Europop (album)

Europop is the debut album by Italian electronic group Eiffel 65. The album was released in 1999 as under Bliss Corporation and Universal Records and Republic Music (Universal and Republic would merge to Universal Republic). The album is most notable for the group's two biggest hits: "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" and "Move Your Body," which topped the charts worldwide.

Europop
Studio album by
Eiffel 65
ReleasedNovember 22, 1999 (1999-11-22)
RecordedSeptember 1998 – October 1999
Genre
Length65:35
Label
Producer
  • Massimo Gabutti
  • Luciano Zacchet
Eiffel 65 chronology
Europop
(1999)		 Contact!
(2001)
Alternative cover
Singles from Europop
  1. "Blue (Da Ba Dee)"
    Released: 7 October 1998
  2. "Too Much of Heaven"
    Released: 11 May 1999
  3. "Move Your Body"
    Released: 30 November 1999
  4. "My Console"
    Released: 1999/2000

Music

The title of Europop describes its genre; it combines several dance styles unique to European countries, such as the United Kingdom's trip hop, Germany's techno, and Italy's dance music, and songs are structured like a typical pop song.[1] The album follows a deep house template featuring vocoder vocal effects, synthesizer hooks, and "nursery rhyme choruses,"[2][3] with occasional deviations from it into string-orchestrated hip-hop ("Living in a Bubble") and "trippy" house stylings ("Now is Forever" and "Europop").[2] Elements of 1980s synthpop dominate,[4] with reviews making comparisons to Depeche Mode[4][5] (especially towards "Your Clown"[6][2]), Erasure,[4][5] A-ha, and Duran Duran.[5]

Lyrics

Although some of its tracks are self-indulgent and facile,[7] Europop generally incorporates social commentary on deceptions and connections between humans.[8] Explained Jey, "We like to speak of how things affect human beings without saying 'This is bad' or 'We want to drown everyone who does that.'"[9] "Living in a Bubble"'s message is making sure what's real in "a place of lies and hype";[8] specifically, according to Jey, it is about how celebrities have people they encounter be unusually "friendly and openhearted right away" when popular, only for that to change when their fame decreases.[9] The subject of "Silicon World" dreams of "a silicon girl with silicon lips and silicon hair" he'll never meet.[8] "Too Much of Heaven" critiques societies' fixation on wealth[8] and its effects on morality,[9] while "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" is about someone where "everything is blue for him" due to a need to be heard.[8]

Europop features references to consumer technology,[7][4] such as "Hyperlink (Deep Down)" where the subject displays lust through computer terminology like "a sexual browser" and "a hyperlink to go inside you,"[4][8] and a tribute to the PlayStation, "My Console,"[7][4] that references games such as Resident Evil, Tekken 3 and Bloody Roar.[8] There are also songs about love and relationships, including the aforementioned "Silicon World" and "Hyperlink (Deep Down)" as well as "Your Clown," which depicts the subject trying to get out of an abusive love triangle caused by his girlfriend.[8]

Sound

The album features pitch-corrected vocals and Euro disco beats throughout.[10] Despite hailing from Italy, Eiffel 65 perform all the songs on this album in English. The song "Now is Forever", samples Depeche Mode's "Behind the Wheel" intro wheel effect.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[4]
Houston Chronicle[6]
Los Angeles Daily News[11]
PopMatters8/10[10]
Rolling Stone[12]
The San Diego Union-Tribune[3]

Contemporaneous reviews from Entertainment Weekly, the Houston Chronicle, and The Plain Dealer welcomed the humorous, light-weight dance-pop style of Europop in a pop music market saturated with mostly dour music, calling serious cuts such as "Your Clown" and "Now is Forever" the LP's weakest.[4][6][5] Reviews from The Plain Dealer and Rolling Stone also appreciated its rejection of intellectual pretentiousness common in electronic music.[5][12] On the other hand, the album was criticized for a lack of differentiation (in composition and production techniques) between songs,[3][4] with Promis writing its best moments came when it combined its template with different genres.[2]

The album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 in the United States, and the song "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, impressive for an EDM song at the time of its release. In February 2000, the album was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of two million copies in the US.

