"We're Going to Ibiza!"
Single by Vengaboys
from the album The Party Album
ReleasedMarch 1999 (1999-03)[1]
GenreEuro reggae[2]
Length3:08
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Jeff Calvert
  • Max West
Producer(s)
  • Danski
  • DJ Delmundo
Vengaboys singles chronology
"Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!"
(1998)
"We're Going to Ibiza!"
(1999)
"Kiss (When the Sun Don't Shine)"
(1999)
Music video
"We're Going to Ibiza!" on YouTube

"We're Going to Ibiza!" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys. It was released in March 1999 as the second and final single from their second studio album, The Party Album (1999). Based on Typically Tropical's 1975 number-one hit "Barbados", the song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in September 1999, becoming the group's second number-one single there. Outside the UK, the song also reached number one in the band's native Netherlands and became a top-five hit in Flanders, Norway, and Sweden.

Content

The song is notable for the pronunciation of "Ibiza" as /ɪˈbtsə/ by the vocalists in the title line, which is unusual in English but a common pronunciation in Dutch, the group's native language.[3]

Critical reception

Jim Wirth from NME commented, "Who better than the peerless Vengaboys to soundtrack this moment of pure spiritual tranquillity with a spot of ersatz reggae?"[4] The Daily Record stated that the 1975 number-one hit, "We're Going To Barbados, "has been reworked and renamed. Cheesier than a Quattro Formaggio pizza."[5] Pop Rescue wrote that the song "isn’t half as clubby as their previous singles", adding that "Kim’s vocals are pretty good here apart from where she has to reach a high note, which is a bit wobbly on the way up to. Robin and Roy hold back for some 'woah!' vocals only."[6]

Popularity in Austria

After the revelation of the Ibiza affair in May 2019, which caused the resignation of Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, demonstrators in Vienna used the song as a protest song.[7] As a consequence, the song re-entered the Austrian singles chart and eventually reached number 16.[8][9] This popularity culminated with a live performance by the Vengaboys at the Donnerstagsdemonstrationen [de] (German: 'Thursday demonstrations') protests in front of the Chancellery in Vienna.[10]

Music video

The animated music video for the song features the Vengaboys travelling to Ibiza via a circuitous route that takes them all across the world. In the Washington D.C. part, a man and a woman silhouetted in a window of the Capitol building are having sex, a reference to the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.[11]

Track listings

Charts and certifications

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[49] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[50] Platinum 50,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[51] Platinum 75,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[52] Gold 5,000*
Sweden (GLF)[53] Platinum 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] Platinum 583,000[54]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Netherlands March 1999 CD Breakin' [1]
Spain 18 May 1999 12-inch vinyl Blanco y Negro [56]
United Kingdom 6 September 1999
  • CD
  • cassette
Positiva [57]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Vengaboys – We're Going to Ibiza!" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  2. ^ "The Vengaboys: Boom boom boom boom". 22 October 2016. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Vengaboys – We're Going to Ibiza". Can't Stop the Pop. 31 August 2020. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  4. ^ Wirth, Jim. "This Week's Singles August 28 1999". NME. Archived from the original on 5 October 2000. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Chartslot". Daily Record. 17 September 1999. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  6. ^ "REVIEW: "THE PARTY ALBUM!" BY VENGABOYS (CD, 1999)". Pop Rescue. 18 September 2015. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. ^ Oltermann, Philip (19 May 2019). "Austria prepares for fresh elections after Ibiza video scandal". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Vengaboys – We're Going to Ibiza!" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Vengaboys head back to Ibiza with 'protest' hit in Austria". 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  10. ^ @vengaboys (30 May 2019). "We love you #Vienna! ❤️" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ ""We're going to Ibiza": Cómo los Vengaboys se han convertido en iconos antifascistas". GQ España (in European Spanish). 5 June 2019. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  12. ^ We're Going to Ibiza! (Dutch CD1 liner notes). Vengaboys. Breakin' Records. 1999. KRAK 4031.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ We're Going to Ibiza! (Dutch CD2 liner notes). Vengaboys. Breakin' Records. 1999. KRAK 4032.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ We're Going to Ibiza! (UK CD1 liner notes). Vengaboys. Positiva Records. 1999. CDTIVS-119, 7243 8 87607 0 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ We're Going to Ibiza! (UK CD2 liner notes). Vengaboys. Positiva Records. 1999. CDTIV119, 7243 8 87607 2 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ We're Going to Ibiza! (UK cassette single sleeve). Vengaboys. Positiva Records. 1999. TCTIV119, 7243 8 87607 4 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ We're Going to Ibiza! (Australian CD single liner notes). Vengaboys. Central Station Records. 1999. CSR CD5 0347.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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