"Mysterious Girl" is the second overall single and third British single from British singer-songwriter

Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea; 27 February 1973) is a British-Australian singer, songwriter, and media personality. Born in England to Cypriot parents and raised in Australia, Andre achieved success in the mid-1990s as a singer, topping ...

's second studio album, ''

Natural Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

'' (1996). The song was written by Glen Goldsmith, Philip Jackson, Ollie Jacobs and Andre, and produced by Jacobs & Mubs. It features guest vocals from Caribbean rapper Bubbler Ranx. It was first released as a single by

Melodian Records Melodian Records was an Australian independent record label founded in 1988 by record producer and music journalist Ian Meldrum and Grammy-winning international Artist Manager Nathan D. Brenner. The name ''Melodian'' is a combination of 'melody ...

in Australia on 14 August 1995 and was issued in the United Kingdom the same year, but it was not until a re-release in 1996 that the song became a commercial success there. The accompanying music video was filmed in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. During its original 1995–1996 release, "Mysterious Girl" peaked at number one in New Zealand, number two in the Netherlands and number 3 in the United Kingdom. It was also a top-10 hit in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Sweden, and Switzerland. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, the single reached number 11 in September 1996. In 2004, the song was once again re-released in Ireland and the UK, where it topped the UK Singles Chart following extensive promotion. In 2023, the Official UK Chart revealed that "Mysterious Girl" ranked as number 148 in their ranking of the best-selling singles of all time.

Critical reception

Clem Bastow from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described "Mysterious Girl" as "a perennial classic from that peculiarly mid-90s period where

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

had invaded the pop charts. It holds its own (perhaps due to the guest spot from Caribbean rapper Bubbler Ranx) alongside

Maxi Priest Max Alfred Elliott (born 10 June 1961), known by his stage name Maxi Priest, is a British reggae vocalist of Jamaican descent. He is best known for singing reggae music with an Contemporary R&B, R&B influence, otherwise known as reggae fusion. ...

's '

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American television sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966, to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character, Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress who moves from her hometo ...

', Shaggy's ' Oh Carolina' and

Chaka Demus & Pliers Chaka Demus & Pliers are a Jamaican reggae duo made up of deejay Chaka Demus (born John Taylor) and singer Pliers (born Everton Bonner), known for their hits " Tease Me" and " Murder She Wrote". As a duo, they enjoyed more commercial success ...

' ebullient cover of '

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by The Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Broth ...

'." Daniel Booth from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' said it is "a slushy, mushy reggae mess that is as horrid as it is awful." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote that "Andre's sunshine reggae single automatically conjures up tropical beaches, palm and coconut trees. As this summer seems to be without end, the chances look good for the Australian." A reviewer from ''

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 the song three out of five, adding, "After patiently building a UK fanbase, Australian Andre could make the Top 10 with this pleasant reggae track."

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update described it as a "accomplished but derivative Chaka Demus & Pliers/

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

Bitty McLean Delroy Easton "Bitty" McLean (born 8 August 1972) is a British reggae, lovers' rock and ragga singer. He is best known for his three UK Top 10 hits in 1993 and 1994, including his debut offering " It Keeps Rainin' (Tears from My Eyes)". Caree ...

-ish catchy 85.9bpm pop-reggae roller".

Chart performance

The song reached the top of the charts in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and number eight in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Following a lengthy campaign on ''

The Chris Moyles Show ''The Chris Moyles Show'' is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Chris Moyles, originally broadcast as '' Radio 1 Breakfast'' from 5 January 2004 to 14 September 2012, before transferring three years later ...

'' in 2004, and Andre's appearance on the British reality show '' I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!'', the song was re-released as the first single from Andre's fourth studio album '' The Long Road Back'', peaking at number one in February 2004. In Ireland, "Mysterious Girl" reached number three upon its initial release in 1996, but the 2004 reissue saw the song reach a new peak of number two.

Music video

Filmed in Thailand, the music video for "Mysterious Girl" depicts Ranx and Andre on a beach. There are montages of several women, Andre, and Ranx dancing in a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

shirtless and in their jeans. The video was shot on on the

Phi Phi Islands The Phi Phi Islands (, , ) are an island group in Thailand between the large island of Krabi Province, Krabi and the Straits of Malacca coast of Thailand. The islands are administratively part of Krabi Province. Ko Phi Phi Don (, ) (''ko'' 'isl ...

in Thailand and a Swiss Thai model called Champagne X (her name is Champagne Inthachak), who was a big star at the time, also played as a model in this video. Andre is later seen dancing underneath a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

, a more iconic part of the video. Andre is last seen walking along the beach shirtless and later rolls in the sand as the sun sets. Clem Bastow from ''

'' wrote, "The video for the single was as much an advertisement for Andre’s personal trainer and spray-tan artist as it was a music video; the sight of him grooving in searingly blue tropical waters, proudly displaying his new look, was eye-popping (though not necessarily for the reasons he might have hoped)."

Track listings

* Australian CD and cassette single; UK CD single (1995) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) # "Mysterious Girl" (Malibu edit) # "Mysterious Girl" (extended mix) # "Mysterious Girl" (instrumental) * UK 7-inch single (1995) :A. "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) :B. "Take Me Back" * UK CD1 (1996) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) # "Mysterious Girl" (R&B Shankmaster mix) # "Mysterious Girl" (Malibu edit) # "Turn It Up" (extended mix) * UK CD2 (1996) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) # "Mysterious Girl" (Jupiter's Swing mix) # "Mysterious Girl" (Dissent & Submerged remix) # "Mysterious Girl" (Bag o' Tricks mix) * UK cassette single (1996) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) # "Turn It Up" (extended mix) * Dutch CD single (1996) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) – 3:36 # "Mysterious Girl" (R&B Shankmaster remix) – 5:13 * French CD single (1996) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) # "Mysterious Girl" (Malibu edit) # "Let's Get It On" * European maxi-CD single (1996) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) # "Mysterious Girl" (R&B Shankmaster mix) # "Mysterious Girl" (Jupiter's Swing mix) # "Mysterious Girl" (Bag o' Tricks mix) * UK CD single (2004) # "Mysterious Girl" (radio edit) # "Mysterious Girl" (Jupiter soul mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official video
{{Authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles 1996 singles 2004 singles Mushroom Records singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland Peter Andre songs Songs written by Glen Goldsmith Songs written by Peter Andre UK singles chart number-one singles British reggae songs