"Happenin' All Over Again" is a song written and produced by Stock Aitken & Waterman (SAW) for American singer

Lonnie Gordon Lonnie Gordon (born November 8, 1965, Philadelphia) is an American female dance, pop and R&B singer and songwriter. She scored several chart hits during the 1990s, most notably for her 1990 UK top 10 single " Happenin' All Over Again". Earl ...

's first album, '' If I Have to Stand Alone'' (1990). The song mixed SAW's

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

sound with the blooming

Italo house Italo house (often simply referred to as "Italian" or "Italian house" in the UK) is a form of house music originating in Italy. Typically popular in Italy, Britain, and United States since the late 1980s, it fuses house music and Italo disco. ...

music which was becoming big in the UK charts at the time. It was released as the album's second single on January 15, 1990, and reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, but this 1990 version was never released in the US. A different version of the song was included on Gordon's 1993 album ''Bad Mood'', and this version was released as a US

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1993, peaking at number 98 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at number one on the ''Billboard'' Dance chart. In 1998, Gordon recorded the song for a second time and released it as a single.

Background and writing

The background of the song — specifically, who it was originally written for — has long been a source of rumour and dispute. According to Gordon, it had been originally written for

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

, but due to a falling-out with the producers, she never recorded it, and instead it was given to Gordon. Fellow SAW artist

Hazell Dean Hazell Dean ( Poole; born 27 October 1952) is an English dance-pop singer, who achieved her biggest success in the 1980s as a leading hi-NRG artist. She is best known for the top-ten hits in the United Kingdom "Searchin' (I Gotta Find a Man)", ...

has suggested she was once in the running to be assigned the track. The Donna Summer story has been denied by composer

Mike Stock Michael Stock (born 3 December 1951) is an English songwriter, record producer, musician, and member of the songwriting and production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. He has been responsible for over a hundred top-40 hits in the UK, including 16 n ...

, and Supreme Records label chief, Nick East, who both insist it was an original composition written specifically for Gordon. The SAW version was mixed by Phil Harding, who emphasised the

Hip House Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop, which originated in both London and Chicago in the mid-to-late 1980s. A British collaboration between the electronic group Beatm ...

and

elements.

Music video

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was produced to promote the single. It shows Gordon performing a choreographed dance and other shots display Gordon singing under an umbrella. It was published on PWL's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel in December 2016. The video has amassed more than 1.3 million views as of March 2024.

Critical reception

Initial response

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

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 ...

'' complimented the song, noting that Gordon's "fierce, sweet'n'sour performance is diva-supreme." David Giles from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' called it an "outstanding

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

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 ...

record", adding that "it betrays a healthy obsession with Seventies

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

right down to the very "showbizzy" chord changes." The magazine also said it's "one of the year's finest songs" and put it at number 6 in their Top 10 list, "Pick of the Year – Mainstream Singles". William Shaw from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' wrote that "it's one of those unstoppable thumping rhythms with a gloriously loud tune belted out over the top by the formidable Ms Gordon", adding that "this is the absolute stuff." Iestyn George of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' considered the song's title funny as it was a SAW production, but added that "this is an above average disco/pop romp reminiscent of

's recent stuff", which refers to the album ''

Another Place and Time ''Another Place and Time'' is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on March 13, 1989 by Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by the successful British production team Stoc ...

''.

Impact and legacy

In 2014, Matt Dunn of

WhatCulture WhatCulture Ltd. is a British online entertainment news website and magazine which was launched in 2010. The site offers news in the field of professional wrestling, television, films, music, video games, and board games. History Originally star ...

ranked the song at number 6 in his "15 unforgettable Stock Aitken Waterman singles" list, stating that "its sound was edgier and more contemporary than most PWL output of the era". In 2021, British magazine ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as vocal pop or pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' ranked it number 22 in their list of "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs". They wrote, "On a song originally intended for

, phasing arpeggios were the order of the day in the PWL studio for "Happenin' All Over Again", soon to become the sophomore single from Lonnie Gordon's debut album '' If I Have to Stand Alone''. Mixed by Phil Harding, those

influences are evident amongst the Euro

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

aura, leading to a well-earned Top 5 UK hit. Later on, in 1998, ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

''s

Tracy Shaw Tracy Shaw (born 27 July 1973) is a British actress and singer. Early life Shaw was born into the hotel and pub trade, at the time when her parents ran the Talbot Hotel in Belper, Derbyshire. She attended Saint Ralph Sherwin Comprehensive Schoo ...

had a crack at it and clawed her way to No.46 (best forgotten)." In 2023, Alexis Petridis of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' listed the song at number 14 in his "Stock Aitken Waterman's 20 greatest songs – ranked!", adding that it proves that "Waterman had cut his teeth as a DJ in the 70s when the sound of northern soul seeped into SAW’s productions".

