Toca's Miracle

"Toca's Miracle"
Single by Fragma
from the album Toca
Released 10 April 2000
Format CD single, 12"
Recorded 2000 "COCO - I Need a Miracle" 1996
Genre Trance (Original mix)
Dance-Pop, Eurodance, House (2008 edit)
Length 5:44 (Original Mix)
5:38 (Vocal Club Mix)
3:22 (Radio Edit)
3:01 (U.S. Radio Edit)
Label Positiva, Tiger Records
Writer(s) Dirk Duderstadt, Marco Duderstadt, Ramon Zenker, Rob Davis, Victor Imbres
Producer(s) Ramon Zenker
Certification Platinum (BPI)
Fragma singles chronology
"Toca Me"
(1999)		 "Toca's Miracle"
(2000)		 "Everytime You Need Me"
(2001)

"Toca's Miracle" is a song by the German musical group Fragma, featuring the vocals of British singer Coco Star. Taken as the second single off the studio album Toca, the song is actually a mashup from Star's 1996 song "I Need a Miracle" and Fragma's "Toca Me". The instrumental was written by Dirk Duderstadt, Marco Duderstadt, Ramon Zenker ("Toca Me"); the lyrics were written by Rob Davis and Victor Imbres ("I Need a Miracle"); while some of the song's production was produced by Ramon Zenker, the vocals were produced many years earlier by Imbres and Tim Orford.

The song was critically acclaimed worldwide, with many critics citing the song one of the best dance anthems of all time, praising its catchy tune. The song was a commercial success as well, remaining both Star's and Fragma's best selling single to date. The song peaked inside the top ten in countries including the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy and Australia. A music video was issued, showing Coco at an indoor soccer game.

The song was re-issued in 2008 by Tiger Records, with new remixes. The song also received mixed reviews from music critics, but managed to gain commercial success around the globe. Additionally, a new music video was issued for the single, but did not feature Star in the video. The song was then re-released in 2012 by Tiger Records. Controversy has also been raised, mostly due to the further releases and titling.[1]

Conception

Recording background

In 2000, British DJ Vimto had the idea of taking the 1996 sound recording of Coco's a cappella vocals from the song "I Need a Miracle" and mixing it with the music of Fragma's "Toca Me." By amalgamating the titles, it became "Toca's Miracle." He pressed an illegal bootleg which got much attention from leading DJs.[2] At the time, Fragma were signed to Positiva records, so a release was made.[2] "I Need a Miracle", was originally released by Greenlight Recordings in 1996[3][4] and re-recorded for EMI/Positiva in 1997.[4][5] It is noted that Coco was never a member of Fragma.

"I Need a Miracle" was written by Rob Davis and Victor Imbres. When "Coco - I Need a Miracle" was subject to a mash-up with "Toca Me", the production was by Ramon Zenker. With the interview with Zenker, he stated; "One day [Dirk] and [Marco] gave me a rough demo with this magic plugged-guitar line which I thought was really good. I called it 'Toca Me.' Toca in Spanish means touch, so it became known as Touch Me."[2]

Production

The whole story around this record is very funny -- someone takes your record and takes another record, mixes them together, does a bootleg, sells it illegally, and then everybody plays it on the radio and the record company calls me and says 'We need this version!'"[6]

-Ramon Zenker talking about mixing both "Toca's Miracle" and "Toca Me".
“
”

Zenker stated about the production; ""I produced it as a club track. I thought it was a good idea, with the guitar sample, but I thought it was only a thing for clubs, and wouldn't really be that successful [...]"[6] He carried on saying "They started the composition, they offered [me] some chord lines, sequences and bass lines, and started looking for interesting sounds. I collected these, put my own ideas to it and mixed it together into a track."[6]

Musically, the song was based on a "typical-trance" style, which features instrumentation of guitars and synthesizers.[6] Zenker used a Roland TR909 for the drums, arpeggiated sequence from the Nord Lead, chord sounds from the Korg O5R/W and used the bass was from the Waldorf Pulse.[6] He also used a string pad from Emu Audity 2000 and occasionally used some synth chords from the Access Virus.

