Saturday Night (Whigfield song)

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"Saturday Night"
Whigfieldsaturdaynight.jpg
1994 European CD single
Single by Whigfield
from the album Whigfield
Released
  • 1992 (Italy)[1]
  • 1993 (Spain)[2]
  • 1994 (worldwide)
StudioLabelle
GenreEurodance, bubblegum dance, pop
Length3:40
LabelEnergy[3]
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Larry Pignagnoli
Whigfield singles chronology
"Saturday Night"
(1992) 		"Another Day"
(1994)
Music video
"Saturday Night" on YouTube
Alternate cover
1994 German CD single
1994 German CD single

"Saturday Night" is a song by Italian Eurodance project Whigfield, fronted by Danish-born Sannie Charlotte Carlson.[4][3] It was first released in 1992 in Italy and November 1993 in Spain through Prodisc. In 1994, it was released in the rest of Europe, and experienced worldwide success. The song is written by Italian producers Larry Pignagnoli and Davide Riva, and produced by Pignagnoli. In 1994, the song was included on Carlson's debut album, Whigfield.

The single entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart, making Whigfield the first artist to enter at the top in the UK with their debut single, dethroning Wet Wet Wet's 15-week chart-topper "Love Is All Around". As of October 2015, "Saturday Night" has sold a total of 1.18 million copies in the UK.[5] It also reached number one in Germany, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland, and it became a top-10 hit in Austria, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. In Spain the single spent 11 weeks at the top position. Outside Europe, it peaked at number three in Zimbabwe, number 19 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and number 78 in Australia.

NME magazine ranked "Saturday Night" at number 15 in their list of the 50 best songs of 1994.[6] It was also nominated for Best Single, while Whigfield was nominated for Best New Act on the 7th annual Smash Hits Awards in 1995.[7]

Background and release[]

Whigfield (AKA Sannie Charlotte Carlson) studied fashion design in Copenhagen and went to Bologna in Italy where she worked as a model by day and as a PR girl for clubs at night. One of the club DJs, Davide Riva, was part of a music production duo. He persuaded her to sing for them. She then visited Italian producer Larry Pignagnoli in his studio and performed a song sample. He hired her to record "Saturday Night" and she chose the name Whigfield after an old teacher in Denmark. Larry Pignagnoli already had success with Spagna in the late 1980s and early 1990s before he produced "Saturday Night" with Whigfield. They did over 20 takes, then they spliced the best bits together. Whigfield has stated that "The song is like a nursery rhyme, with lyrics about what girls do when they’re getting ready to go out, and about getting hot when they’re out dancing."[8]

"It started with just the drums and the bass. Davide was the musician and I spent three days writing the lyrics. It was a very simple song that we thought would work in clubs and on radio. Calling it Saturday Night felt right since it was so happy and upbeat. The famous “Dee dee na na na” bit that Whigfield says at the beginning started as a joke. We were testing some variations on the melody at the end of the song and loved that bit so much we decided to make it the initial hook."

—producer Larry Pignagnoli talking to The Guardian about how the song was made.[8]

Initially, no record companies were interested in publishing "Saturday Night". After it was played frequently in the Spanish radio show World Dance Music, interest in the song began to increase.[9] The first label to pick up the song was a small label, Prodisc in Valencia. It was first released in Italy in 1992,[1] then became a number-one hit in Spain at the end of 1993.[2][10] In 1994, it became a hit with British holidaymakers on the continent at the end of the year, leading to a huge demand for the track in the United Kingdom. Whigfield was signed for the UK in February 1994 by Christian Tattersfield and Ben Kahn who run London offshoot Systematic. The label decided to delay the release in order to capitalise on the inevitable buzz built up among British tourists returning from summer holidays in Europe.[11] The single was not released in North America until February 1995.