Chart performance

Worldwide, "Happenin' All Over Again" became by far Gordon's most successful single. In the UK, the original version started at number 32 on January 27, 1990, then climbed to number nine, peaked at number four twice, and stayed on the chart for ten weeks; similarly, it made the top-three and charted for six weeks in Ireland, which was the song's highest placement for the 1990 version. It also peaked inside the top-ten in Finland and the top-20 in Sweden, reaching number eight and 14, respectively, was a top-25 hit in France and the Flanders part of Belgium, and a top-40 hit in the Netherlands where it stalled at number 34. In addition, it attained number 44 in Germany, spending four weeks in the top-50 out of a ten-week chart run. On the Pan-

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 ...

chart compiled by ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'', it entered at number 77 on February 3, 1990, reached a peak of number nine two weeks later, a position it held for consecutive two weeks, and appeared on the chart for a total of 12 weeks divided into two segments with a 14-week hiatus due to its release in June 1990 in France. It also charted for seven weeks on the European Airplay Top 50, with a peak at number eight in its penultimate week. Outside Europe, it stalled under the top 30 in Australia and New Zealand where it reached number 33 and 43, respectively. Unlike the original version which was not released in North America, the remixed version included on Gordon's second album '' Bad Mood'' charted three years later in the US, peaking at number 98 for two weeks on the ''Billboard' Hot 100 in November 1993. It was the singer's third and last single, after " Gonna Catch You" and "Bad Mood", to top the US

Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

, a position it reached in its eighth week out of a 13-week chart run.

Track listings

* CD single # "Happenin' All Over Again" (

hip house Hip house, also known as rap house or house rap, is a musical genre that mixes elements of house music and hip-hop, which originated in both London and Chicago in the mid-to-late 1980s. A British collaboration between the electronic group Beatm ...

mix) # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Italiano house mix) # "Happenin' All Over Again" (senza voce) * CD single (Belgium) # "Happenin' All Over Again" (hip house radio mix) – 3:20 # "Happenin' All Over Again" (

mix) – 5:36 # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Italiano house mix) – 6:45 # " Right Before My Eyes" (The blind house mix) – 6:12 * 12-inch single # "Happenin' All Over Again" (hip house mix) # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Italiano house mix) # "Right Before My Eyes" (The blind house mix) * 7-inch single # "Happenin' All Over Again" (hip house radio mix) – 3:20 # "Happenin' All Over Again" (senza voce) – 3:36 * CD single (1993 US remix) # "Happenin' All Over Again" (LP version) 3:30 # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Tony king's hip hop mix) 5:30 # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Jewels & stone club mix) 6:20 # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Jumpin' johnny jay's r&b mix) 5:22 # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Pwl's original mix – extended version) 5:55

Charts

Original version

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

1993 remix

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Young Divas version

Australian girl group

Young Divas Young Divas was an Australian pop girl group formed in 2006 by Sony BMG Australia, initially for a one-off single and national tour to promote all members as solo artists. The original line-up consisted of former '' Australian Idol'' contest ...

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 ...

"Happenin' All Over Again" for their self-titled debut album ''

''. It was produced by George Papapetros and Max Kourilov, and released as the second single from the album on November 11, 2006. The song peaked at number nine on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and was certified gold by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

(ARIA), for shipments of 35,000 copies. The

for "Happenin' All Over Again" features the Young Divas singing and dancing in front of a white backdrop.

Track listing

CD single # "Happenin' All Over Again" # "Happenin' All Over Again" (Extended Remix) # "

This Time I Know It's for Real "This Time I Know It's for Real" is a song by American singer-songwriter Donna Summer, released on February 13, 1989, as the first single from her 14th studio album, '' Another Place and Time'' (1989), by Atlantic Records and Warner Bros. Records ...

" (Music Video)

Credits and personnel

* Songwriting –

Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as part of the 1980s/early-1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman. Biography He beg ...

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, and television personality. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterman production and songwriting team, he co-wrote and co-produced many UK hit singles. An av ...

* Production – George Papapetros, Max Kourilov * Mixing – George Papapetros, Max Kourilov * Mastering – Tom Coyne

Charts

Weekly chart

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other covers

In mid-1998, former ''

'' star

released a cover version of "Happenin' All Over Again" that reached number 46 on the UK Singles Chart. Her character Maxine Heavey also sang it in the ''Coronation Street'' special "Viva Las Vegas".

References

{{Authority control 1989 songs 1990 singles 1993 singles 2006 singles Lonnie Gordon songs Young Divas songs Eurodance songs Songs written by Pete Waterman Songs written by Matt Aitken Songs written by Mike Stock (musician) Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman SBK Records singles Sony Music Australia singles