Track listing
Original issue
No.TitleLength
1."Too Much of Heaven" (album mix)5:17
2."Dub In Life" (album edit)3:57
3."Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (DJ Gabry Ponte radio edit)4:43
4."Living in a Bubble" (album mix)5:03
5."Move Your Body" (DJ Gabry Ponte original radio edit)4:28
6."My Console" (DJ Gabry Ponte Console mix)4:13
7."Your Clown" (Slow mix)4:09
8."Another Race" (album edit)4:34
9."The Edge" (album mix)4:20
10."Now Is Forever" (Electronic Ballad mix)5:44
11."Silicon World" (Main mix)4:31
12."Europop" (Album Kraft mix)5:26
13."Hyperlink (Deep Down)" (album cut)4:57
US version
No.TitleLength
1."Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (radio edit)3:29
2."Too Much of Heaven"5:17
3."Dub in Life"3:57
4."Living in a Bubble" (feat. Papa Winnie)5:03
5."Move Your Body"4:28
6."My Console"4:13
7."Your Clown"4:09
8."Another Race"4:34
9."The Edge"4:20
10."Now Is Forever"5:44
11."Silicon World"4:31
12."Europop"5:28
13."Hyperlink (Deep Down)"4:57
14."Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (extended mix)4:46
Australian Bonus Disk
No.TitleLength
1."Nick Skitz Eiffel 65 Megamix"7:35
2."Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (extended mix)6:29
3."Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (Molinaro Parade German cut)2:48
4."Blue (Da Ba Dee)" (TJM Bluemax 04 Extension remix)6:37
5."Move Your Body" (Paris remix)7:04
6."Move Your Body" (Claywork remix)6:28
7."Europop" (Parade mix)5:14

Later samples

Charts

Weekly
Chart (1999–2000) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 18
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] 16
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] 5
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[16] 7
European Album Chart (European Top 100 Albums) 18
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] 8
French Albums (SNEP)[18] 6
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] 37
Irish Albums (IRMA)[20] 38
Italian Albums (FIMI)[21] 13
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 4
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23] 6
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 19
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 12
US Billboard 200[26] 4

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[35] Gold 30,000^
Australia (ARIA)[36] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[37] Platinum 100,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[38] Gold 25,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[39] Gold 21,712[39]
Hungary (MAHASZ)[40] Gold  
New Zealand (RMNZ)[41] Platinum 15,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[42] Gold 50,000*
United States (RIAA)[43] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Worldbeat: People of Mali Enjoy Rich Soundscape; Eiffel 65 Takes 'Euro Pop' to the Top; Smashing Pumpkins Begin New Chapter in New Millennium". CNN Transcript. 2 April 2000. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  2. F. Promis, Jose. Eiffel 65 - Europop. Allmusic.
  3. Gillespie, Tarleton (10 February 2000). "Album Reviews Dance". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 7.
  4. "Music Review: Europop, by Eiffel 65". Entertainment Weekly. 2000-02-18.
  5. DeMarco, Laura (20 February 2000). "Light Sounds to Move You on 'Europop'". The Plain Dealer. p. 2I.
  6. Guerra, Joey (23 January 2000). "Recordings". Houston Chronicle (2 Star ed.). p. 6.
  7. Harrington, Richard (2 June 2000). "Eiffel 65 "Europop" Republic". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  8. Waliszewski, Bob. "Europop". Plugged In. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  9. Sullivan, James (18 June 2000). "Towering Inferno / Eiffel 65, set to perform at Pride 2000, has set the dance-pop scene ablaze". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  10. Massey, Chris. Eiffel 65: Europop. PopMatters.
  11. Shuster, Fred (28 January 2000). "Sound Check". Los Angeles Daily News Archived at The Free Library. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  12. Eiffel 65 - Europop Album review. Rolling Stone. Archived April 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Australiancharts.com – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  14. "Austriancharts.at – Eiffel 65 – Europop" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  15. "Eiffel 65 Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  16. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 112 (12): 53. Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 03/04/00. ISSN 0006-2510. Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. "Eiffel 65: Europop" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  18. "Lescharts.com – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  19. "Officialcharts.de – Eiffel 65 – Europop". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  20. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 9, 2000". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  21. "Italiancharts.com – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  22. "Charts.nz – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  23. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 112 (12): 53. Hits of the World: Portugal (Portugal/AFP) 02/29/00. ISSN 0006-2510. Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. "Swisscharts.com – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  25. "Eiffel 65 | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  26. "Eiffel 65 Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  27. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  28. "Chart of the Year 2000". Mogens Nielsen. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  29. "Year in Focus – European Top 100 Albums 2000" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17 no. 52. 23 December 2000. p. 9. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 19 January 2019 – via American Radio History.
  30. "Classement Albums – année 2000" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  31. "Top Selling Albums of 2000". Official New Zealand Music Chart. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  32. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2000". Swiss Charts Portal (in German). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  33. "The Top 200 Artist Albums of 2000" (PDF). Chartwatch: 2000 Chart Booklet. Zobbel.de. pp. 39–40. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  34. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-end 2000". Billboard. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  35. "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  36. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
  37. "Canadian album certifications – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Music Canada.
  38. "Listen - Danmarks Officielle Hitliste - Udarbejdet af AIM Nielsen for IFPI Danmark - Uge 13". Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). Copenhagen. 2000-04-02.
  39. "Eiffel 65" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  40. "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2000" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  41. "New Zealand album certifications – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Recorded Music NZ.
  42. "Polish album certifications – Eiffel 65 – Europop" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  43. "American album certifications – Eiffel 65 – Europop". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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