We Like to Party! (Vengaboys song)

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"We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)"
Single by Vengaboys
from the album Up & Down – The Party Album and The Party Album
Released	May 1998
Recorded	1998
Genre	Eurodance techno
Length	3:41
Label	Groovilicious/S.R.
Songwriter(s)	Danski DJ Delmundo
Producer(s)	Danski DJ Delmundo
Vengaboys singles chronology
"Up and Down" (1998) "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" (1998) "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" (1999)
Music video
"We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" on YouTube

"We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys. It was released as the fourth single from the band's debut album, Up & Down - The Party Album, in the Netherlands in May 1998. Following its success in Benelux, it was given a worldwide release on 9 November 1998.^[1]

"We Like to Party!" became one of the band's most successful hits, topping the chart in Flanders, reaching number two in Australia and the Netherlands, and becoming a top-five hit in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It is also the band's highest-charting song in the United States, climbing to number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in Canada, where it peaked at number 10.

Composition[]

"We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" is a Eurodance song that runs for 3 minutes and 41 seconds. It is written in the key of A-flat major and maintains a tempo of 136 beats per minute in common time.

Critical reception[]

The song received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor William Cooper described it as a "bouncy eurodisco hit", and noted further that it was "reminiscent of Aqua's "Barbie Girl", with its singalong chorus, cutesy female vocal squeal, and wacky synth beats."^[2] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "This wildly energetic foursome (two gals, two guys) from the Netherlands is pretty much a household name throughout Europe, where this infectious pop gem has been a constant on radio and in clubs. Already, "We Like To Party!" has gone platinum and double-platinum in Belgium and the act's homeland, respectively. Here, the song could meet a similar fate, especially since it features a sugar-soaked sing-along chorus that hangs out in your head until you beg for relief. That said, people who embraced Aqua's "Barbie Girl", Cleopatra's "Romeo And Juliet", and Los Del Rio's "Macarena" will be lining up for this latest slice of energetic pop. Are you listening, radio? (It's already hit No. 1 on the playlist of dance leader WKTU New York.) Conversely, this will be a no-brainer for club jocks, who continue to make major noise with the group's sweat-soaked debut, "Up and Down"."^[3] Daily Record called it "cheesy disco from Europe's top selling boy-girl band who are already lining up a massive summer single."^[4] Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly commented, "Attention, lovers of cheeseball club music. The Vengaboys' hit "We Like to Party!" combines a campy disco beat, party-girl vocals, and a killer hook in the form of a ship horn in full blare. What began as a beach anthem in Ibiza, Spain, is becoming a Stateside smash on the increasingly Euro-driven U.S. charts. And why not? It's too willfully silly to resist."^[5] Pop Rescue noted its "unmistakeable Vengaboys sound", describing it as "a fast-paced energetic track."^[6]

Commercial performance[]

The song became the group's biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number 26 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and selling 405,000 copies.^[7][8]

The single proved to be a higher seller than "Up and Down" in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three in March 1999,^[9] eventually selling 474,000 copies, making it the 29th biggest hit of the year.^[10] The song additionally reached number one in Flemish Belgium, number two in Australia and the Netherlands, number three in Ireland, number four in Germany and Switzerland, number six in Austria and Italy, number nine in New Zealand and number 10 in Canada and Walloon Belgium.^{[11][12][13][14]} It additionally reached the top 20 in France.^[11]

Music video[]

The music video for "We Like to Party" was directed by Wendelien van Diepen.^[15] It first aired in March 1999. The video features all four Vengaboys members travelling to various destinations in Province of Barcelona, Piera and Gavà, in a 1930s style mini-bus, the "Vengabus" (a 1933 Chevrolet Bus), where they end up in a nightclub in La Barceloneta, Barcelona.

Track listing[]

1. "We Like to Party" (Airplay) – 3:44
2. "We Like to Party" (Klubbheads Mix) – 6:07
3. "We Like to Party" (BCM RMX) – 4:04
4. "We Like to Party" (More Airplay) – 5:50
5. "We Like to Party" (Full Schwingg) – 4:38
6. "We Like to Party" (DJ Disco Mix) – 4:33
7. "We Like to Party" (Baunz Mix) – 4:45
8. "We Like to Party" (BCM XXL) – 6:21

The song was also remixed by Jason Nevins and Tin Tin Out. Their mixes were included on the single for "We're Going to Ibiza".

Charts[]

Certifications and sales[]

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[46]	Platinum	70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[47]	Platinum	50,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[48]	Platinum	75,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[49]	Gold	5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[50]	Platinum	600,000
United States	—	405,000[8]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

In popular culture[]

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• The song was revived in 2004 as the main theme for Six Flags' "Mr. Six" advertising campaign.^[51]
• The song appears in All-Star Baseball 2005.
• The song was played every time a Colorado Rockies player hits a home run at Coors Field up until the end of the 2014 season.
• The song is used as the entrance music for British professional wrestler Liam Slater.
• The song is sung by supporters of the Northern Irish grammar school Royal Belfast Academical Institution after their School's Cup Rugby matches, most recently after their Cup Final win against Methodist College Belfast, their bitter rivals.
• This song is played each time the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team scores a run at Baum Stadium.^[52]
• The song is used when an orangutan hula hoops and rides a tricycle at Phnom Penh Safari Zoo's Orangutan show.
• R.I.O. and Nicco's 2012 single "Party Shaker" samples the song.
• This song is used after the Spokane Indians score a run at home.^[53]
• Mentioned in xkcd in October 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) as a mock new smartphone feature: In partnership with the CDC, when in a crowded indoor space, this song plays "at slowly increasing volume until everyone leaves".^[54]
• OutsideXbox sing and mention this song occasionally in their Dungeons & Dragons series, the Oxventure. It is variously used as a lullaby in a main character's backstory, the punchline in a quest, and sung as a roleplaying bit.^[55][56][57]
• During the 2021 Major League Soccer season, this song was played when Sporting Kansas City scored a goal.^[58]

References[]

External links[]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics