"Big Mistake" is a song by Australian singer

Natalie Imbruglia Natalie Jane Imbruglia ( , ; born 4 February 1975) is an Australian and British singer and actress. Born and raised in New South Wales, Imbruglia became widely known in the early 1990s playing Beth Brennan in the soap opera ''Neighbours''. A ...

. It was written by Imbruglia and

Mark Goldenberg Mark Goldenberg (born October 2, 1952) is an American guitarist and songwriter, noted for his session work and composition of successful songs for Linda Ronstadt, the Pointer Sisters, and others. Biography Early career Raised in Chicago, Illi ...

for Imbruglia's debut album '' Left of the Middle'' (1997). The song was released as the album's second single on 2 March 1998 by

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

and BMG. Although less successful than " Torn", "Big Mistake" still proved to be a hit in certain territories, reaching number two in Iceland and the United Kingdom, number five in Spain and number six in Australia. It was not released in the United States or Canada.

Critical reception

British magazine ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave "Big Mistake" five out of five, writing, "Swooning and sultry vocals, more Morissette than

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and a dream of guitar song to challenge

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

for the number one spot. And she wrote it herself."

Music video

The music video for "Big Mistake" was directed by

Alison Maclean Alison Maclean (born July 31, 1958) is a Canadian-New Zealand film director of music videos, short films, television (episodes of ''Sex and the City'', ''The Tudors'', '' Homicide: Life on the Street''), commercials and feature films. Her works i ...

and filmed in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain.''Glorious: The Singles 1997–2007'' (CD+DVD liner notes).

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

. September 2007.Raskin, Richard
"An interview with Alison Maclean on Kitchen Sink"
P.O.V.

Aarhus University Aarhus University (, abbreviated AU) is a public research university. Its main campus is located in Aarhus, Denmark. It is the second largest and second oldest university in Denmark. The university is part of the Coimbra Group, the Guild, and Ut ...

. 11 April 1998. Retrieved 23 October 2009. It features Imbruglia walking through the streets of Barcelona while being pursued by a male suitor, and begins with her walking, oblivious to things that are happening around her. Meanwhile, the man follows her down the street with a bouquet of flowers. While in pursuit of Imbruglia, several obstacles prevent him from reaching her. The video concludes with her riding away from her suitor in the back of a stranger's red

pickup truck A pickup truck or pickup is a Truck_classification#Table_of_US_GVWR_classifications, light or medium duty truck that has an enclosed cabin (truck), cabin, and a back end made up of a cargo bed that is enclosed by three low walls with no roof (th ...

. The video was inspired by the traffic accident scene in

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

's film '' Week End''.

Track listings

* Australian CD single # "Big Mistake" – 4:35 # " Torn" (acoustic ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV. It showcases recorded live performances of popular music artists playing acoustic instrument, acoustic or "unplugged" variations of songs. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999. F ...

'') – 3:06 # "Something Better" – 4:05 # "Tomorrow Morning" – 3:00 * UK CD1 # "Big Mistake" – 4:35 # "Something Better" – 4:05 # "Torn" (acoustic ''MTV Unplugged'') – 3:05 # "Big Mistake" (video) * UK CD2 # "Big Mistake" – 4:35 # "I've Been Watching You" – 4:03 # "Tomorrow Morning" – 3:00 * UK cassette single # "Big Mistake" – 4:35 # "Something Better" – 4:05 * European CD single # "Big Mistake" – 4:35 # "Torn" (acoustic ''MTV Unplugged'') – 3:06

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 songs 1998 singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles Music videos shot in Spain Natalie Imbruglia songs RCA Records singles Songs written by Natalie Imbruglia Songs written by Mark Goldenberg