Oh No! (Marina and the Diamonds song)

"Oh No!"
Single by Marina and the Diamonds
from the album The Family Jewels
B-side "Starstrukk"
Released 2 August 2010
Format
Recorded 2009–10; Kingsize Soundlabs (Silver Lake, Los Angeles)
Genre
Length 3:02
Label 679
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Greg Kurstin
Marina and the Diamonds singles chronology
"I Am Not a Robot"
(2010)		 "Oh No!"
(2010)		 "Shampain"
(2010)
Music video
"Oh No!" on YouTube

"Oh No!" is a song by Welsh recording artist Marina and the Diamonds from her debut studio album, The Family Jewels (2010). It was released as the album's fourth single on 2 August 2010.[1]

Background

Written on a trip to Los Angeles a week after The Family Jewels was mastered, "Oh No!" was the final track to complete the album.[2] The singer explained:

["Oh No!"] was written in response to be terrified of not achieving what I say I want to achieve every time I open my big mouth. It's my part ii to "Mowgli's Road". I was paralysed by fear before my trip to the states and couldn't stop thinking about being a failure "etc" and was convinced that I'd become a self-fulfilling prophecy if my brain didn't shut up and stop being so negative. So I put it in a song. "Mowgli's [Road]" questioned who I want to be, "Oh No!" confirms it. It made me feel confident again after a shaky 6 months. Life is just a barrel of laughs at end of day, anyway![2]

On Greg Kurstin, who produced the song, she said, "I had really admired his work for a long time. Seeing as I was in LA, I asked if he wanted to write together and [the song] came out really well. He's great actually, very easy to work with. I really like his production style as well."[3]

The instrumental of "Oh No!" was used to advertise the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory on E4 in the United Kingdom. On 25 July 2010, Diamandis performed the track on Channel 4's Big Brother's Little Brother, a spin-off show of the reality television series Big Brother in the UK and Ireland.[4] "Oh No!" is included in the 2012 video game Just Dance 4. The song was used in a promo for the third season of the MTV series Awkward in 2013.

Music video

Diamandis in the music video for "Oh No"

The music video for "Oh No!" was directed by Kinga Burza[5] and filmed on 10 June 2010.[6] It was released on 28 June 2010.[7] Diamandis said the music video was influenced by 1990s cartoons and the old "zany neon" MTV graphics.[8] Burza said the concept of the video stems from the lyrics of "Oh No!" which reference being obsessed with consumerism, success, money and fame.[8] The music video features a dance sequence with four dancers which was choreographed by David Leighton. He described the routine as quirky and "very bubblegum pop".[8] The stylist for the video was Celestine Cooney who chose to feature outfits by Christopher Kane, Henry Holland and Ashish Soni.[8]

Track listings

  1. "Oh No!" – 3:02
  2. "Starstrukk" – 4:44
  1. "Oh No!" – 3:02
  2. "Oh No!" (Active Child Remix) – 3:53
  3. "Oh No!" (Grum Remix) – 4:22
  4. "Oh No!" (Steve Pitron and Max Sanna Remix) – 7:28
  5. "Oh No!" (Jaymo & Andy George's Moda Mix) – 4:02
A. "Oh No!" – 3:02
B. "Oh No!" (Active Child Remix)

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.[12]

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
scope="row"UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13] 38

References

  1. ↑ "Oh Yes!". marinaandthediamonds.com. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Biography of Marina and The Diamonds". Atlantic Records. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  3. ↑ "Podcasts – Marina and the Diamonds by Marina and the Diamonds" (Podcast). iTunes Store. Apple. 5 March 2010. Event occurs at 25:53. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  4. ↑ "TV & Radio Appearances This Week & Next!". marinaandthediamonds.com. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  5. ↑ "Oh No! Released in the UK | 26th July". marinaandthediamonds.com. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "Ignore this if you're not interested in photographs from a Marina & The Diamonds video shoot". Popjustice. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "The Making of "Oh No!"". marinaandthediamonds.com. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Marina and The Diamonds". Vogue UK. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  9. ↑ "Oh No!". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  10. ↑ "Oh No! – EP by Marina & the Diamonds". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Oh No! [7" VINYL]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Oh No!" (UK CD single liner notes). Marina and the Diamonds. 679 Recordings. 2010. 679L174CD.
  13. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2010-08-14" UK Singles Chart.