"Big Big World" is a song by Swedish singer Emilia. It was released in September 1998 as the lead single from the albumof the same name and was written by Emilia and Lasse Anderson. The song was a hit in Europe, where it reached number-one in eight countries and peaked within the Top 5 in several others, but it fared less well in the United States, where it remained at the bottom of the BillboardHot 100, though it did reach the top 40 on two other Billboard charts. The song was given a Grammis award for "Song of the Year" in 1998 and also won a Rockbjörnen award as "Swedish Song of the Year" in 1998. The song is about love, with references to the autumn season. The melody opening is based on the Swedish springtime song "Nu grönskar det", which in turn is based on the Peasant Cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. On 20 September 2017, the song was the topic at SVT:sHitlåtens historia.
Critical reception
editor Roxanne Blanford wrote that the song is "gentle and arranged as a pseudo-procession tune, as if Emilia is taking her first cautious steps toward independence and adulthood." Larry Flick from Billboard said that the track's "magic touch is manifested via sheer straightforward simplicity-in performance, production, and message." He noted Emilia's "delicate voice, ripe with vulnerability and hurt, tells of being a big girl in a big world who shouldn't see it as a big deal if her partner leaves her... but she will miss him much." He also added that "allusions to rain and autumn leaves help set up a perfect visual of stark sadness and loneliness, giving the song a strong seasonal punch." Expressen stated that "Big Big World" "is the big, obvious hit this fall." Göteborgsposten commented that with this song, Emilia "has a big, big hit". Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel said that the 20-year-old vocalist "assumes a sweetly fragile persona on the song, setting the mood with a sparse verse and chorus before the track folds in a shuffling beat and an orchestral arrangement." Nina Cassidy from Stanford Daily wrote that the song "has a catchy beat, and the lyrics and music have a smooth flow." Sunday Tribune called it a "sweet song", while Sunday World noted it as a "cracking single".
Music video
The music video for "Big Big World" was recorded in New York City and is shot in black-and-white. It features Emilia wandering around in the city, performing the song. Some scenes show the singer sitting on the edge at the top of a 12-storey high house. Other scenes show her standing in front of a window. In February 2020, the video has got 13 million views on YouTube.
Vietnamese-American singer Trish Thuy Trang, made a cover version of "Big Big World" for her 1999 albumI'll Dream of You. German techno group Scooter sampled "Big Big World" on their single "And No Matches", taken from the 2007 album Jumping All Over the World.
