Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit

"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" was composed by Steve Rodway with lyrics by Simon Tauber.{{Cite web |title="Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" - lyrics|url=http://www.diggiloo.net/?1996uk|website=The Diggiloo Thrush}}

On 1–8 March 1996, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" performed by Gina G competed in {{esccnty|United Kingdom|y=1996|t=The Great British Song Contest 1996}}, the national selection organised by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to select its song and performer for the {{escyr|1996||41st edition}} of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition, becoming the {{esccnty|United Kingdom|t=British entrant}} –and Gina G performer– for Eurovision.{{cite web |title=United Kingdom: The Great British Song Contest 1996|url=https://eurovisionworld.com/national/united-kingdom/the-great-british-song-contest-1996|website=Eurovisionworld}}

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).

On 18 May 1996, the Eurovision Song Contest final was held at the {{lang|no|Oslo Spektrum|i=unset}} in Oslo hosted by {{lang|no|Norsk rikskringkasting|i=unset}} (NRK) and broadcast live throughout the continent. Gina G performed "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" performed second in a field of twenty-three songs being preceded by the {{esccnty|Turkey|t=Turkish|y=1996}} entry "Beşinci Mevsim", with the {{esccnty|Spain|t=Spanish|y=1996}} entry "¡Ay, qué deseo!" following. Conductor Ernie Dunstall orchestrated and conducted the British entrant on stage with a minimal orchestral accompaniment. A tiny string accompaniment was added to the backing track produced by Rodway.{{cite web|url=http://www.andtheconductoris.eu/index.htm?http://www.eurovisionartists.nl/conductor/dir020.asp?ID=80|title=And the conductor is...Ernie Dunstall|publisher=andtheconductoris.eu}} Two female dancers dressed in pink and yellow backed up Gina G, dressed in a short thigh-skimming glittery metal dress. The dress was originally custom made for Cher by Paco Rabanne, but she left it unused hanging in the offices at Warner Bros. Records until Gina G stumbled across it just a few days before the contest. The dress was then shortened slightly for her performance.{{cite web|url=http://esctoday.com/67300/uk-interview-with-gina-g-part-1/|title=Eurovision UK: Interview with Gina G [part 1]|work=esctoday.com}} As the rules required every instrument used on the backing track to appear on stage, and as the backing track used relied heavily on computer generated sounds and techno beats, two Apple Mac personal computers were on the stage –one beside each synthesizer–.{{Cite episode|title=Eurovision Song Contest 1996|episode-link=Eurovision Song Contest 1996|series=Eurovision Song Contest|series-link=Eurovision Song Contest|network=NRK / EBU|date=18 May 1996}}

At the close of voting, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" had received 77 points, receiving the maximum 12 points from two countries: {{esccnty|Portugal|y=1996}} and {{esccnty|Belgium|y=1996}}. It finished in 8th place overall,{{cite web |title=Eurovision Song Contest : United Kingdom 1996 Gina G Ooh Aah ... Just A Little Bit |url=https://www.esc-history.com/details.php?key=0726}} the winner being {{esccnty|Ireland|y=1996}} 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.

Scottish Aberdeen Evening Express named the song a "slice of cheesy Europop", adding that "you'll grow to either love or hate it!"Aberdeen Evening Express. 19 March 1996. p. 26. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised it as a "great guilty pleasure".{{cite web|first=Stephen Thomas|last=Erlewine|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/fresh-mw0000089424|title=Gina G. - Fresh|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=17 February 2020|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}} A reviewer from Austin American-Statesman called it "perky"."Just a Little Bit' singer sees pop as therapeutic". Austin American-Statesman. 22 February 1997. J. D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun said that from its Moog-style synthesizer hook to the galloping electrobeats that drive the chorus, Gina G's "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" "is clearly a throwback to the sort of synth-pop that owned the airwaves in the late '80s."Considine, J.D. (13 March 1997). "New on CD". The Seattle Times. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "adorable Australian ingénue" has already enjoyed massive pop success throughout Europe with this "instantly infectious hi-NRG dance ditty. It's easy to predict this single scoring similarly high marks here, thanks in large part to her kewpiedoll vocals and the song's tasty, sugarcoated melody. You'll be singing along to the song's chorus before the track's close, while a bevy of meaty remixes will have you happily twitching around the room."{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1996/BB-1996-10-19.pdf|first=Larry|last=Flick|title=New & Noteworthy|magazine=Billboard|date=19 October 1996|access-date=23 January 2018|author-link=Larry Flick}} Richard Paton from The Blade complimented it as a "smash", that "kicks off" the album of "vibrant dance pop".{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Paton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOo0AAAAIBAJ|title=Sounds: "Fresh!" Gina G|magazine=The Blade|date=4 May 1997|page=47|access-date=11 March 2020}} Swedish Expressen and Göteborgs-Tidningen described it as a "sticky yummy pop pastry" and a "danceable naughty pop song".Expressen. 21 March 1997.Göteborgs-Tidningen. 14 May 1996.

