Chiquitita
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Chiquitita" | ||
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| Single by ABBA | ||
| from the album Voulez-Vous | ||
| Released | January 16, 1979 (Sweden) February 3, 1979 (UK) November 10, 1979 (US) |
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| Format | 7" Single | |
| Genre | Pop/Europop/Disco | |
| Length | 5:26 | |
| Writer(s) | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson |
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| Producer(s) | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson |
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| Chart positions | ||
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| ABBA singles chronology | ||
| "Summer Night City" (1978) |
"Chiquitita" (1979) |
"Does Your Mother Know" (1979) |
"Chiquitita" is the first single from ABBA's album Voulez-Vous, their sixth album for Polar, and their fifth album for Epic and Atlantic. Chiquitita roughly means "little girl" in Spanish.
[edit] The song
A preliminary version of "Chiquitita" was recorded in December 1978, with the theme of the lyrics being about a lover who prefers to be "in the arms of Rosalita." A revised version, which had a sound that was partly influenced by the song "El Condor Pasa" by Simon and Garfunkel, was soon recorded and "Chiquitita" was soon released as a single in January 1979.
A Spanish version of "Chiquitita" was made by ABBA, thanks to the success of its original English version, although the band never learned to speak Spanish. They sang the song simply by phonetics and it gained considerable popularity in countries such as Puerto Rico, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
[edit] Chart Success
"Chiquitita" proved to be one of ABBA's biggest hits. It was featured in the January 1979 UNICEF charity event, the Music for UNICEF Concert, broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly, and on the corresponding album release from that event; ABBA donated all royalties from the song to UNICEF. It hit number one in countries as diverse as Finland, Belgium, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom and ABBA's native Sweden, it peaked at number two, while stopping at number three in West Germany. In neighbouring Norway and Australia where ABBA had been hugely popular, the song hit number four, while reaching number six and number seven in Austria and Argentina respectively. It only reached number twenty-nine in the United States, and peaked at number forty-eight in Italy. Nevertheless, "Chiquitita" turned out to be the most successful single from the Voulez-Vous album in terms of global charts, and one of the most famous charity songs ever. To this day, all proceeds from the song go to UNICEF in recognition of the International Year Of The Child in 1979.
[edit] Trivia
- Chiquitita was used as the opening song for the Japanese drama "Strawberry on the Shortcake"
- Leona Lewis performed the song on the British TV show The X Factor.
