Blue (Da Ba Dee)
"Blue (Da Ba Dee)" was developed before the formation of the group by its future members Jeffrey Jey (Gianfranco Randone), Maurizio Lobina and Gabry Ponte and producer Massimo Gabutti, while working at Bliss Corporation in Turin. It was inspired by a piano hook composed by Lobina, and written by Randone, Lobina and Gabuti, with Ponte working on the beats and final arrangement. When released in 1998, it achieved little success, but became very popular globally the following year once it was broadcast on the radio.
The song is the group's most popular single and among the biggest-selling songs of 1999, reaching number one in at least 18 countries, charting at number three in Italy, and peaking at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 in January 2000. In the United Kingdom, the song initially entered the top 40 purely on import sales; it was only the third single to do this. The song also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 2001 Grammy Awards. "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" has also been heavily sampled and remixed in later years.
Writing and production
Written by Eiffel 65 lead singer Jeffrey Jey, keyboardist Maurizio Lobina, and producer Massimo Gabutti, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" was inspired by Lobina's composed opening piano hook. The producers of the song then came up with the idea for a dance song. Jey explained that his inspiration for the lyrics was how a person chooses their lifestyle. The colour blue as the main theme of the song was picked at random, with Lobina telling him to write nonsensical lyrics. Gabutti came up with the "da ba dee" hook. The pitch-shifted vocal effect used in the song was created with a harmonizer.
Lyrics and composition
"Blue (Da Ba Dee)" is written in the key of G minor, with the vocal range spanning from C3 to E♭4, and is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 128 beats per minute.
The song's lyrics tell a story about a man who lives in a "blue world." It also explains that he is "blue inside and outside," which, alongside the lyric "himself and everybody around 'cause he ain't got nobody to listen," and "blue are the feelings that live inside me" may indicate that the term blue represents his emotional state; however, the song also explains that a vast variety of what he owns is also blue, including his house and his car ("a blue Corvette"): different blue-coloured objects are also depicted on the single's cover.
Critical reception
The song received mixed reviews from critics. Chuck Taylor from Billboard wrote that "the hook here, with its dancy but curiously compelling singsongy rhythm and lyric, is destined to react instantly with listeners far and wide." He also noted that it has a "euro sound", and "it's creative, it will affect listeners on both ends of the demographic spectrum, and it's anthemic." A reviewer from Entertainment Weekly positively reviewed the song, calling the song "a fleeting, feel-good foot-tapper" and gave the song a rating of B−. Scottish newspaper Daily Record said it is the "strangest-sounding Euro-club hit of the summer". The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen described it as a "quirky little hit" with a "bouncy chorus". He also noted that "the key is the use of the voice synthesizer". PopMatters reviewer Chris Massey, in his review of Europop, described his initial reaction to the song as being "really, really bad." However, he later stated in the review that after many repeated listenings of the song he "loved it." AllMusic editor Jose F. Promis described the song as a "hypnotic smash" in his review of Europop.
Rolling Stone, however, in their review of Europop, gave the song a negative review, commenting that the song "blends Cher-esque vocoder vocals, trance-like synth riffs, unabashed Eurodisco beats and a baby-babble chorus so infantile it makes the Teletubbies sound like Shakespeare." The magazine also placed the song on their list of the "20 Most Annoying Songs," at No. 14.
Chart performance
The single, released in October 1998, was a chart-topper in many European countries. The song initially found success in France, where it debuted in August 1999 and reached number one for three weeks. It then found success in other European countries, reaching the top spot on many charts in September the same year, including Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and others. The song re-charted on 6 May 2013 at No. 40 in the UK, following its inclusion in Iron Man 3. The song also found success in other regions, including Oceania and North America: it reached number one in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and became a top ten hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, reaching number six.
Music video
The accompanying music video for the song was released in 1999 by BlissCoMedia, a computer graphics division of Bliss Corporation, known at the time the video was produced and released as BlissMultiMedia.
