"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 is written by Francesco Bontempi and Antonia Bottari and performed by British singer Sandy Chambers. The song 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. "Baby Baby" was successful on the singles charts around the world,peaking at number one for five weeks in Italy as well as on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart. In the UK,it peaked at number five for two weeks. Two different music videos were produced for the song.
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
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] Upon the release,Larry Flick from Billboard magazine stated that the song "steamrolls down a similar Euro-NRGdance/pop path." He wrote,"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."[1] Swedish Expressen complimented it as "at least as good" as their first single.[4]
Dave Sholin from the San Francisco-based Gavin Report said,"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."[5] 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."[2] Thessa Mooij from Music &Media praised it as "an uptempo dance track which mixes a synthi Europop sound and Corona's powerful R&B voice."[6]James Hamilton from the RM Dance Update declared it as "more squawking simple Italo catchiness" in his weekly dance column.[7]
Chart performance
"Baby Baby" peaked at number one in Italy for five weeks in April and May 1995,[8] as well as becoming a top-10 hit in Australia,Denmark,Finland,Iceland,Ireland,Norway,Spain,Sweden and the United Kingdom.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In the UK,it peaked at number five during its second and third weeks on the UK Singles Chart,after having debuted at number seven.[16] On the UK Dance Chart,the song reached number four,while peaking at number one on the UK on a Pop Tip Club Chart. On the Eurochart Hot 100,"Baby Baby" became a top-five hit,peaking at number five after four weeks on the chart,on 22 April,[17] while on the European Dance Radio Chart,it peaked at number one,becoming the most-played dance song on European radio that week.
In Europe,the single was also a top-20 hit in Austria,France,Germany and Switzerland. Outside Europe,it reached number one on the Canadian RPM Dance chart.[18] In Australia,it peaked at number seven and stayed for 19 weeks inside the ARIA singles chart,with six weeks in the top 10.[9] In neighboring New Zealand,the single reached number 22. In the United States,"Baby Baby" peaked at numbers 39 and 57 on the Cash Box Top 100 and Billboard Hot 100 charts,respectively.[19][20] On the BillboardDance Club Play chart,the song reached number five.[21]
Music videos
Two different music videos were produced for "Baby Baby":a European version and an US version. The latter version was directed by Mark Humphrey and produced by FilmMaster Clip,featuring Corona's frontwoman Olga de Souza attending a party in the disused Aldwych tube station in London.[22][23][24] In the European video,which has a sepia tone,an overweight man is watching TV and switching from one channel to another with a remote control. Suddenly de Souza appears on the screen,and when the music starts,the man 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,but is surprised by two women behind a door. He is then placed in a chair,while the women are teasing and seducing him. In the end,the man is seen smiling,with lipstick kiss-marks all over his head.[25] A re-edited version of this video omits all footage of the man.[26]
Legacy
On Attitude's list of "The Top 10 Dance Tunes of the '90s" in 2016,"Baby Baby" was ranked number six.[27]
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