Maker felt the "scarily consistent" La Bouche "rok da house once again in reliably techno-tronic style."[11] Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that the added value of this "throbbing piece of Euro dance is Melanie Thornton's massive vocals, which definitely set the track apart from most of her competition."[12] Music & Media editor María Jímenez described it as "a high energy track with a pumped up familiar German techno sound and a little club hysteria," adding that it is "a prime candidate for crossing over."[13]

Alan Jones from Music Week declared the song as "pulsating pop/hi-NRG with some refreshing bursts of guitar" and "yet another Euro-invader that is sure to score here."[14] On the 1996 UK re-release, he added that its "throbbing, melodic Eurodance not too far removed from some of Snap's early work, it is hugely commercial. You have been warned."[15] David Quantick from NME said, "Eurotrash but very nice with it. Better than Suede. No really. Well, the lyrics are, anyway."[16] James Hamilton from Record Mirror deemed it a "routine Snap/Culture Beat-type (and Eurythmics influenced) Euro hit".[17] People magazine noted that the track "underscore buoyant vocals with dark minor-key arrangements".[18] A reviewer from Richmond Times-Dispatch commented, "I am insanely jealous of the lead female vocal, Melanie Thornton. She has a wonderful, flexible voice."[19]

Airplay

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"Sweet Dreams" entered the European airplay chart Border Breakers by Music & Media at number 19 on 25 June 1994 due to crossover airplay in Southern Europe. It peaked at number five on 3 September 1994.[20]

Commercial performance

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"Sweet Dreams" was a major hit single in several markets across the globe. In Europe, it peaked at number one in Italy in July 1994, as well as on the European Dance Radio Chart in September 1994. In the European Dance Radio year-end chart, the single also ended up as number one. It was also a top-10 hit in Austria (#3), Switzerland (#5), Spain (#6) and Germany (#8), a top-20 hit in Finland (#15), Iceland (#15), Ireland (#16) and on the Eurochart Hot 100 (#17). In the United Kingdom, "Sweet Dreams" had two runs on the UK Singles Chart, in 1994 and 1996. Its best position was at number 44 on 1 September 1996.[21] Elsewhere, it reached number three in Israel, number five in Japan and number eight in Australia, being awarded a Gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for sales of 35,000 copies.

It was also successful in North America. In the United States, "Sweet Dreams" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, number three on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and number eight the Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles chart. In Canada, the single reached number one on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in 1994, and peaked at number 28 on the RPM Top Singles chart in 1996.

Music videos

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Two different music videos were made for "Sweet Dreams", one for the European market and one for the North American. The North American version was directed by Zak Ové and was released at the beginning of the year, in 1996 .[22] The European version was directed by Nigel Simpkiss[23] and features Thornton and McCray performing the song surrounded by candlelight, candelabrums, red curtains, a bonfire, soap bubbles and several back-up dancers. Some scenes show Thornton singing while lying in an iron bed with bedding in leopard and cow print. Other scenes see her sitting in a golden chair. Throughout the video, McCray performs with the other dancers. Towards the end, the duo perform in front of a fountain. It was released on August 22 and A-listed on Germany's VIVA TV channel in October 1994.[24] The video was later made available by Vevo on YouTube in 2016 and generated more than 23 million views as of October 2023.[25]

Legacy and impact

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In 2017, American entertainment company BuzzFeed ranked "Sweet Dreams" at number 53 in their list of the "101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s". Matt Stopera and Brian Galindo stated that "the "hola, hola, eh" makes this a multilingual smash!"[26] James Arena, writer of Stars of '90s Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers said that the song and its follow-up, "Be My Lover", "are widely regarded today as indispensable classics of the decade."[27]

Track listing and formats

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A1. "Sweet Dreams" (Club Mix) – 4:55
A2. "Sweet Dreams" (House Mix) – 6:38
B1. "Sweet Dreams" (Oriental Mix) – 5:17
B2. "Sweet Dreams" (Hola Mix) – 5:10
  1. "Sweet Dreams" (Radio Version) – 3:23
  2. "Sweet Dreams" (House Mix) – 6:38
  1. "Sweet Dreams" (Radio Version) – 3:23
  2. "Sweet Dreams" (Club Mix) – 4:55
  3. "Sweet Dreams" (House Mix) – 6:38
  4. "Sweet Dreams" (Oriental Mix) – 5:17
  5. "Sweet Dreams" (Hola Mix) – 5:10
  1. "Sweet Dreams" (Airplay Edit) – 3:58
  2. "Sweet Dreams" (Loveland UK Mix) – 7:00
  3. "Sweet Dreams" (Italian No. 1 Mix) – 5:09
  4. "Sweet Dreams" (French 'hit des clubs' Mix) – 5:35
  5. "Sweet Dreams" (House Mix) – 6:38

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[63] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ a b "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1996". ARIA. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  3. ^ "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Findlay, Prentiss (17 March 1996). "Pleasant singer is past salad days". The Post and Courier.
  5. ^ "BPM for 'sweet dreams' by la bouche | songbpm.com". songbpm.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  6. ^ Saraf, Gerd Amir (11 May 2015). "La Bouche "Sweet Dreams" Sheet Music in B Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  7. ^ "Weekend At Home The Latest In Music, Videos And Books Sugary to cerebral: Angelique, La Bouche rule dance floor". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 2 July 1998.
  8. ^ Saunders, Michael (26 April 1996). "The sun shines on Carey & co". Boston Globe.
  9. ^ Robertson IV, Gil L. (27 January 1996). "Urban" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 11. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Pop Beat, La Bouche Hitting U.S.". Daily News of Los Angeles. 7 June 1996.
  11. ^ Price, Simon (21 September 1996). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 54. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  12. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 26. 25 June 1994. p. 6. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  13. ^ Jimenez, Maria (24 September 1994). "Short Grooves" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 39. p. 11. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  14. ^ Jones, Alan (27 August 1994). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 18. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  15. ^ Jones, Alan (31 August 1996). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 10. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  16. ^ Quantick, David (10 September 1994). "Singles". NME. p. 43. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  17. ^ Hamilton, James (3 September 1994). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 11. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Picks and Pans Review: Land of the Living". People. 29 July 1996. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  19. ^ "La Bouche". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 15 March 1996.
  20. ^ Holt, Karen (19 November 1994). "Border Breakers: Monitoring The Impact Of Euro Talent" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 47. p. 20. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
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  27. ^ Arena, James (6 December 2016). Stars of '90s Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers. p. 123. ISBN 9781476626611. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
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  29. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2644." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
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  35. ^ Search for Irish peak
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  38. ^ Japanese Oricon Singles Chart
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  49. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3042." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
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  54. ^ a b c d Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved 28 July 2008)
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  56. ^ "Canada Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1994". RPM. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
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  58. ^ "1994 in Review: European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
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  60. ^ "1994 In Review, Regional Airplay: South" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 52. 24 December 1994. p. 19.
  61. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1995" (in Dutch). Stichting Nederlandse Top 40. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  62. ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1996". Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  63. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1996 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
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