Critical reception[]

AllMusic editor William Cooper described "Saturday Night" as "irresistibly catchy".[12] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that it "is a giddy pop/dance ditty that has already saturated radio airwaves throughout Europe. It also has gotten early spins on crossover stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Nashville—and rightly so. The tune has a simple, but killer hook that is matched by a jumpy, rave-coated rhythm section and chirpy female vocals."[13] David Balls from Digital Spy noted its "feelgood Euro beats and memorable dance routine".[14] Irish newspaper Evening Herald declared it as an "infectious pop classic".[15] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger complimented it for being "one of those iconically simple pop hits" and for its "resistibility". He also added that the song is "charmingly unassuming, thanks mainly to Whigfield's matter-of-fact performance. If you do stick around, your reward is a lovely bit of house piano heading for the fade. But this song is never pushy. It's Saturday night. Whigfield is having a great time."[16] A reviewer from Music & Media described it as a "melodic", "bubblegum-ish"[17] and "infectious Euro-pop track".[18] British magazine Music Week called it "delightful frothy pop".[19] James Hamilton from the magazine's RM Dance Update deemed it a "'Do Wah Diddy Diddy' inspired maddeningly catchy girl group chanter".[20] Stephen Meade from The Network Forty considered it as "exciting".[21] NME called it "violently catchy".[22] Simon Cowell compared "Saturday Night" to Rebecca Black's "Friday", stating that they are "what we call a 'hair-dryer song'; a song girls sing into their hair dryers as they're getting ready to go out".[23] Gavin Hills from The Observer wrote that it is "wonderful".[24]

Chart performance[]

"Saturday Night" was released in the UK on 5 September 1994, and went straight to number one - dethroning Wet Wet Wet's 15 week chart-topper "Love Is All Around" on 11 September,[25] despite that single increasing its sales from 65,000 the previous week to 104,000, when "Saturday Night" entered at number one with sales of 150,000. Whigfield was the first act to enter at number one in the United Kingdom chart with her début single.[26] It stayed at number one for a total of four weeks selling 680,000 in the process, went on to become the second best selling single of the year, and has sold a total of 1.18 million copies.[5] "Saturday Night" is also the 15th biggest-selling single by a female artist in the United Kingdom.[27] It also was a No. 1 hit in Germany, Ireland, Spain and Switzerland. And a No. 2 hit in Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy and Norway. In Spain, the single spent a total of 11 weeks at number-one.[28] Additionally, it reached the Top 10 also in Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden. Outside Europe, it peaked at number-one on the RPM Dance Chart in Canada, No. 3 in Israel and Zimbabwe, No. 19 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play in the United States and No. 78 in Australia.

Music video[]

The official music video for "Saturday Night" was directed by La La Land.[29] It features numerous different scenes of Whigfield standing in front of a mirror, getting ready to go out on Saturday night. She's blow-drying her wet hair, before she braids it and puts on make-up. In some scenes, she flips through pictures of different men and selects one of them that she kisses and attaches to the mirror. In the video for her next single, "Another Day", the same image appear, this time in a frame. Other scenes also shows the singer trying to decide which clothes to wear, before she goes for a black singlet.

Associated dance routine[]

There is a dance routine which is commonly performed to the song (particularly at parties and nightclubs in the United Kingdom),[30] the origins of which are uncertain.[31] There is a suggestion from some sources that it was begun as an aerobic routine by a gym instructor created to the song at a holiday resort and followed the song back to UK.[31][32] The dance does not appear in the music video for the song, however it was performed by backing dancers during Whigfield's performance on Top of the Pops on 16 September 1994.[33]

Whigfield stated in an interview with Justin Myers for the Official Charts Company, "I remember I did some promotion in this place north of Madrid and when I was doing the track [I] saw everybody doing this thing and they all jumped at the same time. I hadn’t even known about the dance until then... I still remember the dance, but I didn’t do it. I thought it was kind of nice that it was just the people doing it."[31]

Allegations of plagiarism[]

Two claims of plagiarism were made. It was alleged that the track ripped off both "Rub a Dub Dub" by the Equals and "Fog on the Tyne" by Lindisfarne. Both claims were dismissed.[26]

Impact and legacy[]

The Guardian ranked "Saturday Night" number 91 in their list of The 100 greatest UK No. 1s in 2020.[34] NME placed it at number 15 in their list of the 50 best songs of 1994.[35] Smash Hits nominated the song and act in the categories for Best New Single and Best New Act on the 7th annual Smash Hits Awards in 1995.[36]

Track listings[]

Charts and certifications[]

Release history[]

Country Release date
Italy 1992 (1992)
Spain 29 November 1993 (1993-11-29)
Germany 24 January 1994 (1994-01-24)
Rest of Europe 21 May 1994 (1994-05-21)
United Kingdom 5 September 1994 (1994-09-05)
Japan 21 January 1995 (1995-01-21)
United States February 1995 (1995-02)

References[]

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