Blah Blah Blah (Armin-van-Buuren-Lied)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Blah Blah Blah
Armin van Buuren
publication 18th May 2018
length 3:04 min.
Genre (s) Psytrance
Author (s) Armin van Buuren , Andrew Bullimore, Josh Record
Label Armada Music , Armind
album Blah Blah Blah EP

Blah Blah Blah is a song by the Dutch trance DJ and producer Armin van Buuren . It was the highlight of his live performances during the 2018 summer tour and was played by other well-known DJs at festivals around the world. The psy-trance track was able to reach the charts in several countries. This success attracted attention in the EDM scene due to the simple, sometimes humorous interpretation of the song .

background

Blah Blah Blah lettering on a merchandise item

Besides Armin van Buuren, Andrew Bullimore was mainly involved in the creation of the song. He became known in the EDM field as a singer and songwriter under the name BullySongs, after having participated in chart successes such as Galantis - No Money and Felix Jaehn - Feel Good . He also played in songs by Don Diablo ( What We Started / Children Of A Miracle ) and Sick Individuals ( Waiting For You / Never Say Never ). The songs Freefall and Caught In The Slipstream , which were part of his album Embrace, were created with Armin van Buuren in 2015 .

After Armin van Buuren played his track with Vini Vici The Great Spirit on a tour together , Bullimore suggested a follow-up song based on it, but with vocals from his son. He is already active as a singer in school age. As a result, Armin van Buuren had a "rough idea" in the form of a children's song. Together with his friend Josh Record, Bullimore added the lyrics to this version. He had his son Aidan sing it. His own voice (in a heavily edited form) was also part of the creation process.

According to Armin van Buuren, Blah Blah Blah was originally planned as a fun track, which he only wanted to play during his summer festival tour, analogous to his earlier songs Ping Pong and This Is A Test . In doing so, he countered assumptions that the song was aimed at haters . A release as a single was not planned. He also only worked on the track for one day.

For the first time Armin van Buuren played the song during his set at the Ultra Music Festival 2018, which was also broadcast live. The reactions were initially positive, so that the track became an essential part of live sets by other well-known DJs, including Hardwell , W&W and Dannic . After establishing itself as a festival hit, the song was officially released as a single on May 18, 2018.

Musical and content

The song is based on the melody of an old folk song whose author is no longer known and can therefore be freely used. Armin van Buuren denied that it was a sample .

The track starts with the simple vocals sung by a children's choir and slowly getting louder until the drums kick in. After these end in a loop, after a short break, the typical psy-trance drop based on triplets follows. Meanwhile, the same lyrics of the child's voice are repeated, which gives the song a catchy tune. As soon as these have been replaced by "digital trance sounds", the main part follows. In this, after a short break, a ballad-like melody made up of piano chords can be heard, into which the vocals fit. These slowly merge into the second drop, which is accompanied by the piano, after which the song ends.

The song has 138 bpm and can be classified in the psy-trance area, although it differs significantly from previous works by Armin van Buuren due to its jocular orientation and minimalist style.

The simple lyrics are repeated several times, both in the break and in the drop. The focus is on the song title, which is built in rhyme to match the child's theme.

“All we ever hear from you is blah blah blah
So, all we ever do is go ja ja ja
And we don't even care about what they say
Cause it's ja ja ja ja
Blah blah blah blah”

"All we ever hear from you is blah blah blah
So all we ever do is yes yes yes
And we don't care what they say
because it's yes yes yes yes
Blah blah blah blah"

reception

Reviews

The song polarized from the start. While it was received euphorically at festivals, there were sometimes serious complaints, especially in the trance scene. On the one hand, it was praised that a successful festival hit emerged from the simplest of elements, on the other hand, many no longer saw the proximity to trance or psy-trance. The reviews were mixed:

“'Blah Blah Blah' by Armin van Buuren is a funny psy-trance title that has its right to exist. Unfortunately, it lacks the last thing at the important points in order to really hit the ground. (...) Unfortunately, Armin van Buuren went wrong with this psy-trance song when it comes to the design of the drop. (...) The second break can absolutely convince with beautiful piano sounds. "

- Dance charts

The magazine edmsauce expressed itself in a similarly balanced way by summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of such a simple track:

“The same sample of a child's voice is repeated over and over. (…) That was frankly a bit annoying in my opinion. 'Blah Blah Blah' does a lot of things right. The lively, uplifting beat and minimalist style are exactly what most festival and club goers ask for. The track also leaves room for a remix. "

- edm sauce

For the EDM reviewer, the varied style of the song was decisive for a positive rating of 86/100:

"While many trance critics will express their mixed feelings about this song, it can be said with certainty that 'Blah Blah Blah' is different and fresh."