L.A. Weekly wrote that it's "an expert confection of interlocking speed-stuttered repetitious-trance electro-breakdance beats, above which Gina G breathily metronomes too-childlike-to-be-suggestive "ooh ahh"s as if she were a Kit-Cat clock ticking and tocking its way to the bank, its Cheshire smile bursting with catnip."(8 May 1997). "Music". p. 38. L.A. Weekly. Richard Smith from Melody Maker named it Single of the Week and "easily the best Eurovision song since 'Waterloo'". He also said, "A Euro anthem for Eurovision!! How excellent. This is shiny, happy, bouncy and brilliant idiot pop with those galloping Motiv8 rhythms".{{cite magazine|first=Richard|last=Smith|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/53648778117/|title=Singles|magazine=Melody Maker|date=30 March 1996|page=36|access-date=26 May 2024}} Music Week gave the song four out of five, adding that its "immediacy, jollity and credibility should stand it in good stead."{{cite magazine|title= Reviews: Singles |magazine= Music Week |date= 24 February 1996 |page= 23 |accessdate= 26 May 2021 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1996/Music-Week-1996-02-24.pdf}} NME described it as a "frenzy of techno-friendly tunefulness",{{cite magazine|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000408reviews.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817204114/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000408reviews.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 August 2000|title=Gina G Fresh|magazine=NME|access-date=26 February 2020}} remarking its "unshakeable" chorus.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/50-best-selling-tracks-of-the-90s-1437045|title=50 best-selling tracks of the '90s|magazine=NME|date=21 May 2012|access-date=2 April 2020}} A reviewer from People Magazine noted that Gina G is adding a "dusky undercurrent and a teasing touch of sultriness" to the song.{{cite magazine|url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-fresh-vol-47-no-18/|title=Picks and Pans Review: Fresh!|magazine=People|date=12 May 1997|access-date=9 March 2020}} 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".Everson, John (27 March 1997). "'Fresh!' makes a good sound to chew on". p. 20. SouthtownStar. 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'."{{cite magazine|first=Charles|last=Aaron|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I4irI6O3Ko8C|title=Singles|magazine=Spin|date=1 September 1997|page=118|access-date=11 March 2020|author-link=Charles Aaron}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/photos/50-best-selling-tracks-of-the-90s-1437045|title=50 best-selling tracks of the '90s |work=NME (21 May 2012)|date=21 May 2012 |access-date=10 October 2018}} 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."{{cite magazine|first=Andrew|last=Unterberger|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/greatest-pop-songs-1997-7849063/|title=The 100 Greatest Pop Songs of 1997: Critic's Picks|work=Billboard|date=29 June 2017|access-date=7 November 2024}} Same year, BuzzFeed ranked the song No. 25 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s".{{cite web|title=The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s|website=BuzzFeed|date=11 March 2017 |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/jump-to-the-rhythm-jump-jump-to-the-rhythm-jump|access-date=10 October 2018}} 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."{{cite web|title= Gina G – Ooh Aah…Just A Little Bit |publisher= Can't Stop the Pop |date= 23 March 2020 |access-date= 22 April 2020 |url= https://www.cantstopthepop.com/2020/03/23/gina-g-ooh-aah-just-a-little-bit/}}

In 2013, Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger called it a "glossy hi-tack" song, adding further, "It's brisk, good-quality bubblegum: a springy keyboard part, a chugging rhythm, and a few fine lines – Every night makes me hate the days – laid down with enough conviction to cross the line between corny and effective."{{cite web|first=Tom|last=Ewing|url=http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2013/11/gina-g-ooh-aah-just-a-little-bit/#more-25600|title=Gina G – "Ooh Aah… Just A Little Bit"|publisher=Freaky Trigger|date=21 November 2013|access-date=6 March 2020}} In another 2020 review, Pop Rescue complimented it as "incredibly catchy".{{cite web|url=https://poprescue.com/2020/09/11/review-fresh-by-gina-g-cd-1997/|title=Review: "Fresh!" by Gina G (CD, 1997)|publisher=Pop Rescue|date=11 September 2020|access-date=4 October 2020}} In 2014, The Quietus named the song one of "50 Favourite Guilt-Free Pleasures". An editor, Dan Barrow, wrote that the song "enters the realms of unguilty pleasure mostly through its chorus, where the vocal drops registers of excitement to an almost-whisper, just as the arpeggios hit their peaks 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."{{cite web|first= Dan |last= Barrow |title= Absolved! The Quietus Writers' 50 Favourite Guilt-Free Pleasures |work= The Quietus |date= 4 August 2014 |access-date= 21 April 2020 |url= https://thequietus.com/articles/15896-guilt-free-pleasures-songs-list}}

