"Look Who's Talking!" is a song by Sweden-based musician and producer Dr. Alban,featuring vocals from Swedish singer Nana Hedin. It was released in February 1994 by Cheiron as the first single from his third studio album,Look Who's Talking (1994). Co-written by Alban with Denniz PoP,the song tells about a pop star named Mr. X who says nasty things about everyone,therefore "Look Who's Talking!".
The song was co-produced by Kristian Lundin and reached number one in Denmark and Finland,as well as becoming a top-10 in almost several other European countries. It entered the Eurochart Hot 100 on 12 March 1994 at number 61 and went on to peak at the second position four weeks later. In the US,it peaked at number 11 on the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart. Its music video was directed by Jonathan Bate,who also would be directing the next two videos for Alban. A CD maxi containing four remixes was also released,particularly devoted to the dance floors.
Critical reception
AllMusic editor John Bush noted that Dr. Alban uses elements of worldbeat to "mix up" the song.[3]Larry Flick from Billboard stated that it follows the Euro-disco/world-beat thread" of 1993's "It's My Life","sewing in several intriguing new creative colors."[2] Pan-European magazine Music &Media wrote,"His instantly recognisable coffee brown rap sets the bush doctor apart from the rest in the Euro dance field with standard synth riffs and one-line choruses sung by anonymous ladies."[1] Alan Jones from Music Week described it as a "simple and maddeningly familiar song [that] relies on a hooky refrain,while Alban adds his odd African-accented rap in a style reminiscent of his early 'No Coke' single."[4]
Wendi Cermak from The Network Forty complimented it as "a must-purchase".[5] A reviewer from Reading Evening Post described it as "an inane but insistent tune."[6]James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update named it a "Afro-ish choppily chanted and girls chorused breezy Euro romper" in his weekly dance column.[7] Pete Stanton from Smash Hits gave "Look Who's Talking!" two out of five,noting "its pacy Euro beats and singalong chorus".[8] James Hunter from Vibe described it as "superefficient disco glued down with dancehalltoasting,answered by streaming female vocals."[9]
Chart performance
"Look Who's Talking!" peaked at number one in Denmark and Finland for two and four weeks in March and April 1994,[10][11] and became a top-5 hit in Austria,Belgium,Germany,the Netherlands,Norway,Spain and Sweden,and a top-10 hit in Switzerland.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In Germany,the single peaked at number three for two weeks and spent a total of 20 weeks inside the German Singles Chart. In addition,the single entered the top 20 in France,Ireland and Italy and was a top-30 hit in Iceland. In the UK,it reached number 55 on the UK Singles Chart on 20 March 1994,[20] while on both the Music Week Dance Singles chart and UK Club Chart,it peaked at number 20 in the same period.[21][22] On the Eurochart Hot 100,"Look Who's Talking!" peaked at number two for two weeks after five weeks on the chart.[23] The single was held off reaching the number one position by Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia".
"Look Who's Talking!" peaked at number 12 on the European Dance Radio Chart in April 1994.[24] The single also entered the European airplay chart Border Breakers at number nine on 12 March 1994 due to crossover airplay in West Central-,North West-,North- and South-Europe. It peaked at number four on 26 March.[25]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Look Who's Talking!" was directed by Jonathan Bate.[26] In the video,Dr. Alban performs the song at a movie set,surrounded by four ladies singing the choruses. For unknown reasons it doesn't feature Nana Hedin. In between a man plays the pop star Mr. X from the song's lyrics. He appears on the set with his dogs,talks in a mobile phone,drinks and tries to get attention from the girls on the set. In the end everyone leaves the set and the pop star ends up alone on his own. The video also features Asian shadow theatre figures and has a sepia tone. It received heavy rotation on MTV Europe and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA.[27][28] Bate would also direct the videos for Dr. Alban's next two singles,"Away from Home" and "Let the Beat Go On".
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