No matter where you’re from, who you are, or what bread you butter, we all know what music is and have all heard it more than once in our life. We know about all the basic genres like rock, reggae, country, jazz, rap, R&B, hip hop, and folk, but what if I told you there was a genre better than all of those. A genre only the most mentally fit of mentally fit intellectuals can truly enjoy…..and I’m not. That’s right, I’m talking about Eurodance along with its subgenres, Euroreggae and bubblegum dance. But what is Eurodance?

The Study of Eurodance

Eurodance, also known as Euro-NRG or Eurohouse, is a genre of music that originated in the late 80s but exploded in the 90s. It all started when an Italian house trio named Black Box made a song called “Ride on Time” in 1989. The song became a huge success for the group landing number one in the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Ireland, and number two in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Greece.

The song itself doesn’t sound too much like your average Eurodance song but has elements that would later be seen in others such as certain synths.

The same year a group called Technotronic released a song named, “Pump Up The Jam.” This one being more akin to the Eurodance sound that would be made later on. The song reached the top 10 in many countries.

The Distinct Eurodance Sound

Eurodance tends to have a dramatic or rich sound followed by melodic hooks and a strong bass rhythm. They also tend to have around two to three verses. A traditional Eurodance band consists of a boy and girl duo with the boy singing the verses and the girl singing the chorus with the exception of songs like “Barbie Girl” by Aqua or “Cotton Eye Joe” by the Rednex.

The term Eurodance refers to a specific type of dance music, so while songs like “Dancing Queen” by ABBA are a literal Eurodance, they’re not “Eurodance Eurodance.” Eurodance artists don’t have to be European. A good example of this would be Scatman John whose songs were produced in Germany.

Before the term “Eurodance'' it was often referred to as Euro-NRG, dancefloor, or just dance. Although, something I noticed is that during the 90s and today, Ren and Stimpiltons would call anything with blaring synths, or just synths in general, and a drum machine, that didn’t come from the soulless septic tank that was the 80s “techno,” even though techno and Eurodance are two different genres.

“Mainzelmännchen” is either pronounced “MINE-ZEL-MEN-CHIN” or “MINE-ZEL-MEN-SHIN.” Something I do understand though is that they’re the mascots for a TV station called ZDF which has featured a few Eurodance acts before like Rednex, La bouche, and Haddaway.

Eurodance songs also tend to have sound effects as well as pianos.

The mid-90s could arguably be considered the golden age of Eurodance music with many classics being made such as “Scatman’s World,” Cotton Eye Joe,” “Dub I Dub,” “Bailando,” “Captain Jack,” and “Another Night.”

The Happening

During the late 90s, regular Eurodance started to see a decline, although there were hits such as the ever so popular “I’m Blue.” This era could be considered the golden age of Eurodance in its most epic form BUBBLEGUM DANCE!

What is Bubblegum Dance?

Eurodance of the bubblegum variety is easily the best form of Eurodance and one of (if not) the most amazing and epic genre of all time. It's happy sounding Eurodance and was huge in the late 90s. This mythical subgenre talked about for eons from cultures all over the world began in the early 90s with Wigfield’s 1993 hit “Saturday Night.” The genre didn’t blow up into popularity, but other bubblegum dance songs popped up and became hits here and there such as “Scatman’s World,” “Dub I Dub,” and “Golden Boy.''

The genre didn’t truly take off until 1997 when Aqua released what can arguably be considered the second most well-known Eurodance song next to “I’m Blue,'' and the most well-known bubblegum dance song of all time, the one and only “Barbie Girl!”

A Brief History of Aqua

Originally called Joyspeed back in 1989, Claus and Soren first met and decided to work together during the early 90s as producers. They were lucky enough to win a contest where the winners would make songs for a film called “Naughty Frida and the Fearless Spies.”

Lenes Character Arc

Around the same time, Rene was a DJ and was hired to work on some of the songs for the film. On a ferry called the M/S Peter Wessel, Rene heard her singing. Impressed by her vocals Rene asked her if she’d like to join. She did and together the 4 of them became Joyspeed.

Itzy Bitzy Spider

Their first single was a cover of the nursery rhyme, “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” but spelled with z’s because it was the 90s. It was released in Sweden and failed. They later broke up with the company they produced under and went on to another.

AND THEN……….. IT…..

Aqua’s 3rd single after “My Oh My” and “Lollipop,” “Barbie Girl” became a massive hit worldwide and has sold more than 8 million copies. The song was inspired by a kitsch exhibit with Barbie dolls that Søren Rasted went to. Søren then thought to himself, “This would make a pretty good song,” and thus one of the greatest songs of all time was made.

Controversy

Due to the sexual nature of the song, the demons over at Mattel decided to file a lawsuit. MCA Records, the company Aqua is associated with, won by saying that the song was a parody. Judge Alex Kozinski told both parties to chill.

Production

Bubblegum dance tends to be around the 130 to 145 range of BPM (beats per minute) with exceptions such as, “Come Play With Me” by Evelyn, which is 160 bpm and sounds more akin to happycore.

Witch Doctor

Also one of the most well-known Eurodance songs, as well as probably the second most well-known bubblegum dance song, “Witch Doctor,” is a cover of the 1958 hit of the same name.

To be continued...