C'est la Vie (B*Witched song)
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"C'est la Vie" is a song by Irish girl group
B*Witched B*Witched are an Irish girl group consisting of twin sisters Edele and Keavy Lynch, Lindsay Armaou and Sinéad O'Carroll. Originally active between 1997 and 2002, they enjoyed success in both Europe and North America between 1998 and 2002, r ...
. It served as their debut single and the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album (1998). Written by band members
Edele Lynch Edele Claire Christina Edwina Lynch (born 15 December 1979) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is the lead singer of the Irish girl group B*Witched, of which her twin sister Keavy is also a member. In 2013, Lynch wo ...
,
Keavy Lynch Keavy-Jane Elizabeth Annie Lynch (born 15 December 1979) is an Irish singer. She is best known for being a member of the girl group B*Witched, of which her twin sister Edele is also a member. Early life and education Keavy was born to Brendan ...
,
Lindsay Armaou Lindsay Gael Christian Elaine Armaou ( el, Λίντσεϊ Αρμάου; born 18 December 1978) is a Greek-born Irish actress and singer. She is best known as a member of girl group B*Witched and for her roles as Sister Georgina in the crime thri ...
, and Sinéad O'Carroll, Ray "Madman" Hedges, Martin Brannigan and
Tracy Ackerman Tracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor. Ackerman has written for artists including Geri Halliwell, Cher, Boyzone, ...
, it was released by Epic and Glowworm Records on 25 May 1998. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the song was a huge success for the band after it reached number one on the charts in various countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand. In the process, B*Witched became the youngest girl group ever to have a UK number one. In the United States, "C'est la Vie" reached number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1999, it was nominated for " Best Song Musically and Lyrically" in the
Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
. The accompanying music video for the song features the four girls dancing around a lush green field full of bright flowers with a puppy as they playfully tease a teenage boy.


Background and release

"C'est la Vie" was written by B*Witched members
Edele Lynch Edele Claire Christina Edwina Lynch (born 15 December 1979) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is the lead singer of the Irish girl group B*Witched, of which her twin sister Keavy is also a member. In 2013, Lynch wo ...
,
Keavy Lynch Keavy-Jane Elizabeth Annie Lynch (born 15 December 1979) is an Irish singer. She is best known for being a member of the girl group B*Witched, of which her twin sister Edele is also a member. Early life and education Keavy was born to Brendan ...
,
Lindsay Armaou Lindsay Gael Christian Elaine Armaou ( el, Λίντσεϊ Αρμάου; born 18 December 1978) is a Greek-born Irish actress and singer. She is best known as a member of girl group B*Witched and for her roles as Sister Georgina in the crime thri ...
, and Sinéad O'Carroll, Ray "Madman" Hedges, Martin Brannigan, and
Tracy Ackerman Tracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor. Ackerman has written for artists including Geri Halliwell, Cher, Boyzone, ...
. The song features many cheeky
double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
s, the band commenting in 2013 "it went over children's heads, but the parents got the innuendos. It was perfect for everyone."


Critical reception

Chuck Taylor of '' Billboard'' wrote, "This European creamsicle has already tickled the top of the European pop charts, and with good reason. It's catchy as all get-out, has a chorus that lingers like poison ivy, and adds unlimited spoonfuls of zip spin after spin. In a perfect world, this dancey helping of youth-oriented pop would have no problem conquering the States with its giddy melody and squeaky-clean teenage vocals, but sadly, top 40 has again entered one of those periods during which it shuns most any uptempo track that might be considered plain and simple fun. That's a shame, given the growing profile of this personable Dublin-based female quartet and its fine self-titled debut
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...
. In any case, open-minded programmers who have had success with Britney Spears or Cleopatra should certainly give this a meaningful spin and let their audiences have a chance to catch on to the magic of this fearless track." In 1999, the song was nominated for "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" at the
Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...
. ''Billboard'' named the song number 97 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.


Chart performance

"C'est la Vie" debuted at number one 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 31 May 1998 and remained at the top the following week. It also went to number one in the group's home country of Ireland, as well as in New Zealand. The song went to number nine on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the week of 17 April 1999 and number six on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. It went Platinum in Australia for sales of over 70,000 copies. By September 2017, over 927,000 copies of the single had been sold in the UK.


Music video

The music video for the song was directed by
Alison Murray Alison Murray may refer to: * Alison Murray (director), Canadian director of films, documentaries and music videos * Alison Murray (author), Scottish children's author and illustrator * Alison Murray (scientist), American microbial ecologist and Ant ...
, who later also directed the UK video for "
Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
". It begins with the four girls lying on the ground in a field of daisies on a sunny day. A dog is introduced into the clip next to one of the girls and the quartet then begin dancing and singing to a teenage boy in a treehouse. The girls then tie the boy to a tree and the dog chases toward him before he is bombarded with lipstick kiss marks all over his face. The boy is freed from the tree and the girls hose him with water and begin performing an Irish reel before lying back down in the field where they began.


Track listings

UK CD1 # "C'est la Vie" – 2:52 # "We Four Girls" – 1:52 # "B*Witched Quiz Show" – 2:26 UK CD2 and Australian CD single # "C'est la Vie" – 2:52 # "C'est la Vie" (K-Klass Epic Klub remix) – 7:25 # "C'est la Vie" (Skynet Glass Palace vocal mix) – 8:02 # "C'est la Vie" (Dog in the River mix) – 6:45 UK cassette single and European CD single # "C'est la Vie" – 2:52 # "We Four Girls" – 1:52 US 7-inch single :A. "C'est la Vie" – 2:52 :B. "Get Happy" – 3:04 US CD maxi-single # "C'est la Vie" – 2:52 # "Get Happy" – 3:04 # "C'est la Vie" (K-Klass Epic Klub remix) – 7:25 # "C'est la Vie" (Skynet Glass Palace vocal mix) – 8:02 # "C'est la Vie" (Dog in the River mix) – 6:45 # "B*Witched Quiz Show" – 2:26 # "Snippets" ("We Four Girls", "Rollercoaster", " To You I Belong") – 1:35


Credits and personnel

*
Tracy Ackerman Tracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor. Ackerman has written for artists including Geri Halliwell, Cher, Boyzone, ...
– writing *
Lindsay Armaou Lindsay Gael Christian Elaine Armaou ( el, Λίντσεϊ Αρμάου; born 18 December 1978) is a Greek-born Irish actress and singer. She is best known as a member of girl group B*Witched and for her roles as Sister Georgina in the crime thri ...
– writing, backing vocals * Martin Brannigan – writing * Ray "Madman" Hedges – writing, production, arrangement *
Edele Lynch Edele Claire Christina Edwina Lynch (born 15 December 1979) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is the lead singer of the Irish girl group B*Witched, of which her twin sister Keavy is also a member. In 2013, Lynch wo ...
– writing, lead vocals *
Keavy Lynch Keavy-Jane Elizabeth Annie Lynch (born 15 December 1979) is an Irish singer. She is best known for being a member of the girl group B*Witched, of which her twin sister Edele is also a member. Early life and education Keavy was born to Brendan ...
– writing, backing vocals * Sinéad O'Carroll – writing, backing vocals


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:C'est la Vie (BWitched song) 1998 debut singles 1998 songs B*Witched songs Dance-pop songs Epic Records singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Song recordings produced by Ray Hedges Songs written by Edele Lynch Songs written by Martin Brannigan Songs written by Ray Hedges Songs written by Tracy Ackerman UK Singles Chart number-one singles