While mixing both recordings, he stated he couldn't "believe" both versions fit perfectly.[6] He mistakely concluded Coco as being on the same label as them,[7] stating: "Fortunately, this Coco single was on Positiva, which is the same label we are on, That was very good, so Kevin from Positiva A&R sorted things out with Coco and her management, and it was very quick to find a deal to use the vocals. 'I Need A Miracle' was three years old -- a long time ago -- and 'Toca's Miracle' was more successful than both knocked together, so there was benefit for both sides."[6]

Re-releases

In 2008, it was announced that a re-release of "Toca's Miracle" will be release under the name "Toca's Miracle 2008". One of the remixes production is similar to the original version, but features a more "retro-rave" edit, with the song being remixed by InPetto.[8] Inpetto's production was heavily confused with Deadmau5, where people believed it was produced by him, but this was eventually clarified.[8] The song's composition was described as "subdued, electro-tinged sound, which betrays a marked deep house influence, 'Toca's Miracle 2008' veers perilously close to sounding classy."[9] The song was eventually re-released in Australia as a CD Single by Tinted Records, while it was release in Europe around Spring 2008 by Tiger Records and Spinnin' Records with new artwork.[10] Other remixes by Wideboys, Richard Durand and Wes Clarke feature little or no Fragma production. These are technically new productions of Coco-I Need a Miracle, incorrectly attributed.

In 2012, the song was re-released as "Toca's Miracle (2012 Update)". The song was issued on a compilation series which was issued by Ministry of Sound. The song was issued in late 2011 as a digital download, while a physical release was bound in early 2012. by Tiger Records.[11]

Critical reception

"Toca's Miracle" received positive reviews from most music critics. DJ Ron Slomowicz from About.com said ""Toca's Miracle" became one of those dance (and even club) standards - reaching the same pinnacle as Darude's "Sandstorm", which is considered the "gold-standard" of music production and Cher's "Believe." Another review from the publication compared the work to American disc jockey Deadmau5, saying " The In Petto remix of "Toca's Miracle" so eerily resembled Deadmau5 that online leaks mistakenly credited it to him [...]"[12] With the same publication, the song was a runner-up for being the Best Remix/Re-release of 2008.[13] Dancingastronaugh.net called it "one of the more classic progressive tunes of our time."

Nick Levine from Digital Spy gave it a fairly mixed review, only awarding it two stars out of five. He believed that though the original version was better saying "it remained pretty much inescapable for the rest of the year, especially for those who frequented provincial nightclubs and/or cultivated a fondness for freeview video channels.", he called it "modest beginnings."[9] He later concluded saying the song presented more "class", but criticized the use of "class" in a "Euro club banger."[9]

Commercial performances

"Toca Me" and "I Need a Miracle" performances

The original version for "Toca Me" received moderate chart success before the mash-up version. The song managed to enter the top forty on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number twenty. The song also entered inside the top twenty on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at twenty as well.[14] The song, however did not pursue the same success on the Dutch Top 100, peaking at number forty-nine.

Coco Star's song, "I Need a Miracle", entered the UK singles chart at #39 in addition to #1 on the UK DJ and Club charts in October 1997[15]

Original edit

The Mash-Up "Toca's Miracle" went to number one on the UK Singles Chart, which was previously held by Craig David's (pictured) song "Fill Me In", which became a huge single the same year.

The song was additionally a commercial success when it was first released. The mash-up debuted at number twenty on the Australian Singles Chart and eventually peaked at number eight for three non-consecutive weeks. The mash-up spanned the charts for eighteen weeks. The mash-up entered at number sixteen on the Norwegian Singles Chart and peaked at number two for a sole week. The mash-up only spent one week on the Italian Singles Chart, peaking at number nineteen. The track entered at eleven on the Spanish Singles Chart, where it ultimately peaked. The track re-entered on 10 May 2009 after its re-release.

The mash-up generated generally moderate success around Europe. Toca's Miracle peaked inside the top forty in Finland, Sweden, Belgium and managed to chart in countries including Switzerland, France and The Netherlands. The track debuted at number ninety-nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

In Coco's native United Kingdom, the mash-up peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart. The track entered with over 185,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming the highest charting single that month and was eventually certified Silver,[16] and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of August 2000, however, the track alone has sold over 500,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[17]

2008 InPetto remix

The 2008 edit received generally good commercial success. The song reached number two in Spain, a better position than the original version. The song also peaked inside the top ten in Sweden at seven, and eighteen in The Netherlands. The song peaked at ten on the New Zealand Airplay Charts and inside the top twenty on the Australian Dance Singles Chart.

