Big Time (Whigfield song)

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"Big Time"
Single by Whigfield
from the album Whigfield
Released31 July 1995 (1995-07-31)
GenreEurodance
Length3:21
LabelX-Energy
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Whigfield singles chronology
"Close to You"
(1995)
"Big Time"
(1995)
"Last Christmas"
(1995)
Music video
"Big Time" on YouTube

"Big Time" is a song by Italian Eurodance project Whigfield, which was fronted by Danish-born singer Sannie Charlotte Carlson.[1] It was written by Annerley Gordon, Alfredo Larry Pignagnoli, Davide Riva and Paul Sears and produced by Pignagnoli and Riva. The song was released in July 1995 by X-Energy Records as the fifth single from her debut album, Whigfield (1995). For the British market, the song was released as a double A-side single with "Last Christmas", a cover of the English duo Wham!, and reached number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. In other countries, "Big Time" peaked within the top 10 in Canada and was a top-20 hit in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

Critical reception[edit]

A reviewer from The Guardian described the song as "cute".[2] Pan-European magazine Music & Media compared it to Swedish band Ace of Base, writing, "When the cat's away—that's Ace of Base—the mice will play. And they're having a big time with a pop reggae song ready for summer chart domination."[3] Music Week commented, "Hedging her bets, Whiggy releases a drippy cut from her debut album, alongside a corny version of the Wham! festive fave."[4] Johnny Cigarettes from NME said it is "a pitiful stab in the dark at Ace of Base".[5]

Chart performance[edit]

In Europe, "Big Time" entered the top 20 in Denmark (12), Italy (11), the Netherlands (20) and Spain (13). Additionally, it was a top-30 hit in Belgian Flanders (29), Ireland (24), Scotland (21) and the UK. In the latter, the song was released as a double single with Whigfield's cover of "Last Christmas" by Wham!. It peaked at number 21 also on the UK Singles Chart on 10 December 1995, during its first week at the chart.[6] In Germany, it reached number 50, while on the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 54. Outside Europe, the single was a top-10 hit in Canada, peaking at number eight on The Record singles chart while reaching the top 30 on the RPM dance/urban chart, peaking at number 22.

Music video[edit]

In the accompanying music video for "Big Time", Whigfield walks in a deserted countryside with a shopping cart with foods. She wears a red dress. A white cabriolet with three girls are passing by and Whigfield goes with them. Other scenes show Whigfield singing while standing on a wrecking ball. She and the girls also stops at a car repair shop to get the car fixed. Then they drive on. At the end the shopping cart is being emptied from a rock crush. The video was later made available on YouTube in 2013.[7]

Track listings[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 29
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[9] 35
Canada (The Record)[10] 8
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[11] 22
Denmark (IFPI)[12] 12
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles) 54
Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 50
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 24
Italy (Musica e dischi)[15] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 22
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 20
Scotland (OCC) 21
Spain (AFYVE)[18] 13
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 21

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Germany 31 July 1995 CD
[13]
United Kingdom 4 December 1995
  • CD
  • cassette
Systematic [19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Italian Acts (page 75)". Billboard. 1 July 1995. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  2. ^ (17 June 1995). "Preview". p. 15. The Guardian.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 19 August 1995. p. 14. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 4 November 1995. p. 32. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  5. ^ Cigarettes, Johnny (24 June 1995). "Long Play". NME. p. 54. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100 10 December 1995 - 16 December 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Whigfield - Big Time [Official Video]". YouTube. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  8. ^ "Whigfield – Big Time" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  9. ^ "Whigfield – Big Time" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  10. ^ "Hits of the World: Canada" (PDF). Billboard. 2 December 1995. p. 48. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  11. ^ "RPM Dance (Nov 13, 1995)". RPM. 13 November 1995. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  12. ^ Billboard. 17 June 1995. p. 57.
  13. ^ a b "Whigfield – Big Time" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  14. ^ "Think of You", in Irish Singles Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived 5 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 11 August 2007)
  15. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 1 June 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Whigfield".
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Whigfield" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  17. ^ "Whigfield – Big Time" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  19. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 2 December 1995. p. 48. Misprinted as 3 December on source. The Albums section uses the correct date.