Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit

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"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
cover art
Standard artwork
Single by Gina G
from the album Fresh!
Released25 March 1996 (1996-3-25)
Genre
Length
  • 3:24 (Motiv8 radio edit)
  • 3:03 (Eurovision version)
Label
Composer(s)Steve Rodway
Lyricist(s)Simon Tauber
Producer(s)Steve Rodway
Gina G singles chronology
"Love the Life"
(1992) 		"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
(1996) 		"I Belong to You"
(1996)
YouTube

"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" is a song recorded by Australian singer and songwriter

Waterloo" (1974) and "Eres tú" (1973); it remained the last Eurovision entry to chart in the US until "Arcade", the 2019 winning entry in 2021.[5]

Background

Conception

"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" was composed by Steve Rodway with lyrics by Simon Tauber.[6]

National selection

On 1–8 March 1996, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" performed by Gina G competed in The Great British Song Contest 1996, the national selection organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to select its song and performer for the 41st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition, becoming the British entrant –and Gina G performer– for Eurovision.[7]

Gina G released the song as her debut solo single on 25 March 1996 and as the first single from her debut album, Fresh! (1997).

Eurovision

On 18 May 1996, the Eurovision Song Contest final was held at the

Apple Mac personal computers were on the stage –one beside each synthesizer–.[10]

At the close of voting, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" had received 77 points, receiving the maximum 12 points from two countries: Portugal and Belgium. It finished in 8th place overall,[11] the winner being Ireland with "The Voice" by Eimear Quinn. The result led to a big overhaul in the contest's voting system, with the introduction of televoting in several participating countries the following year, a practice rolled out across the board in 1998.

Reception

Critical reception

Scottish

dance pop".[17] Swedish Expressen and Göteborgs-Tidningen described it as a "sticky yummy pop pastry" and a "danceable naughty pop song".[18][19]

Motiv8 rhythms".[21] Music Week gave the song four out of five, adding that its "immediacy, jollity and credibility should stand it in good stead."[22] NME described it as a "frenzy of techno-friendly tunefulness",[23] remarking its "unshakeable" chorus.[24] A reviewer from People Magazine noted that Gina G is adding a "dusky undercurrent and a teasing touch of sultriness" to the song.[25] John Everson from SouthtownStar felt it should be the "dance club sensation of the year", describing it as "a pure hair-flipping bit of flirting, teasing fun. This is just the sort of fodder to form into a perfect pop hit". He also complimented its "Erasure-esque galloping beat".[26] Charles Aaron from Spin called the song a "synthy magic carpet that flies nonstop to flashy, trashy Miami discos where they sell drinks with names like 'Call a Cab'."[27]

Retrospective response

In 2012, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" was ranked No. 45 in NME's list of the "50 Best-Selling Tracks of the 90s", adding that the song sold 790,000.[28] In 2017, Billboard ranked it No. 35 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997", writing, "Bubblegum pop at punk rock speeds, Gina G's lone brush with the mainstream was a B-12 shot that verged on happy hardcore, but whose bpm managed to stay just on the right side of cartoonish. And wow, that synth riff, a live wire running throughout the song, punishing in its uncontrolled effervescence."[29] Same year, BuzzFeed ranked the song No. 25 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s".[30] In a 2020 review, Can't Stop the Pop described it as a "rollicking tour-de-force" and "relentless, dizzying rush from start to finish". They stated that "the timing of 'Ooh Aah…Just A Little Bit' was perfect; it bottled the Eurodance sound of the early '90s and siphoned it down into a traditionally structured pop song."[31]

In 2013, Tom Ewing of

Euro-trance intensity, the memory of house piano – the signifier of anticipation and release – leaking through the chorus. The high, almost toxic sheen of its opening fanfare of notes, a gateway drug to more louche pleasures."[34]

Chart performance

"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" entered the

Eurochart Hot 100, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" peaked at No. 9 in June 1996.[40]

The song was also successful in the United States, a rarity for Eurovision entries. Released in the US in November 1996, it peaked at No. 12 on the

Waterloo" (No. 6 in 1974) and "Eres tú" (No. 9 in 1974); it remained the last Eurovision entry to chart in the US until "Arcade", the 2019 winning entry (No. 30 in 2021).[5]

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Fruit Salad with photography directed by Peter Sinclair.[42] It features Gina G with three background female dancers performing in a passageway with a brightly lit ceiling, teasing a pair of well-dressed guys. The song's lyrics are used in a sexually suggestive, but playful manner.[43] While it had airtime on several music video channels globally, the video would also be the first song to be "banned" after being voted on by MTV's 12 Angry Viewers in 1998, despite never receiving much airtime on the US channel. MTV's sister channel VH1 gave the video more moderate airplay time.[citation needed]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[72] Gold 35,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[79] Gold  
United Kingdom (BPI)[80] Platinum 600,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 25 March 1996
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD1
  • cassette
[81]
13 May 1996 CD2 [82]
United States 26 November 1996 Rhythmic contemporary radio Warner Bros. [83]
Japan 10 May 1997 CD [84]

References

  1. ^ Vincent, Peter (1 May 2014). "Australian Eurovision invasion predates Jessica Mauboy". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  2. ^ Flick, Larry, ed. (19 October 1996). "Reviews & Previews: Singles – New & Noteworthy". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 42. p. 62 – via Google Books. this instantly infectious hi-NRG dance ditty.
  3. ^ "Eurovision: the best losers, from Gina G to Baccara". www.telegraph.co.uk. 10 May 2014. Assured, naggingly catchy hi-NRG pop....
  4. ^ Campbell, Mary (7 January 1998). "Rock veterans Dylan, McCartney face off for album of year". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Block Communications. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
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  6. ^ ""Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" - lyrics". The Diggiloo Thrush.
  7. ^ "United Kingdom: The Great British Song Contest 1996". Eurovisionworld.
  8. ^ "And the conductor is...Ernie Dunstall". andtheconductoris.eu.
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  12. Aberdeen Evening Express
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  13. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Gina G. - Fresh". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
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  15. ^ Considine, J.D. (13 March 1997). "New on CD". The Seattle Times.
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