To date, with the re-release, the song has reportedly sold over 3 million copies worldwide.[18]

I Need A Miracle

After several mixes were released worldwide, some versions have been lucky to chart on record charts around the globe. In Austria, a 2012 update version of Coco's original (known as the "Guru Project Remix") debuted at number sixty for a sole week until falling out. Then, in Belgium, a Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Remix of Coco's 2009 version of "I Need a Miracle" was issued at charted at number thirty-seven on the Belgium Singles Chart and stayed in there for four weeks in total. It peaked at three on the Belgium Dance Charts. These recordings an entirely different sound recording of "I Need a Miracle" and are not to be confused with "Toca's Miracle".

Music videos

The original version, which broadcast in 2000, features an indoor soccer team of girls, including Coco Star. Another team enter the locker rooms, where they look intimidating towards the other team. Both teams head towards the court and toss a coin, where Star's team kicks-off first. The opposition begin to become more aggressive or competitive towards the game, obstructing the other team. At the end of the video, it show's Star's team win the game and the opposition team losing.[19]

The 2008 video is completely different from the 2000 video and is the only video not to feature vocalist Coco Star. The video starts with a woman in a room, lip-syncing the song, then begins to strip her clothes off and tries to kiss a man. The next shot features another woman in her bra and underwear, dancing in a supposed bathroom, with another man in the room. Another scene then shows, yet another woman on her bed, where she also has her bra and underwear. She too also lip-syncs to the song playing and starts to seduce a man, laying near the bed. The video ends with one of the woman's eye closes.[20]

Controversy

Disputes of title

The song has been known for some controversy, surrounding the copyright infringement of "I Need a Miracle".[1] One of the controversies associated with the song was the naming of the song, in which re-branding of the original song "I Need a Miracle" to Fragma's "Toca's Miracle" occurred without permission or prior agreement.[1][21]

Unauthorized releases

Many song releases of "Toca's Miracle" had been branded "illegal", because rights were never received from either act. In late 2012, CoCo Star revealed on her official Facebook page that the record companies had confused the vocal recordings and sampled the original 1996 version of I Need a Miracle (released on Greenlight Records), instead of the 1997 re-recording (released on EMI/Positiva). She also wrote that the agreements that were entered “are now known to be ‘Unauthorised’”.[22] On CoCo Star’s SoundCloud page she wrote that the 2008 Inpetto remix of Toca’s Miracle, made by the talented Duderstadt brothers, as well as other remixes, were never authorised either.[23]

Shortly after, Kirsty Hawkshaw revealed that Fragma had never paid her royalties for her contribution to the 2006 single Radio Waves. Legally binding contracts were never issued,[1] and the release was illegal. She further wrote that she loves the Bastian remix of the track, released in October 2012, and that she was sure Bastian had nothing to do with “the rogue label Tiger Records”. Kirsty Hawkshaw and Coco Star have both stated that they support each other.[24]

Track listing

Australian 2008 CD single[25]
  1. "Toca’s Miracle (Inpetto Edit) Vocals by Coco Star"
  2. "Toca’s Miracle (Richard Durand Remix Edit) Vocals by Coco Star"
  3. "Toca Me (Inpetto 2008 Edit)"
  4. "Toca’s Miracle (Inpetto Remix) Vocals by Coco Star"
  5. "Toca’s Miracle (Richard Durand Remix)Vocals by Coco Star"
  6. "Toca Me (Inpetto 2008 Remix)"

Charts

"Toca Me"

Chart (2000) Peak
Position
Ireland (IRMA)[26] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 49
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[28] 9
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 11

Coco I Need a Miracle (re-vocal)

Chart (2012) Peak
Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 60
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[31] 37

"Toca's Miracle"

Chart (2000) Peak
Position
Australia (ARIA)[32] 8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[33] 24
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[34] 14
Canada Dance (RPM)[35] 4
Denmark (IFPI)[36] 5
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[37] 9
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[38] 16
France (SNEP)[39] 65
Germany (Media Control Charts)[40] 46
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 4
Italy (FIMI)[41] 19
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[27] 63
Norway (VG-lista)[42] 2
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[28] 1
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[43] 11
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 18
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 55
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 1
US Billboard Hot 100 99
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 9

