"Bubbly" is the debut single of American singer-songwriter
Colbie Caillat from her first album, Coco (2007). Written by Caillat and
Jason Reeves and produced by
Mikal Blue, the song was released as the album's lead single on May 15, 2007. "Bubbly" is Caillat's highest-charting hit and is her only single to reach the top 10 of the US
Billboard Hot 100. Internationally, "Bubbly" reached number one in Australia, Brazil, and the Czech Republic. It also became a top-10 hit in several European countries, including Belgium, Germany, and Norway.
The song's
music video, directed by
Liz Friedlander, aired on
MTV,
VH1 and
CMT. A still from the music video was used as the cover for Caillat's debut album, Coco.
"Bubbly" was written by Colbie Caillat and
Jason Reeves. It is written in the
key of
A and primarily features a gentle
guitar instrumentation which uses a
capo of seventh
fret.[1] The guitar uses open
Dtuning (low to high): D–A–D–F♯–A–D. Caillat's vocal range spans from E3 to F♯4.[2]
Caillat commented on the lyrical composition of the song in an interview with Wilson County News on February 20, 2008, following her live performance on The View, "I didn't write "Bubbly" for any [special] guy. I wrote it about the feelings you get when you have a crush on somebody, and when they give you butterflies in your stomach and they just make you smile."[3]
Reception
Critical response
Susan Visakowitz of Billboard wrote that Caillat's "warm vocals along with a gentle acoustic arrangement effortlessly conjure the idyllic
California she calls home".[4]
Commercial performance
On the issue dated October 6, 2007, "Bubbly" rose from number 16 to number 10 on the
Billboard Hot 100, eventually peaking at number five for seven non-consecutive weeks. It also topped the
Adult Contemporary and
Adult Top 40 charts for 19 and 14 weeks, respectively. The song was placed at number two on the Adult Contemporary year-end chart of 2008, behind
Sara Bareilles' "
Love Song".[5] The single was certified six-times platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America on August 18, 2023,[6] with sales of more than 2.6 million downloads in the US.[7] It peaked at number two for three weeks on the
Canadian Hot 100. In Australia—where "Bubbly" was used in a promotional video for the
Seven Network soap opera Home and Away—it reached number one on the
ARIA Singles Chart for the week of April 7, 2008. Elsewhere, the single reached number one in the Czech Republic and charted within the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia, and Sweden. It did not fare as well in the British Isles, peaking at number 58 in the United Kingdom and number 48 in Ireland.
On
VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '00s, "Bubbly" ranked number 71 on the list.[8]
Music video
Synopsis
"It was just about being by the beach and having a wonderful day with a person you like. It captures that whole feeling."
— Colbie Caillat in an interview with Wilson Country News, describing how the music video for "Bubbly" relates to the overall theme of the song.[3]
Filmed in Colbie Caillat's hometown of
Malibu and in
Santa Barbara in southern
California,[3] the
music video features intercut scenes of Caillat playing the guitar while dreamily singing the lyrics of the song and spending time with her lover in their home and out in nature. It is a sunny day, and some shots feature Caillat in fields as she sings. Later in the video, Caillat drives in an old Bronco and then is pictured singing as she walks slowly along the coast of California and looks out over a cliff into the
Pacific Ocean. Caillat performs clad in a simple
tank top and
jeans which are slightly ripped at the knees; she is also barefoot and wearing a necklace made of sea shells.
Reception
Uploaded to Caillat's
YouTube and
Vevo account on December 13, 2009, the video for "Bubbly" has received a generally positive reaction from fans and has garnered over 125 million views.[9]
^ColbieCaillatVEVO (December 13, 2009).
"Colbie Caillat - Bubbly".
Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2017 – via YouTube.
^Bubbly (UK CD single liner notes). Colbie Caillat. Universal Republic Records. 2008. 1747525.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^Bubbly (European CD single liner notes). Colbie Caillat. Universal Republic Records. 2007. 0602517461819.{{
cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link)
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200812 into search. Retrieved May 28, 2018.