"I Know There's Something Going On" is a song recorded in 1982 by ABBA singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida). It was the lead single from her solo album Something's Going On.

Song history

Recording began in ABBA's Polar Music Studio, Stockholm, in February 1982. Frida recorded the album during the last year of ABBA in the 20th century. At the time of recording this song/album, Frida wanted to distance herself from "the typical ABBA pop sound". "I Know There's Something Going On" was written by Russ Ballard and produced by Genesis drummer and singer Phil Collins, who also played drums on the song. The backing vocals are sung by Lyngstad herself and Collins. "I Know There's Something Going On" was released in the summer of 1982 and became a major success for Frida. It hit #1 in Flemish Belgium and Switzerland, and was a Top 10 hit throughout most of Europe, as well as in Australia and South Africa. The song reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in March 1983, where it had a total chart run of 29 weeks. Though the song did not reach the top ten, Billboard's Year-End chart ranked it as the 20th most popular song of 1983. However, in the UK, traditionally a popular market for ABBA, the song failed to reach the Top 40, peaking at #43 (and spending seven weeks inside the Top 75). A one-hour TV documentary about the making of the album and this song is included in Frida - The DVD. The whole recording process, from day one in the studio to the release party, was filmed by Swedish TV SVT. This documentary includes interviews with Lyngstad and Collins, Björn and Benny from ABBA, as well as all the musicians involved with the album.

Music video

The music video was directed by Stuart Orme and filmed at several locations in London, England in early July 1982. The video, which received heavy promotion on MTV due to the worldwide success of the song, shows Frida in a relationship with a man who works as a photographer. She then discovers through photos taken by a private investigator that the man is seeing another woman who had modeled for him. The rest of the video consists of Frida spying on the two.

Credits

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

Bomfunk MC's version

In 2002, Finnish hip hop group Bomfunk MC's used the song as a basis for their track "(Crack It) Something Going On", originally included on The Official Album of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This version features Swedish singer Jessica Folcker performing the choruses and includes addition writing from Bomfunk MC's members Jaakko Salovaara (music) and Raymond Ebanks (lyrics). "Something Goin' On" was released a single and charted throughout mainland Europe, entering the top 10 in Finland, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. A music video was made for the song, directed by Juuso "Uzi" Syrjä.

Track listings

Scandinavian CD single European maxi-CD single

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the European maxi-CD single liner notes. Studio Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

Certifications

Other covers

Sampling