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"Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" is a song by the Italian
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
DJ and record producer
Spiller Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, I ...
with lead vocals performed by English singer-songwriter
Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...
. Various versions of the single were later featured on the German reissue and some UK editions of Ellis-Bextor's debut solo studio album, '' Read My Lips'' (2001). The single was released on 14 August 2000 by
Positiva Records Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the UK. The record label was set up in 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquarters are at the Universal UK ...
and was involved in a highly publicised chart battle against " Out of Your Mind", the first single by
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...
outside the
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
, in the United Kingdom. In addition to receiving critical acclaim, "Groovejet" became a hit in Europe and Australia, peaking at number one in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland, and Australia, and it reached number three on the US ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Dance Club Play chart. On 22 July 2013, the song was
certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...
platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI), and it has sold 642,000 copies in the UK as of March 2019. Its music video was filmed in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, Thailand.


Background

The track was originally created by
Spiller Cristiano Spiller (born 3 April 1975) is an Italian electronic music DJ and record producer. He is best known for his 2000 single "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)", featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor. The song reached number-one in the UK, Australia, I ...
in early 1999 as an instrumental, with no singing, and was included on the ''Mighty Miami'' EP. It is mainly built upon samples from "Love Is You", a
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
song originally performed by Carol Williams with the
Salsoul Orchestra The Salsoul Orchestra was the backing Band (music), band of session musicians for many acts on the New York City label Salsoul Records and, under its own name, recorded several hit singles and albums between 1975 and 1982. History The orchestr ...
. The origin of the song title is taken from the name of the nightclub 'Groovejet' in
South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a Neighborhoods of Miami Beach, Florida, neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south ...
,
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, where the song was first played (as an instrumental) in 1999. In order to make the track more palatable for airplay, as the instrumental is somewhat repetitive,
Positiva Records Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the UK. The record label was set up in 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquarters are at the Universal UK ...
asked the English singer
Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...
, formerly with
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band Theaudience, to provide lyrics and vocals for the song. Before recording, Ellis-Bextor's lyric was partly reworked by Rob Davis, who replaced her hook "And so it goes... how does it feel so good?" with "If this ain't love... why does it feel so good?", thereby providing the song with its subtitle. Boris Dlugosch produced the vocal portions added to the track. Sharon Scott is the backing vocalist. The track has been remixed by Boris Dlugosch and Michi Lange, Todd Terry, Solar, Ramon " Ray Roc" Checo and Ernest St. Laurent. "Groovejet" was the first song ever to be played on an
iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...
, specifically on a prototype unit in August 2001. Upon its inclusion on '' Now That's What I Call Music! 46'' in the UK, released a month before the single, the booklet write-up correctly predicted it to be a hit.


Critical reception

"Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" has received critical acclaim. Piers Martin of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' was favourable, saying "this is a slip of irresistible ice-filtered summer
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
. This year's '
Sing It Back "Sing It Back" is a song written and performed by Irish-English electronic music duo Moloko ( Róisín Murphy and Mark Brydon). It first appeared in its original version on Moloko's second album, '' I Am Not a Doctor'' (1998); it was released a ...
' and ' Music Sounds Better with You', if you will." ''
Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
''s Dom Passantino rated the single 8/10, describing the song as " handbag house's last hurrah, except we'd stopped drinking Hooch by then and it was all about sambucca..." Tom Ewing of ''
Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2 ...
'' rated the single 9 out of 10, saying: "There's a beautiful tension in 'Groovejet', an apt flirtation between Bextor's languid, cut-glass vocals and the delightful indulgence of Spiller's music. It's not just any
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
he's reviving, after all. No
Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...
for Spiller, none of that poise or aspirational elegance. The sounds 'Groovejet' loots are the syn-drums and ray-gun synths of disco's overripe peak and decline, when it was corny, wonderful, mass-market pop music: you can hear hints of Kelly Marie or Amii Stewart in the song, before that sweetness falls back into the dreamy groove. 'Groovejet' is a fond tour of disco when it ruled the world, and proof that it still could." He described the music's sophistication as coming from Ellis-Bextor, who "offsets the track's bubbly repetition, adds a bittersweet note without ever sounding like she's above it. In fact she sounds carried along by it."


Commercial performance

In the United Kingdom, the single was first released in the same week as " Out of Your Mind",
Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline, Lady Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spic ...
's first single outside the
Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...
. "Out of Your Mind" held the midweek number one in the UK singles chart until Saturday, when "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" overtook it in sales; it was hyped by the media as a personal battle between the two artists. The song was the eighth best-selling song of 2000 in the UK. A live version of the track appeared as a B-side to Ellis-Bextor's single " Music Gets the Best of Me", and in 2003, "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" was re-released as part of Positiva Records 'Remixed' series. In April 2015, the
Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...
announced that "Groovejet" was the biggest-selling
vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
single of the millennium in the UK. The single also found success worldwide. It reached number one in Ireland (two weeks), Australia (three weeks), and New Zealand (seven weeks). In mainland Europe, it charted within the top five in Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland while becoming a top-ten hit in Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal. On the
European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...
, it peaked at number 12 on 21 October 2000. In the United States, "Groovejet" peaked at number 27 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Maxi-Singles Sales chart and number three on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Play chart. The track has earned platinum certifications in Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.


Music video

The accompanying music video for "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" shows Spiller and Ellis-Bextor making their way separately around
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
in Thailand. Spiller meets people and signs autographs, finding his height makes life there difficult; Ellis-Bextor sings wistfully at various tables in bars. Spiller takes a
taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
while Ellis-Bextor takes a
auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
, and eventually, they meet at a nightclub.


Legacy

In 2003, '' Q'' magazine ranked "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" number 782 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever". In 2014, ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' ranked it number 486 in their "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s". In 2018, ''
Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...
'' included the song in their list of "The 30 Best Vocal House Anthems Ever". In 2025, ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' ranked "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" number 75 in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time", writing, "Over loops of a chopped-up
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
sample and airplane whoosh effects, Ellis-Bextor's voice cuts like glass, complementing a hypnotic rhythm that seems borne of the West Med. Why does it feel so good?, indeed."


Track listings

* European CD single # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" (radio edit) – 3:43 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" (instrumental radio) – 3:30 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" (BMR's club cut) – 6:57 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" (Spiller's extended vocal mix) – 7:28 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" ( Todd Terry's In House remix) – 6:51 # "Groove Jet" – 6:18 * UK CD single # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" (radio edit) – 3:47 # "Groovejet" – 6:18 # "Groovejet" (Solar's Jet Groove dub mix) – 8:18 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" (Spiller's extended vocal mix) – 7:27 :AA1. "Groovejet" – 6:18 :AA2. "Groovejet" (Solar's Jet Groove dub mix) – 5:55 * German maxi-CD single # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (radio edit) – 3:41 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (original version) – 6:16 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (BMR's club cut) – 6:57 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (Spiller's extended vocal mix) – 7:26 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) (Todd Terry's In House remix) – 6:47 # "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) ( Ray Roc's Trackworks Remix Part II) – 8:10


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles House music songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Positiva Records singles Songs written by Rob Davis (musician) Songs written by Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Ellis-Bextor songs UK singles chart number-one singles