Dizzy (Olly Alexander song)

"Dizzy"
Single by Olly Alexander
Written	2023
Released	1 March 2024 (2024-03-01)
Genre	Pop[1] electro[2] dance-pop[3] disco[4]
Length	2:53
Label	Polydor[5]
Songwriter(s)	Oliver Alexander Thornton Daniel Harle[6]
Producer(s)	Finn Keane Daniel Harle
Olly Alexander singles chronology
"A Very Bad Fun Idea" (2023) "Dizzy" (2024)
Music video
"Dizzy" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2024 entry
Country	United Kingdom
Artist(s)	Olly Alexander
Language	English
Composer(s)	Oliver Alexander Thornton Daniel Harle
Lyricist(s)	Oliver Alexander Thornton Daniel Harle
Entry chronology
◄ "I Wrote a Song" (2023)

"Dizzy" is a song by English singer-songwriter Olly Alexander.^[7] It was released on 1 March 2024 through Polydor Records and will represent the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.^[5] It marks Alexander's first release under his own name after the dissolution of Years & Years. The song received mixed reviews from music critics and pays homage to synth-pop music.^[8]

Background and release

After Alexander's participation announcement took place on Strictly Come Dancing in 2023, he became a bookies favourite to win the Eurovision Song Contest.^[5][9] He first teased "Dizzy" after a video was posted on his social media channels which also featured a cameo appearance from weather presenter Carol Kirkwood. On 7 February 2024, he revealed the song's title and release date of 1 March 2024.^[10] Both the song and music video were presented on the same day during Graham Meets Olly, a one-off special broadcast on BBC One.^[11]

In an interview with the BBC, Alexander revealed that the song was written in the summer of 2023 and is lyrically about "feeling such an intense swell of emotion for someone they totally turn your world upside down and inside out".^[7]

Critical reception

"Dizzy" ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
The Independent	[12]
The Guardian	[13]
The Daily Telegraph	[14]
The Times	[15]
iNews	[16]

"Dizzy" was met with mixed reviews from music critics.^[17] Roisin O'Connor from The Independent wrote that "Dizzy is a dance anthem that takes its cues from the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, and Bronski Beat – whisked up with the ripe diet of Nineties cheese-pop that Alexander grew up on".^[12] Laura Snapes from The Guardian stated that the chorus echoes that of the 1987 single "It's a Sin" by the Pet Shop Boys, while also making comparisons to Pete Burns single "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)". They concluded that "Dizzy isn’t a bad song – it’s perfectly fine – but beyond its very literal, nauseatingly topsy-turvy video, it’s far too safe to leave anyone reeling".^[13]

Writing for The Telegraph, Neil McCormick wrote "Dizzy is an interesting modern electronic dance pop song, a blend of Balearic beats and sugary sentiments delivering upbeat sentiments with a minor chord melodic tension".^[14] While writing for Clash, Robin Murray described "it's as a full-blown extravaganza. Olly lives and breathes every word, with the ultra-catchy dose of future-facing pop digitalism leaning on his fantastic vocals.^[18]

In a review for The Times, Will Hodgkinson described it as a "super-catchy and hi-energy disco smash that has real innovation in its burbling production”. It also has “pleasingly nostalgic shades of classic Eighties synth-pop: Erasure, Soft Cell and, yes, the Pet Shop Boys”. He referred to it as "the best Eurovision entry we've had in years".^[15] In a review for PinkNews, Marcus Wratten said "Dizzy is one of the better songs the UK has sent to the contest in recent years". They further added "It’s pulsating pop that is both simple yet effective. The fizzy ‘80s synths of the Pet Shop Boys are a clear influence, but with a touch of Steps’ playfulness, and – dare we say it – a hint of Aqua, too. That’s all to say that “Dizzy” is pop serving its primary purpose; it’s catchy and the hook has sticking power".^[19]

Writing for BBC News, Mark Savage dubbed the song "a sleek, streamlined slice of modern pop" with an "instantly memorable" hook, but criticised the strength of the song, adding: "If there's a criticism, it's that the song could go harder. Instead of building to a climax, that final chorus is too polite".^[20] iNews' Ed Power described the song as "a drearily orthodox Euro-banger" that "plays it safe", concluding that "Alexander and Harle are clearly capable of so much better" but "have gone risk-averse".^[16]

Composition

Alexander described the song as "electronic" and "something you can dance to".^[21][22][23] It is musically inspired by 80s music sounds and by acts such as Erasure, Adamski, and the Pet Shop Boys.^[7]

Music video

Filmed in Tbilisi, Georgia, and directed by Colin Solal Cardo,^[24] the music video for "Dizzy" was released simultaneously via Alexander's Vevo channel and the Eurovision Song Contest channel on YouTube at 08:00 GMT on March 1, eight hours after the song's release.^[25] Later that evening, Alexander appeared on a special broadcast on BBC One, titled Graham Meets Olly, which featured the first full televised broadcast of the music video.^[11]

In the video, Alexander performs on three rotating sets, each individually designed as a deconstructed house, garden, and rooftop.^[26] Writing for Metro, Brooke Ivey Johnson stated the video "reflects the song's theme of all-consuming love".^[27] Sky News' Rachel McGrath described it as "head-spinning", while in a review for The Guardian, Laura Snapes dubbed the video "nauseatingly topsy-turvy".^[13][28]

Charts

Release history

References

This page was last edited on 11 April 2024, at 07:52