The catchiest song of the summer
“All of the dream, how does it mean?” This is the existential question posed by Ms Biljana Electronica on Planet of the Bass, the addictive Eurodance parody that is fast becoming a song of the summer. Flanked by rapped imperatives from DJ Crazy Times – “let’s go, everybody go!” – the effect is not just hilarious, but also irresistibly nostalgic.
“For many, Eurodance is intrinsically linked to summer,” says Connor Gotto, editor of Retropop magazine. He points out that several classics of the 1990s genre, including Whigfield’s party anthem Saturday Night, became hits in the UK “after they were brought back by Brits who first heard them on holiday in [continental] Europe”. The genre’s integral elements – euphoric choruses, pounding beats and gloriously unrestrained vocals, whether rapped or sung – evoke balmy dance floors from Málaga in Spain to Mykonos in Greece.
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It is this carefree vacation vibe that Planet of the Bass seems to be tapping into now. In fact, the 50-second send-up has proved so popular on TikTok and other social media platforms since it premiered on 28 July that a full-length version is being readied for release on 15 August. “It is just so well conceived,” says Gotto, who praises the spoof for “capturing the euphoria of Eurodance classics like Snap!’s The Power, and Livin’ Joy’s Dreamer” that became global hits in the 1990s. When Ms Biljana Electronica sings “there is nothing to be sad”, it may not make sense in a conventional way, but an overwhelming positivity comes through regardless.
Female frontwoman Ms Biljana Electronica is voiced by singer Chrissi Poland, but played in the videos by a rotating cast of lip-syncing actresses (Credit: Kyle Gordon)
Planet of the Bass is the brainchild of Kyle Gordon, a New York-based comedian who has been portraying DJ Crazy Times since his university days. Discussing the character’s backstory with GQ, Gordon said: “I would say he’s of ambiguous Eastern European origin, and I would say he’s a very hyper-sexualised, late-’90s Eurodance DJ and rapper.”
Ms Biljana Electronica is also a fictional figure. She is voiced by singer Chrissi Poland, but played in the original TikTok video by actress and influencer Audrey Trullinger. This is a witty flourish, Gotto notes, because it “harks back to Eurodance groups like Black Box and Corona who often relied on models [who didn’t sing on the tracks] for their visuals and promo performances”. Gordon has since doubled down on this dissonance by posting a second Planet of the Bass video in which Mara Olney lip-syncs to Poland’s vocals.
In fact, there is now even a third video featuring another lip-syncing star, influencer Sabrina Brier, though this one perhaps runs the risk of overworking the joke. “The OG Biljana Electronica simply set the bar too high,” one fan commented on TikTok.
This possible misstep aside, Gordon’s parody is also pitch-perfect because it is palpably affectionate. When Danish Eurodance act Aqua commented on his TikTok video, “Wait, is this play about us???” – a reference to the much-memed line from HBO teen drama Euphoria – Gordon replied with high praise, calling their 1997 debut Aquarium “one of the greatest dance albums of all time”.
Gordon definitely owes the Danish band a debt: the way Ms Biljana Electronica’s melodious vocals dovetail with DJ Crazy Times’ macho raps echo the dynamics of Aqua members Lene Nystrøm and René Dif. Indeed, Gordon also told GQ he had a “hunch” that Aqua’s signature hit Barbie Girl would enjoy a revival this summer because of Greta Gerwig’s super-hyped Barbie movie, thereby paving the way for his own Eurodance riff. His instincts were spot on: rappers Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj used Barbie Girl as the basis for Barbie World, a hit single from the film’s soundtrack.
The Eurodance revival boom
However, Planet of the Bass is also benefiting from a broader renewed appreciation for Eurodance, which has been spearheaded by contemporary pop and dance artists. Earlier this summer, Minaj and singer Kim Petras cracked the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Top 40 with Alone, a pop-rap track that cleverly interpolates Alice Deejay’s Eurodance anthem Better Off Alone. Last autumn, DJ-producer David Guetta and singer Bebe Rexha topped the UK singles chart and climbed to number four in the US with I’m Good (Blue), which samples and interpolates Eiffel 65’s Eurodance classic Blue (Da Ba Dee).
These new hits have proved the enduring popularity of a genre that was once dismissed as shallow and disposable. “In the 1990s, Eurodance existed in the shadow of grunge and then Britpop, which were seen by many as ‘proper music’,” notes Gotto. “There has always been snobbery around it.”
I’m Good (Blue) became a bona fide chart hit after going viral on TikTok – the same trajectory Gordon will be hoping Planet of the Bass achieves when it is released as a single on 15th August. It is surely no accident that Eurodance is finding a home on TikTok. The video-sharing app is particularly popular with Gen Z, an age group that has grown up with multi-genre streaming playlists and less entrenched ideas about what constitutes musical credibility. Whereas Eurodance was generally viewed as inferior to guitar-based rock music in the 1990s, it is now less likely to be perceived as a “guilty pleasure”.
Now a third video featuring influencer Sabrina Brier has been released – but has the joke been overworked? (Credit: Kyle Gordon)
So, it seems likely that Planet of the Bass has blown up because it resonates with different listeners in different ways. DJ Crazy Times’s clumsy declaration that “women are my favourite guy” has been embraced by the LGBTQ+ community, playfully, as a challenge to traditional gender binaries.
Others are enjoying the song because it is an absolute banger – a parody just as catchy as the ’90s dance hits it pastiches. “When I first scrolled past the video on TikTok, at a glance I thought it was [Australian indie-pop band] Confidence Man, who are totally leaning into that sound and aesthetic and having success worldwide,” Gotto says. “So, what’s nostalgic for one generation is current for another.”
Gordon has even acknowledged that Planet of the Bass now has potential to transcend its parody status. “If it starts off as ironic but people genuinely love it – and let’s say it does chart – at a certain point the irony has to wear off,” he told the New York Times. Cynics may wonder whether Gordon’s homage could outstay its welcome or lose some potency once it is expanded into a full-length single. But whether it cracks the top 10 or not, there is no denying that Planet of the Bass has already supplied a healthy dose of musical escapism. Or, as Ms Biljana Electronica puts it in her own distinctive idiom: “When the rhythm is glad, there is nothing to be sad.”
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