Like much of the Bliss Corporation's music videos, this one was done in a green screen garage studio at BlissCoMedia, and it featured computer-generated graphics that were done in 3ds Max. With very few resources, tutorials and books, and only one editing machine, the video was made between 1998 and 1999 in a garage in about two to three months.
Former BlissCo employee Davide La Sala has talked about coming up with the story for the video: "We had brainstorming sessions and we were a very imaginative team, huge fans of sci-fi movies and video games: Blade Runner, Star Wars, etc… we were master in doing our best and working with the few tools we had to create complete short stories in a very short period of time."
Similar to other music videos by BlissCo, a total of five people worked on this video. The green-screen footage was done in a short amount of time, and some of it was put into a computer-generated 3D environment, while components of the band were also shot. La Sala said, "We were very flexible but every person in the team had his own special skill who was more towards motion graphics, design and editing, others more skilled in architectural design and me and the CEO experts in animation."
The video was listed in NME's "50 Worst Music Videos Ever".
Synopsis
The video takes place on Tukon4, where lead singer Jeffrey Jey is abducted by blue-coloured aliens Zorotl and Sayok6 during a concert.
Formats and track listings
|
|
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 3× Platinum | 210,000 |
| Austria (IFPI Austria) | Platinum | 50,000 |
| Belgium (BEA) | 2× Platinum | 100,000 |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 50,000 |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | Platinum | 90,000 |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat) | Gold | 7,957 |
| France (SNEP) | Diamond | 750,000 |
| Germany (BVMI) | 5× Gold | 1,250,000 |
| Italy (FIMI) sales since 2009 |
2× Platinum | 200,000 |
| Netherlands (NVPI) | Gold | 50,000 |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 10,000 |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | Gold | 30,000 |
| Sweden (GLF) | 3× Platinum | 90,000 |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | 2× Platinum | 100,000 |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 3× Platinum | 1,800,000 |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide | — | 6,000,000 |
|
Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Release history
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | October 1998 |
|
Skooby | |
| Spain | 30 April 1999 | 12-inch vinyl | Blanco y Negro | |
| France | 3 June 1999 |
|
Hot Tracks | |
| Europe | 28 June 1999 | CD | Logic | |
| Spain | 27 July 1999 | 12-inch remix vinyl | Blanco y Negro | |
| Sweden | 2 August 1999 | CD | Logic | |
| United Kingdom | 13 September 1999 |
|
Eternal | |
| Canada | 28 September 1999 | CD | Popular | |
| United States | 30 November 1999 | |||
| Japan | 8 March 2000 | CD | Polydor |
Notable cover versions and parodies
- Wynter Gordon sang the chorus of "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" in Flo Rida's 2009 single "Sugar".
- Dance music act Michael Mind Project interpolated of "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" in their 2012 single "Feeling So Blue". The single featuring Dante Thomas charted in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France.
- In 2017, a remix of the song by David Guetta featuring vocals from Bebe Rexha, with completely different lyrics, was played at Ultra Music Festival 2017 but was not released. In 2022, the track became popular on TikTok. This resurgence in popularity led Guetta and Rexha to finish the song, and it was released in August 2022 with the title "I'm Good (Blue)".
- In 2019, Ceky Viciny released a cover called "Ellos".
- In 2019, Swedish singer Nea interpolated the song in "Some Say".
- In 2020, Italian rapper Shiva sampled the song in his single "Auto Blu".
- In December 2020, Symphonic death metal Band Fleshgod Apocalypse released a cover of "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" in their own style.
- In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Blue's Clues franchise, a small parody video about this song was produced and performed by show hosts Steve Burns, Donovan Patton, and Josh Dela Cruz.
- In July 2022, Softest Hard and T-Pain released a remix of the song.
- In 2023, Lil Uzi Vert interpolated the song in "Endless Fashion" featuring Nicki Minaj.