"Welcome to Tomorrow (Are You Ready?)" is a song by German Eurodance group Snap!, released in September 1994 by Ariola and Arista as the lead single from the group's third and final studio album, Welcome to Tomorrow (1994). The song features vocals by the group's new American singer, Summer (also known as Paula Brown), who co-wrote the lyrics with the producers Benito Benites and John "Virgo" Garrett III. It reached number one in Finland and was also a top-10 hit in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Its accompanying music video, made with Softimage 3D and directed by Angel Gracia, took three months to finish.
Larry Flick from Billboard noted that this time, the act that has had hits with "The Power" and "Rhythm Is a Dancer" "jumps on the bandwagon with a track that fiddles with the formula by adding choral oohs and aahs to the background, as well as a line of racing, futuristic synths. This makes the single sound different enough to jump ahead of the increasingly crowded pack and score instant (and active) play."[1] A reviewer from Manila Standard described it as "cyberpunk beat".[2] Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Does this title track to the new album reveal a new direction for the project that helped to define Euro dance? Gone are the heavy beats and the male rapper, but a female singer is still there."[3]Music & Media editor Robbert Tilli wrote, "Smoother and even more melodic than anything they have done before, it is the first time a Snap single can happen on radio right "out of the box", and not as an aftermath to a giant sales hit based on club play."[4]
Alan Jones from Music Week said, "With a new singer and a new label, Snap have also updated their sound, curiously opting to move away from the harder dance arena to a more obvious pop sound. It has already lost them a lot of club support and they may struggle to match previous glories this time out."[5] John Kilgo from The Network Forty felt "Welcome to Tomorrow (Are You Ready?" "is everything you'd expect from Snap - and more. An upbeat dance number with an infectious groove".[6] Tommy Udo from NME wrote, "It's dead good. It's less the hi-NRG Euroflash we've come to expect and is a more restrained handbag-at-yer-feet number featuring new singer Summer. Like it or lump it, it will be unavoidable for the next few months."[7]James Hamilton from the Record Mirror Dance Update declared it as a "new girl cooed very attractive but beat lacking lightweight 152.3bpm flyer".[8]
Chart performance
"Welcome to Tomorrow (Are You Ready?)" was a major hit on the charts in Europe, peaking at number-one in Finland. The song entered the top 10 also in Belgian Flanders (4), Denmark (10), Germany (4), Italy (5), the Netherlands (8), Scotland (4), Spain (8) and the UK, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where the single reached number six in November 1994.[9] On the European Dance Radio Chart, it almost peaked atop, peaking at number two.[10] On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number six in its eight-week on the chart, on 30 October 1994.[11] Additionally, "Welcome to Tomorrow (Are You Ready?)" was a top-20 hit in Austria (11), Ireland (11) and Switzerland (13), while peaking within the top 40 in Sweden (32).
Outside Europe, the song reached number 16 in Israel and number 125 in Australia. It was awarded with a silver record in the UK, with a sale of 200,000 singles.
Airplay
"Welcome To Tomorrow" entered the European airplay chart Border Breakers at number 16 on 3 September 1994 due to crossover airplay in West Central-, West-, North West-, North- and South-Europe. It peaked at the top on 29 October.[12]
Music video
"The video took a lot of hard work - three months working day and night, so we've given everyone a break for October. We had a motion control camera with film of Summer just on a seat in a blue box, and we figured there must be a way of getting the data of the motion control camera into our Silicon Graphics computer to do the same type of camera moves, so that the world would be in sync with her. So we had to write a new piece of software for that."
—Snap! talking to The Mix about making the music video.[13]
The accompanying music video for "Welcome to Tomorrow (Are You Ready?)" was directed by Angel Gracia.[14] It was made as a 3-D science fiction fantasy, and it also features a small clip taken from the video of their 1990 hit "The Power".
3D graphics were produced with Softimage 3D by utilised by four graphic designers and animators through six Silicon Graphics computers.[15] The 3D production lasted more than three months in addition to two-day programming and two-day live-action filming.[15] The music video was released one week after the single release and radio airplay.[15]
"Welcome to Tomorrow (Are You Ready?)" received heavy rotation on MTV Europe,[16] power play on France's MCM[17] and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA in October 1994.[18] In 2011, the video was made available on Snap!'s official YouTube channel.[19]
1 2 3 Weinert, Ellie (1 October 1994). "Snap snaps back with new single, singer & label". Billboard. Vol.106, no.40. pp.12, 82. ISSN0006-2510. Accession nos. 9410312267 (EBSCOhost) and 02102407 (ProQuest). ProQuest document ID 227032534.
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