We Like to Party! (Vengaboys song)

"We Like to Party!" (subtitled "The Vengabus" for its release as a single) is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys. It was released in the Netherlands in May 1998 as the fourth single from the band's debut album, Up & Down – The Party Album (1998). Following its success in Benelux, it was given a worldwide release on 9 November 1998.[1]

"We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)"
Single by Vengaboys
from the album Up & Down – The Party Album and The Party Album
ReleasedMay 1998
GenreEurodance
Length3:41
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Danski
  • DJ Delmundo
Vengaboys singles chronology
"Up and Down"
(1998)		 "We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)"
(1998)		 "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!"
(1998)
Music video
"We Like to Party! (The Vengabus)" on YouTube

"We Like to Party!" became one of the band's most successful hits, topping the chart in Flanders, reaching number two in Australia and the Netherlands, and becoming a top-five hit in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It is also the band's highest-charting song in the United States, climbing to number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and in Canada, where it peaked at number 10.

Composition

"We Like to Party!" is a Eurodance song that runs for 3 minutes and 41 seconds. It is written in the key of A-flat major and maintains a tempo of 136 beats per minute in common time.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor William Cooper described it as a "bouncy eurodisco hit", and noted further that it was "reminiscent of Aqua's "Barbie Girl", with its singalong chorus, cutesy female vocal squeal, and wacky synth beats."[2] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "This wildly energetic foursome (two gals, two guys) from the Netherlands is pretty much a household name throughout Europe, where this infectious pop gem has been a constant on radio and in clubs. Already, "We Like To Party!" has gone platinum and double-platinum in Belgium and the act's homeland, respectively. Here, the song could meet a similar fate, especially since it features a sugar-soaked sing-along chorus that hangs out in your head until you beg for relief. That said, people who embraced Aqua's "Barbie Girl", Cleopatra's "Romeo And Juliet", and Los Del Rio's "Macarena" will be lining up for this latest slice of energetic pop. Are you listening, radio? (It's already hit No. 1 on the playlist of dance leader WKTU New York.) Conversely, this will be a no-brainer for club jocks, who continue to make major noise with the group's sweat-soaked debut, "Up and Down"."[3]

An editor from Daily Record called it "cheesy disco from Europe's top selling boy-girl band who are already lining up a massive summer single."[4] Jim Farber from Entertainment Weekly commented, "Attention, lovers of cheeseball club music. The Vengaboys' hit "We Like to Party!" combines a campy disco beat, party-girl vocals, and a killer hook in the form of a ship horn in full blare. What began as a beach anthem in Ibiza, Spain, is becoming a Stateside smash on the increasingly Euro-driven U.S. charts. And why not? It's too willfully silly to resist."[5] In an retrospective review, Pop Rescue remarked its "unmistakeable Vengaboys sound", describing it as "a fast-paced energetic track."[6]

Commercial performance

The single proved to be a higher seller than "Up and Down" in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number three in March 1999,[7] eventually selling 474,000 copies, making it the 29th-biggest hit of the year.[8] The song additionally reached number one in Flemish Belgium, number two in Australia and the Netherlands, number three in Ireland, number four in Germany and Switzerland, number six in Austria and Italy, number nine in New Zealand and number 10 in Canada and Walloon Belgium.[9][10][11][12] It additionally reached the top 20 in France.[9] The song became the group's biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number 26 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and selling 405,000 copies.[13][14]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "We Like to Party" was directed by Wendelien van Diepen.[15] It first aired in March 1999. The video features all four Vengaboys members and other tourists travelling to various destinations in Province of Barcelona, Piera and Gavà, in a 1930s style mini-bus, the "Vengabus" (a 1933 Chevrolet series O Bus), where they end up in a nightclub in La Barceloneta, Barcelona.

A new "silent" version of the video was released in January 2022 via the band's official YouTube channel. It features isolated vocals and dubbed ambient sound effects based on the visuals.[16][17]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[60] Platinum 70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[61] Platinum 50,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[62] Platinum 75,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[63] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[64] Platinum 652,000[65]
United States — 405,000[14]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Netherlands May 1998
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Breakin'
Europe 9 November 1998 Various [1]
United Kingdom 1 March 1999
  • CD
  • cassette
 Positiva [66]
  • The song was revived when used in 2004 as the main theme for Six Flags' "Mr. Six" advertising campaign.[67]

References
  1. "Vengaboys – We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  2. Cooper, William. "Vengaboys - The Party Album!". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  3. Flick, Larry (9 January 1999). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 2. p. 15. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  4. "Chart Slot". Daily Record. 26 March 1999.
  5. Farber, Jim (16 April 1999). "We Like to Party!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  6. "Review: "The Party Album!" by Vengaboys (CD, 1999)". Pop Rescue. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  8. "Yearly Best Selling Singles" (PDF). British Phonographic Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  9. "Vengaboys – We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – We Like To Party". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  11. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 43. 24 October 1998. p. 16. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  12. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8154." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  13. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 17 April 1999. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  14. Billboard - 25 December 1999 - 1 January 2000 - Page 34 "Vengaboys' "We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)" sold 405,000 units"
  15. "Vengaboys: We like to party". Mvdbase.com. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  16. "Vengaboys - We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) Silent Music Video". YouTube.
  17. Vengaboys on X
  18. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (Dutch CD single liner notes). Breakin' Records. 1998. KRAK4041.
  19. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (Dutch maxi-CD single liner notes). Breakin' Records. 1998. KRAK 4042.
  20. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (French CD single liner notes). Scorpio Music. 1998. 192 542-2.
  21. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (UK CD1 liner notes). Positiva Records. 1999. CDTIVS108, 7243 8 8590 2 4.
  22. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (UK CD2 liner notes). Positiva Records. 1999. CDTIV108, 7243 8 86591 2 3.
  23. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (UK cassette single sleeve). Positiva Records. 1999. TCTIV 108, 7243 8 86590 4 8.
  24. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (Australian & New Zealand CD single liner notes). Positiva Records. 1999. CSR CD5 0330.
  25. We Like to Party! (The Vengabus) (US maxi-CD single liner notes). Groovilicious. 1998. GM061.
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  31. "Vengaboys Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  32. Danish Singles Chart. 15 January 1999.
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  34. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Vengaboys". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 273. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
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  61. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  62. "Dutch single certifications – Vengaboys – We Like to Party" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 9 August 2019. Enter We Like to Party in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1998 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  63. "New Zealand single certifications – Vengaboys – We Like to Party". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  64. "British single certifications – Vengaboys – We Like to Party (The Vengabus)". British Phonographic Industry.
  65. Copsey, Rob (14 September 2021). "Vengaboys look back at their biggest hits: "After Boom Boom Boom Boom, we were set for life"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  66. "New Releases – For Week Starting 1 March, 1999: Singles". Music Week. 27 February 1999. p. 25.
  67. Howard, Theresa (11 July 2004). "Dancing Mr. Six scores with viewers of Six Flags ads". USA Today. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
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