"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" entered the UK Singles Chart at {{abbr|No.|Number}} 6 on 31 March 1996 and rose to No. 2 two weeks later. The song spent another five weeks in the top three, climbing to No. 1 during its eighth week, the day after Gina G's performance at Eurovision, and would spend a further 15 weeks in the top 75. As of {{YEAR}}, the song is the last UK Eurovision entry to peak atop the country's chart. It was a top-five hit in Australia, Denmark,{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1996/MM-1996-07-20.pdf|title=Top National Sellers|magazine=Music & Media|volume=13|issue=29|date=20 July 1996|page=15|access-date=2 March 2018}} Hungary,{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1996/MM-1996-08-10.pdf|title=Top National Sellers|magazine=Music & Media|volume=13|issue=32|date=10 August 1996|page=11|access-date=2 March 2018}} and Norway, as well as a top-10 hit in the Czech Republic, Finland, Flanders, Ireland and Sweden. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" peaked at No. 9 in June 1996.{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1996/MM-1996-06-01.pdf|title=Eurochart Hot 100 Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=13|issue=22|date=1 June 1996|page=13|access-date=28 February 2018}}

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 Billboard Hot 100 in February 1997 and spent a total of 30 weeks on the Hot 100. It also reached No. 13 on the Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart, No. 5 on the Top 40/Mainstream chart, No. 25 on the Adult Top 40, No. 4 on the Dance Club Play chart, and No. 11 on the Maxi-Singles Sales chart. It is the fourth-highest charting Eurovision entry in the US, behind "Nel blu dipinto du blu (Volare)" (No. 1 in 1958), "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 {{Escyr|2019}} winning entry (No. 30 in 2021).

The song's music video was directed by Fruit Salad with photography directed by Peter Sinclair.{{cite web|url=https://imvdb.com/video/gina-g/ooh-aah-just-a-little-bit|title=Gina G - Ooh Aah... Just A Little Bit (1996) - IMVDb|website=IMVDb|access-date=8 November 2017}} 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.{{YouTube|KiLw45oAuD0|"Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit"}} 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|date=November 2019}}

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• UK CD1 and Australian CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=UK CD1 & Australian CD single liner notes|publisher=Eternal Records, WEA|id=WEA041CD, 0630-14062-2}}

1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 radio edit) – 3:24
2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 extended vocal mix) – 6:43
3. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (The Next Room's Rip 'Em Up mix) – 6:08
4. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 Vintage Honey mix) – 6:46
5. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (The Next Room's Pukka Dub mix) – 6:08

• UK CD2{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=UK CD2 liner notes|publisher=Eternal Records, WEA|id=WEA041CDX, 0630-15099-2}}

1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Eurovision Song Contest version) – 3:00
2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 Vintage Honey mix) – 6:46
3. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Chase the Space mix) – 7:40
4. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (The Next Room's Pukka Dub mix) – 5:00
5. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 extended vocal mix) – 6:43
6. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Face the Bass mix) – 7:40

• UK 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=UK 12-inch single sleeve|publisher=Eternal Records, WEA|id=WEA041T, 0630-14369-0}}

:A1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 extended vocal mix) – 6:43

:A2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 Vintage Honey mix) – 6:46

:AA1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Chase the Space mix) – 7:40

:AA2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Face the Bass mix) – 7:40

• UK cassette single and European CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=UK cassette single sleeve|publisher=Eternal Records, WEA|id=WEA041C, 0630-14343-4}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=Eternal Records, WEA|id=0630-14343-9}}

1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 radio edit) – 3:25
2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 extended vocal mix) – 6:43

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• US CD, 7-inch, and cassette single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=US CD single liner notes|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=2-17455}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=US 7-inch single vinyl disc|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=7-17455}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=US cassette single sleeve|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=4-17455}}

1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 radio edit) – 3:24
2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Eurovision Song Contest version) – 3:02

• US maxi-CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=US maxi-CD single liner notes|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=9 43802-2}}

1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 radio edit) – 3:24
2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Chase the Space mix) – 7:52
3. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (The Next Room's Rip 'Em Up mix) – 6:08
4. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 Vintage Honey mix) – 6:46
5. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Face the Bass mix) – 7:52
6. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (The Next Room's Pukka Dub mix) – 6:08
7. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 extended vocal mix) – 6:42

• US 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit|others=Gina G|year=1996|type=US 12-inch single vinyl disc|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=0-43802}}

:A1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Motiv8 Vintage Honey mix) – 6:42

:A2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (The Next Room's Rip 'Em Up mix) – 6:08

:A3. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (The Next Room's Pukka Dub mix) – 6:08

:B1. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Chase the Space mix) – 7:52

:B2. "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" (Jon of the Pleased Wimmin Face the Bass mix) – 7:52

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{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1996|certyear=1996|certref=|access-date=3 November 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1996|certyear=1996|nosales=true|access-date=3 November 2020}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Gina G|title=Just a Little Bit|award=Platinum|relyear=1996|certyear=1996|id=3555-34-1|access-date=3 November 2020}}

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{{Reflist}}

{{Gina G}}

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1996}}

{{United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest}}

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Category:1996 songs

Category:1996 debut singles

Category:Eurovision songs of 1996

Category:Eurovision songs of the United Kingdom

Category:Gina G songs

Category:Number-one singles in Scotland

Category:UK singles chart number-one singles

Category:Warner Records singles