Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)

"Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" is the fourth single from the debut album Life in Cartoon Motion of singer Mika. It reached number 9 in the UK charts after it was released on 23 July 2007. It was inspired by, and written for, the Butterfly Lounge, the first Size Acceptance nightclub in Orange County, California.[1] The club is mentioned specifically in the lyrics "Get yourself to the Butterfly Lounge. Find yourself a big lady", and is now their theme song.[2] A B-side of the single is "Standing in the Way of Control".

"Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)"
Single by Mika
from the album Life in Cartoon Motion
B-side"Instant Martyr"
Released23 July 2007 (2007-07-23)
Recorded2006
Genre
Length
  • 4:10 (album version)
  • 3:09 (radio edit)
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)
  • Mika
  • Jodi Marr
  • John Merchant
  • Andres Orue
  • Dan Warner
Producer(s)Greg Wells
Mika singles chronology
"Love Today"
(2007)		 "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)"
(2007)		 "Happy Ending"
(2007)
Music video
"Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" on YouTube

The song was met with mixed reviews from music critics. The song peaked at number 9 in the United Kingdom (his third top 10 hit in that country), and reached the top ten in Ireland, Finland, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Background and writing

Many people speculate that Mika wrote the song as a tribute to Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls", but in promotional materials for Life in Cartoon Motion, he states that this is not the case at all:

"I was flying to Los Angeles the next day and I can never sleep because I hate flying so much. So I was watching trashy television, it was two o'clock in the morning, a Victoria Wood documentary on Channel 4. It was about fat people in the United States and she visited a club called The Butterfly Lounge, which was the first place of its kind, a club for larger women to hang out in. Skinny women were not being allowed in. The women were amazing and I absolutely felt as if I had to write about them. I muted the television and wrote it straight away. I never expected it on the album, but a few weeks later we recorded it and it's now there. So it is one of my favourite tracks and brilliant to play live. Everyone sings along!"[3]

The song features Afro-pop-inspired guitars and harmonies.[4]

Critical reception

The song received mostly mixed reviews from music critics. Beth Johnson from Entertainment Weekly referred to the song as "an update of Queen's 'Fat Bottomed Girls'."[5] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine agreed, writing that the song "is nothing if not a disco-fied exaltation to Queen's 'Fat Bottomed Girls'."[6] John Murphy from musicOMH wrote a negative review, saying that the song is "an ode to the delights of the larger lady, wraps up its laudable message inside a tune that grates in the worst possible way."[7] Graham Griffith from About.com wrote that "the disco-lite 'Big Girl (You Are Beautiful),' which includes an admirable sentiment, fails to distinguish itself otherwise."[8] Liz Colville from Pitchfork said that it is "a pumping, chorus-infested jam session complete with gospel backup singers that tragically feels the need to reassure big girls they can be beautiful."[9]

Lizzie Ennever from BBC Music wrote a positive review, saying that the track is "upbeat, poppy, all-singing, all-dancing, big-band."[10] Alexander Berntsen from Sputnikmusic wrote a positive review, saying that the song is "an incredibly fun (and happy!) tune, a genius moment. Hilarious indeed."[11]

Music video

The video was filmed on 19 May 2007 in Croydon and features several curvy women running down Croydon High Street, Surrey Street Market, and outside Croydon College in corsets and short dresses.[12] The finale of the video features a whole gathering of curvy women celebrating.

In pop culture

Mika has also rerecorded the track as the promo theme for the second season of the American comedy-drama series Ugly Betty, but with altered lyrics to say "Hey, Betty, you are beautiful" in its chorus.[13] Mika explained to the Sun newspaper: "Betty is a real fashion icon and we should celebrate anyone like her – genuine individuals who stay true to their own identity. That's what 'Big Girl' is all about so it was the perfect fit to change the song for her. It was a huge honor to be asked to do it. I love the show."[3] In Australia, Crazy John TV advertisements used a sample of this song. In Spain, the Galician TV station Televisión de Galicia used samples of this song in the show O show dos Tonechos. The song is featured in the Ubisoft video games Just Dance 2 for the Nintendo Wii and Just Dance Now (with a remake), and the same remake was later pushed to Unlimited, alongside the launch of Just Dance 2016.

Track listing

UK CD single

  1. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" – 4:10
  2. "Instant Martyr"
  3. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Live)
  4. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (Tom Middleton Remix) – 5:52

Limited edition 7" single

  1. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" – 4:10
  2. "Standing in the Way of Control" (Live) (From Radio 1's Big Weekend)

UK 12" vinyl

  1. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (Tom Middleton Remix) – 5:52
  2. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (Bonde Do Role Remix) – 3:48
  3. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (Lo-Fi-Fnk Remix) – 6:12
  4. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (Hick Nurdman Remix) – 5:44

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[41] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[42] Gold 25,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Silver 200,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "BFLMIKA02". Butterfly Lounge. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  2. "UK Singer Mika and the Butterfly Lounge". Fattie Gossip. 3 July 2007. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  3. "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) by Mika Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  4. Phares, Heather. "Life in Cartoon Motion - Mika". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  5. Johnson, Beth (30 March 2007). "Life in Cartoon Motion Review | Music Reviews and News - | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  6. Cinquemani, Sal (17 March 2007). "Mika: Life in Cartoon Motion | Music Review | Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  7. Murphy, John (5 February 2007). "Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion | album reviews | musicOMH". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  8. "MIKA - Life in Cartoon Motion". About.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  9. Colville, Liz (17 April 2007). "Mika: Life in Cartoon Motion | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  10. Ennever, Lizzie (2 February 2007). "BBC – Music – Review of Mika – Life in Cartoon Motion". BBC. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  11. Berntsen, Alexander (10 February 2007). "Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion (album review) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  12. Menhinnitt, Daniel (12 July 2007). "Watch Mika's Croydon video". Sutton & Croydon Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  13. "Mika's Ugly Moment". Sky Showbiz. 16 August 2007. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
  14. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  15. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  16. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  17. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  18. "Mika Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  19. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200745 into search.
  20. "Mika: Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  21. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  22. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Dance Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  23. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  24. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  25. "Perdono", Italian and Swiss singles charts Italiancharts.com (Retrieved 9 December 2008)
  26. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mika" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  27. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  28. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)". VG-lista. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  29. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  30. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200745 into search.
  31. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  32. "Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  33. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  34. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2007" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  35. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2007". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  36. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2007" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  37. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  38. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2008". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  39. "Jaaroverzichten 2008" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  40. "Rapports Annuels 2008" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  41. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  42. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  43. "British single certifications – Mika – Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
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