2008 InPetto Remix

Chart (2008) Peak
Position
Australia (ARIA)[32] 89
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[46] 42
Brazil Dance (Billboard)[47] 1
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[48] 7
Germany (Media Control Charts)[40] 73
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 48
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[49] 18
New Zealand Airplay (RIANZ)[47] 10
Romania (Romanian Top 100) 8
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[50] 34
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[43] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 7
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 16

Preceded by
"Fill Me In" by Craig David		 UK number one single
16 April 2000 - 30 April 2000 		Succeeded by
"Bound 4 Da Reload (Casualty)" by Oxide & Neutrino

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Helienne Lindvall. "EDM's shameful secret: dance music singers rarely get paid | Media". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Toca's Miracle by Fragma Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Images for Coco - I Need A Miracle". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "I Need a Miracle. The Story behind Toca's Miracle". YouTube. 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  5. ↑ "Connecting to the iTunes Store". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 dead link
  7. ↑ "Queens, NY » Queens Our City Radio EXCLUSIVE Interview with Dance Music Legend Coco Star". Queens.ourcityradio.com. 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Fragma - "Toca's Miracle 2008"". Dancemusic.about.com. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Fragma: 'Toca's Miracle 2008' - Music Review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  10. ↑ "Fragma - Toca's Miracle at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  11. ↑ "Fragma - Toca's Miracle (2012 Update) (File, MP3) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 2011-10-21. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  12. ↑ "Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan - Silence 2008". Dancemusic.about.com. 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Irish Singles Chart – Search for song". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  15. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 211. ISBN 1-904994-10-5
  16. ↑ "Coco Star | MN2S Booking Agency". Mn2s.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  17. ↑ "Billboard - Google Books". Books.google.co.nz. 2002-02-09. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  18. ↑ "Coco Star - Foto's van Coco Star". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  19. ↑ "Fragma - Toca's Miracle (OFFICIAL VIDEO HQ)". YouTube. 2008-08-19. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  20. ↑ "Fragma - Toca's Miracle 2008 Inpetto". YouTube. 2009-06-23. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  21. ↑ "Discography & Flyers". Facebook. 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  22. ↑ "Coco Star - Discography & Flyers". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  23. ↑ "CoCo Star Fragma "Toca's Miracle" 2008 Inpetto Radio Edit by CoCo Star on SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  24. ↑ "Fragma have illegally released Radio... - Kirsty Hawkshaw Music official fan page.". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  25. ↑ "Toca's Miracle 08 (Fragma)". play4me.com.au. 2008-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  26. ↑ Jaclyn Ward. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "Dutchcharts.nl – Fragma – Toca Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Archive Chart: 1999-09-19". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Archive Chart: 1999-09-25" UK Singles Chart.
  30. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Guru Project & Coco Star ft Rene Rodrigezz – I Need A Miracle 2012" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  31. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Wolfpack feat. Coco Star – Miracle" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Australian-charts.com – Fragma – Toca's Miracle". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  33. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Fragma – Toca's Miracle" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  34. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Fragma – Toca's Miracle" (in French). Ultratip.
  35. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  36. ↑ "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 08/05/00". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 112 (32): 75. August 5, 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
  37. ↑ "Hits of the World: Eurochart Hot 100 (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 05/13/00". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media) 112 (20): 123. May 13, 2000. ISSN 0006-2510.
  38. ↑ "Fragma: Toca's Miracle" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  39. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Fragma – Toca's Miracle" (in French). Les classement single.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Chartverfulgong > Fragma > Toca's Miracle – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  41. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Fragma – Toca's Miracle". Top Digital Download.
  42. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Fragma – Toca's Miracle". VG-lista.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 "Spanishcharts.com – Fragma – Toca's Miracle 2008" Canciones Top 50.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 "Swedishcharts.com – Fragma – Toca's Miracle". Singles Top 60.
  45. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Fragma – Toca's Miracle". Swiss Singles Chart.
  46. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Fragma – Toca's Miracle 2008" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 "RadioScope". RadioScope. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  48. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200839 into search.
  49. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Fragma search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  50. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200839 into search.

External links