"We're Going to Ibiza!" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys. It was released in March 1999 as the second and final single from their second studio album, The Party Album (1999). Based on Typically Tropical's 1975 number-one hit "Barbados", the song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart in September 1999, becoming the group's second number-one single there. Outside the UK, the song also reached number one in the band's native Netherlands and became a top-five hit in Flanders, Norway, and Sweden.

Content

The song is notable for the pronunciation of "Ibiza" as by the vocalists in the title line, which is unusual in English but a common pronunciation in Dutch, the group's native language.

Critical reception

Jim Wirth from NME commented, "Who better than the peerless Vengaboys to soundtrack this moment of pure spiritual tranquillity with a spot of ersatz reggae?" The Daily Record stated that the 1975 number-one hit, "We're Going To Barbados, "has been reworked and renamed. Cheesier than a Quattro Formaggio pizza." Pop Rescue wrote that the song "isn’t half as clubby as their previous singles", adding that "Kim’s vocals are pretty good here apart from where she has to reach a high note, which is a bit wobbly on the way up to. Robin and Roy hold back for some 'woah!' vocals only."

Popularity in Austria

After the revelation of the Ibiza affair in May 2019, which caused the resignation of Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, demonstrators in Vienna used the song as a protest song. As a consequence, the song re-entered the Austrian singles chart and eventually reached number 16. This popularity culminated with a live performance by the Vengaboys at the Donnerstagsdemonstrationen (German: 'Thursday demonstrations') protests in front of the Chancellery in Vienna.

Music video

The animated music video for the song features the Vengaboys travelling to Ibiza via a circuitous route that takes them all across the world. In the Washington D.C. part, a man and a woman silhouetted in a window of the Capitol building are having sex, a reference to the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.

Track listings

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history