"Uh La La La" is a 1997 song recorded by Italian singer Alexia featuring additional vocals by an uncredited male rapper. It was released as the fourth single from her debut album, '' Fan Club'' (1997), and is written by Roberto Zanetti and Alexia herself. The song was a summer hit of 1997 in Europe and became Alexia's international breakout success. It reached number-one in Spain, number two in Finland and was a top 10 hit also in Austria, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Sweden and the UK. After its success in Europe, the song was remixed for a UK release the following year, which also saw release in Australia, where it peaked at number 17. This was her last single to be released by different labels in different territories as after this all her releases would be by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

Release

The song was released in Italy on CD and 12" (coded DWA 97.02), with releases in other European countries following. As before (and for the final time) the German edition would be released by

ZYX ZYX or Zyx may refer to: * Zyx, a region in the North Caucasus inhabited by the Zygii * Zyx (cartoonist) (1950–2015), French-Canadian cartoonist * ZyX (company), a Japanese company that makes erotic video games * ZYX (gene), a gene that encod ...

, the Spanish release by Blanco y Negro, the French release by Panic (a subsidiary of Polygram), and the Finnish release by K-Tel. A full set of releases was commissioned for Europe by

, once again on their Dancepool label; a

maxi CD A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

, 2-track CD, and 12" release (Sony code 664517). Two remix releases followed; one entitled 'Remix' and a doublepack of remixes by Fathers of Sound. The Fathers of Sound remixes would contain vocals and lyrics that were not on the original version. This was the second and last single to feature radio

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s on the CD. After officially signing to Sony for all future releases, plans were made to properly launch Alexia's career outside of Europe. In 1998,

Almighty Records Almighty Records is an English electronic dance music record label established in 1989. Almighty Records specialises in pop song remixes, dance-pop, and hi-NRG. The label's record producers, Almighty Associates, have remixed such performers a ...

were commissioned to provide a remix and edit for the UK market (Sony code 665567) in order to launch her career. The remix was also used for the Australian release later that year (Sony code 665766). Due to its popularity, the Almighty edit would be released on all versions of Alexia's second album, '' The Party''. In 1999, the track was released in America under the Epidrome label.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

editor Tom Demalon described the song is a "jaunty, infectious number that leans a bit more to pop". Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote that "without question, "Uh La La La" is as infectious as they get—just perfect for those hot and steamy summer nights. And producer Roberto Zanetti (more commonly known as Robyx) is in ultra-fine form here. In a perfect world, this would surely be a hit." A reviewer from '' Music & Media'' stated that the song "sounds like a surefire summer hit; a simple sunny melody, a catchy sing-a-long refrain ("Uh la la la, I love you baby"), a stomp/clap rhythm, some nice shuffle beats and a touch of rap. Another sign of success is that the song has already inspired a copy-cat version ( 2 Eivissa's " Oh La La La" (...) which samples Crystal Waters' " Gypsy Woman")." Juha Soininen viewed it as "a slow,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

ish downtempo" in his 2020 book ''Move Your Body (2 The 90's)''.

Chart performance

"Uh La La La" was a major hit on the charts on several continents, becoming one of Alexia's most successful songs to date. In Europe, it peaked at number-one in Spain and number four in the singer's native Italy, with a total of 19 weeks inside the Italian singles chart. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Alexia". Additionally, the song made it to the top 10 also in Austria, Finland (number two), Ireland, Scotland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it reached number ten in its first week on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, on March 15, 1998. Additionally, "Uh La La La" went on becoming a top 20 hit in France, Iceland, the Netherlands and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it charted in the top 30, reaching number 22 in September 1997. Outside Europe, it peaked at number 17 in Australia, number 30 in New Zealand and number 39 in Canada. The single earned a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

in France and Sweden, with a sale of 250,000 and 15,000 units.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for "Uh La La La" was directed by Luca Lucini. It sees Alexia performing the song while driving a jeep with her friends on the streets in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Track listing

* 12" #"Uh La La La" (Club Mix) – 7:26 #"Uh La La La" (Cellular Mix) – 6:05 #"Uh La La La" (Original Mix) – 6:30 #"Uh La La La" (Acappella) – 3:36 * 12" - Remix #"Uh La La La" (Fargetta's Mix) – 5:30 #"Uh La La La" (Bump Mix) – 4:55 #"Uh La La La" (Beach Mix) – 6:22 * CD single #"Uh La La La" (Radio Mix) – 3:45 #"Uh La La La" (Cellular Mix) – 6:05 * CD maxi single #"Uh La La La" (Radio Mix) – 3:45 #"Uh La La La" (Club Mix) – 7:28 #"Uh La La La" (Cellular Mix) – 6:05 #"Uh La La La" (F.O.S. Man Vocal Mix) – 6:25 #"Uh La La La" (Original Mix) – 6:30 #"Uh La La La" (F.O.S. Renaissance Dub) – 5:40 #"Uh La La La" (Radio Spot 1) – 0:10 #"Uh La La La" (Radio Spot 2) – 0:10 #"Uh La La La" (Radio Spot 3) – 0:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Blog 27 version

"Uh La La La" was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by Polish

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

group

Blog 27 Blog 27 was a Polish musical group founded in 2005 by two teenage vocalists Tola Szlagowska and Ala Boratyn performing pop music with elements of pop punk and pop rock. The duo's debut album, ''LOL'' (2005), was certified double platinum in Pola ...

and released as their debut single in Poland in May 2005. The song enjoyed popularity in the Polish media and later appeared on the band's debut album ''

LOL LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud and a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to ...

'', released in November 2005. The

for the track was directed by Anna Maliszewska and features teenagers

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboarder ...

ing and playing the

spin the bottle Spin the bottle is a kissing party game commonly played by teenagers. The game was very popular among teenagers during the second half of the 20th century because it fostered "sexual" interactions between boys and girls. It has even been describe ...

game. The song was released internationally in early 2006 and entered the Top 40 in German-speaking countries and Italy.

Track listing

* CD single #"Uh La La La" (Short Edit) – 3:13 #"I Want What I Want" – 3:04 * CD maxi single #"Uh La La La" (Short Edit) – 3:13 #"Uh La La La" (Extended) – 4:23 #"Uh La La La" (Karaoke Version) – 3:13 #"I Want What I Want" – 3:03 #"Uh La La La" (Video)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs 2006 singles Alexia (Italian singer) songs Blog 27 songs Dance-pop songs English-language Italian songs Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Spain Songs written by Alexia (Italian singer) Songs written by Roberto Zanetti Sony Music singles