If you are an electronic Italian dance group and you are nominated for a Grammy you know you have done well. Eiffel 65, whose name spawned from a random computer program and a portion of a phone number, gained this nomination honor at the 2001 Grammy Awards for their defining pop hit and one-hit wonder “I’m Blue.” A song that has become a perpetual mind-boggler for the age group that was 10-30 when the song was released in 1999. Trust me, if I say I’m Blue the involuntary response is da ba dee da ba die.
First, let me begin my defense with the song’s success. The song reached #1 in many countries including Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom, France and da ba dee da ba die (which I will now use in place of et cetera). The success was astronomical and was never seen again by the group. It would seem the only person to not like the song was a magazine. Rolling Stone magazine wrote that the song “blends Cher-esque vocoder vocals, trance-lite synth riffs, unabashed Eurodisco beats and a baby-babble chorus so infantile it makes the Teletubbies sound like Shakespeare.” It also has made it #14 on their list of most annoying songs. Yeah, Rolling Stone writer, all the flowery language and hyphenated comparisons are nice and all but I think you forgot the pleasure of simplicity. The song is fun, catchy and absurd. The lyric is nonsensical but gets stuck in your head like a parasite and, guess what, it will never leave. I still hear this song and feel the need to sing along. I live in a blue house with a blue window. It is impossible not to sing along. This is the reason that it is the biggest one-hit wonder of the last decade. It is quirky, but humorous, catchy, but also a good song. It is a dance beat mixed with a recognizable lyric. It is just a good song that is still liked and played today. And, Eiffel 65, can listen to it and smile because they never released anything of this magnitude again.
The Music Court 