- EDM reviewer

Commercial win

The YouTube video was viewed over 4 million times in the first three weeks after its release. By October the value had risen to over 114 million. The song was viewed more than 57 million times on Spotify. Chart placements were also achieved in many Central European countries. Blah Blah Blah is Armin van Buuren's highest-ranked single in Germany, replacing This Is What It Feels Like from 2013:

Chart placements
Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
Germany (GfK) Germany (GfK) 11 (35 weeks) 35
Austria (Ö3) Austria (Ö3) 15th (21 weeks) 21st
Switzerland (IFPI) Switzerland (IFPI) 44 (19 weeks) 19th
Netherlands (Media Markt) Netherlands (Media Markt) 31 (6 weeks) 6th

Music video

Armin van Buuren at ASOT Utrecht, where parts of the music video were recorded

The official music video was published on Armin van Buuren's YouTube channel. This is a lyric video. The lyrics are displayed in the usual filled-in font that is regularly used for artworks, merchandise and visuals by Armin van Buuren. However, only the colors black or yellow are used in connection with Blah Blah Blah - even beyond the music video. Gesticulating hands were built into some letters to symbolize excessive talking. The Blah Blah Blah lettering on the cover is designed in this style. In the background you can see excerpts from a performance by Armin van Buuren at the A State Of Trance - Be In The Moment Festival from Jaarbeurs Utrecht , which took place in February 2018.

publication

In addition to the release as a single on May 18, 2018 under Armada , the song is part of the EP Blah Blah Blah . This was published on June 8, 2018 under Armind, a sub-label of Armada and contains three other collaborations. The remix EP was released at the beginning of July, including a version by hardstyle producer Brennan Heart , which was the finale of Armin van Buuren's Tomorrowland performance.

Digital single

# version length
1. Blah Blah Blah 3:03
2. Blah Blah Blah (Extended Mix) 6:06
3. Blah Blah Blah (Acapella) 1:30

Blah Blah Blah EP

The EP also contains the extended versions of each song. The acapella version can also be found on the bonus track version.

# title Interpreter length
1. Blah Blah Blah Armin van Buuren 3:03
2. The Last Dancer Armin van Buuren & Shapov 3:30
3. Just As You Are Armin van Buuren & Rising Star feat. Fiora 2:56
4th Popcorn Armin van Buuren & Popov 3:23

Remix EP

# Remix length
1. Blah Blah Blah ( Bassjackers Remix) 3:16
2. Blah Blah Blah (Alyx Ander Remix) 2:55
3. Blah Blah Blah (Brennan Heart & Toneshifterz Remix) 3:20
4th Blah Blah Blah (Kid Comet Remix) 3:10
5. Blah Blah Blah (Zany Remix) 2:32
6th Blah Blah Blah (Tru Concept Remix) 2:57

Trivia

  • Blah Blah Blah is used as a promotional song for the US campaign for a Victoria's Secret underwear brand .
  • In August 2018, a separate merchandise collection with the theme Blah Blah Blah was released. A signed jacket from it was auctioned off as part of the DJ Mag Top 100 voting and the proceeds were donated to UNICEF .
  • When asked about his inspiration, Armin van Buuren is quoted as saying in press and promotional texts about the song: "Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah (...)". This (fictional) statement confirms the ironic intention of the song.
  • Andrew Bullimore's older son was also involved in a chart success. At the age of ten, Reece Bullimore provided the vocals for Galantis - No Money , which reached number ten in the German charts.
  • Armin van Buuren is not the first interpreter to reach the charts with the title "Blah Blah Blah": Kesha - Blah Blah Blah was awarded several records in 2010, while Gigi D'Agostino (in slightly modified spelling) already had a chart success in 1999 with the title.
  • The magazine Dance-Charts calculated from the number of clicks and chart positions that Blah Blah Blah was Armin van Buuren's fourth most successful song just three months after its release.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Search - Official German Charts. Retrieved September 30, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Armin van Buuren: Armin VLOG # 64 - Back To Work. August 29, 2018, accessed September 30, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Fun Radio, le son dancefloor!: Tomorrowland 2018: Armin Van Buuren en interview with the Fun Radio Family. August 2, 2018, accessed September 30, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Armin van Buuren - Blah Blah Blah [ARMIND]. 1001Tracklists, accessed September 30, 2018 .
  5. ↑ "Blah Blah Blah": DJ Armin van Buuren delivers a new dance track for long club nights. Songtexte.com, accessed September 30, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Fun Radio, le son dancefloor !: Armin van Buuren en interview dans le studio de Fun Radio à l'EMF. July 16, 2018, accessed September 30, 2018 .
  7. ^ Armin van Buuren - Blah Blah Blah - EDM Reviewer. Retrieved September 30, 2018 (American English).
  8. ↑ dance-charts.de on " Dance Charts "
  9. ↑ edmsauce.com
  10. ↑ edmreviewer.com
  11. ↑ Armin van Buuren gives fans what they bargained for: 'Blah Blah Blah EP'. Armada Music - Home to the music you love, Retrieved October 1, 2018 (American English).
  12. ↑ a b c d Chart sources: DE AT CH NL
  13. ↑ Blah Blah Blah (Bonus Track Version) - EP by Armin van Buuren. June 8, 2018, Retrieved October 1, 2018 (American English).
  14. ↑ Victoria's Secret: New commercial song is from Armin van Buuren! DJ MAG Germany, accessed on October 1, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Armin van Buuren's Signed 'Blah Blah Blah' Jacket To Be Auctioned Off For Charity. EDMTunes, September 10, 2018, accessed October 1, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Armin van Buuren - Blah Blah Blah - Armin van Buuren. Retrieved October 1, 2018 (American English).
  17. ↑ Meet 10-year-old rising star singing on Galantis' chart-climbing tune. Retrieved October 1, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Henry Einck: Top 10: The most successful songs by Armin van Buuren. Dance-Charts.de, accessed on October 1, 2018 .