The United Kingdom was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", composed by Steve Rodway, with lyrics by Simon Tauber, and performed by Gina G. The British participating broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), selected its entry through a national final.
Gina G is an Australian former singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached the US top 20 in 1997 and earned her a 1998 Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. Her other UK Top 30 hits are "I Belong to You" #6 (1996), "Fresh" #6 (1997), "Ti Amo" #11 (1997) and "Gimme Some Love" #25 (1997).
"Number 1" is a song by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp from their third studio album, Supernature (2005). Written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, the song features a synthesiser and bass guitar arrangement and was written about the importance and meaningfulness that somebody shares with another, despite that it might not necessarily last.
"Ooh La La" is a song by English electronic music duo Goldfrapp from their third studio album, Supernature (2005). Written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory, the song consists largely of a synthesiser and guitar arrangement, and has been described as "a dirty, decadent homage to Marc Bolan".
"A Little Respect" is a song written and recorded by British synth-pop duo Erasure, released in September 1988 by Mute. It was written by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell. The lyrics are a plea to a lover to show compassion and respect. The heavily synthesized instrumentation is accentuated by acoustic guitar and Bell's vocal falsetto in the chorus. It was their tenth single and was taken from their third studio album, The Innocents (1988). Known as one of their signature songs, the single reached number four on the UK Singles Chart and was Erasure's second consecutive top-20 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it made number 14, and reached number two on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart.
Steve Rodway, also known under the alias Motiv 8 or Motiv8, is a British electronic dance music producer, songwriter, remixer and sound engineer.
"One by One" is a song by American singer Cher from her twenty-first studio album, It's a Man's World (1995). Co-written by Cher and Anthony Griffiths, two versions of the song were recorded for the album: the original, included on British pressings, is a soul song with elements of rock and was produced by Stephen Lipson. The American mix was produced by Sam Ward and has an R&B feel with slight alterations; additional remixes were created by DJ Junior Vasquez. In the United Kingdom, WEA released the song as the second single from the album on January 6, 1996; in the United States it was issued through Reprise Records as the lead single on May 21.
Fresh! is the debut album by Australian pop singer-songwriter Gina G, released in 1997. The album includes the single "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which was the United Kingdom's entry in the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest. Following the contest, the single reached number one in the UK and went on to become a worldwide hit.
Cyndi Louise Almouzni, best known at the beginning of her music career in the United States as Cherie, is a French pop and dance music singer coming from Marseille. Her 2004 hit "I'm Ready" hit number one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
The Smurfs Go Pop! is an album of songs by The Smurfs, released in 1996. Most of the songs are cover versions of existing songs with altered lyrics. Some of the songs function as simple Smurf sing-a-longs while others have more of an apparent satirical intent.
"C'mon and Get My Love" is a song by British dance producer D Mob from his only studio album, A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That (1989). It features British singer and songwriter Cathy Dennis, credited as "introducing" her. The song established Dennis as a major chart presence during the late 1980s to early 1990s and was later also included in her debut solo album, Move to This (1990). The single was released in October 1989 by FFRR Records, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and number 16 in Ireland. In the United States, "C'mon and Get My Love" is the song most closely identified with D Mob as it crossed over to pop radio, reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the American dance chart, becoming the biggest hit of D Mob's career, and jump-starting Dennis' career as a solo artist. A music video was also created for the song, directed by Marek Budzynski.
"Fairground" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released on 18 September 1995 by EastWest as the first single from the band's fifth album, Life (1995). Co-written and co-produced by frontman Mick Hucknall, the song makes extensive use of a sample of the Goodmen's 1993 hit "Give It Up". It became Simply Red's first and only No. 1 single on the UK Singles Chart, staying at the top for four weeks in September and October 1995, and was also a chart hit in mainland Europe and Australia but failed to generate long-term success in North America. The accompanying music video for "Fairground" was directed by Michael Geoghegan and filmed in Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Lancashire.
"Angel" is a soul ballad recorded by American singer Aretha Franklin. The song was co-written by Aretha's sister, Carolyn, and Sonny Sanders. Aretha co-produced the song with Quincy Jones and it originally appeared on Aretha's nineteenth album, Hey Now Hey (1973). It was released as a single by Atlantic in June 1973 and went on to top the US R&B Singles chart for two weeks while reaching number twenty on the Pop chart. The single sold over 900,000 copies.
"Love City Groove" is a song by British rap group Love City Groove that represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 1995.
"In Walked Love" is a song by the American girl group Exposé. Written by Diane Warren and produced by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, the song can be found on the group's 1992 album Exposé, their third studio album. Lead vocals on the pop ballad were performed by Ann Curless. The song features Al Pitrelli as guest guitarist. In 1996, British singer Louise covered the song and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart with her rendition.
"I Belong to You" is a song recorded by Australian singer-songwriter Gina G from her debut album, Fresh! (1997). The single was released on 28 October 1996 by Eternal Records as the follow-up to the singer's highly successful "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit" and was her first release to be produced by Metro, who would produce the majority of her singles. Written by her with Bill Colbourne, it spent two weeks in the UK top 10, peaking at number six and spending a further 9 weeks in the top 75. The single also was a top-20 hit in Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Mexico. Its music video, directed by Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini, featured Gina G as a genie in a lamp. She performed "I Belong to You" in various TV-shows, like Top of the Pops and WOW!.
"Fresh!" is a song by Australian singer-songwriter Gina G from her debut album of the same name (1997). Written by her with John Collins, Mark Taylor and Paul Barry, it was released in March 1997 by Eternal as the third single by Gina G and shortly before the parent album. One of the CD releases also contained an album teaser narrated by Mark Goodier. "Fresh!" was Gina's third and last top 10 hit, entering the UK charts at number six. The single spent seven weeks in the top 75 and a further six weeks in the top 200. Outside Europe, it charted in Australia and Israel, peaking at number 23 and 16, respectively. Its music video was directed by Cary Grim and was shot in Miami. It features Gina G performing in a car, on the beach and in a swimming pool.
"Ti Amo" is a song recorded by Australian singer Gina G, released in May 1997 as the fourth single from her debut album, Fresh! (1997). Written by her with Mark Taylor and Paul Barry, it is a flamenco-flavoured story of a holiday romance. It was a number-one hit in Romania and a top 10 hit in Finland, Scotland and Israel. In the UK, it peaked at number 11 and was the first single by her to not reach the UK top 10. Gina G performed the song in the British music chart television programme Top of the Pops.
"Gimme Some Love" is a song recorded by Australian singer-songwriter Gina G from her debut album, Fresh! (1997). Released in August 1997 by Eternal and WEA, it was the fifth single release by Gina G and the second single to be released in the US. She wrote the song with Bob Wainwright, John Collins, Mark Taylor and Richard Burton. In the UK, "Gimme Some Love" peaked at number 25, spending just two weeks in the UK top 75 and a further three weeks in the top 200. The second UK CD release contained remixes of "Higher Than Love", a Motiv8-produced song from the Fresh! album, which had previously been released on promotional vinyl.
"That Girl" is a song by English reggae singer Maxi Priest featuring Jamaican reggae musician Shaggy. It was released on 10 June 1996 as the first single from Priest's sixth album, Man with the Fun (1996). The song samples the 1962 instrumental "Green Onions" by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. "That Girl" reached the top 20 in at least eight countries, including the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at No. 3 on the Finnish Singles Chart, No. 4 on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, No. 7 on the Australian Singles Chart and No. 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
