Eliza Doolittle’s catchy new single, “Big When I Was Little,” finds the pop singer/songwriter cheerfully reflecting on the past, reminiscing about growing up. Against hopped-up, punchy beats, reggae flourishes and grooving horns, Eliza sings some of her wittiest lyrics yet. “Sorting through my memories / got naked on the floor / my diaries and scrapbooks / all they seem to take me there,” she sings almost matter-of-factly during the first verse, but there’s no doubt that she’s doing so with a big grin on her face.
“Would you know me, know me, know me / if you saw me, saw me, saw me,” goes the super infectious bridge, packing one hell of a hook.
“Just like Malcolm in the Middle, that was big when I was little,” she sings gleefully during the first chorus. Later, she changes that lyric: “Like Nirvana and Lauren Hill, they were big when I was little.” And so it would seem that Eliza has always had good tastes.
Suffice to say that she clearly had a good time recording this one and the result is a very fun, lighthearted, Lily Allen-esque song that ought to do very, very well on the pop charts. Check out the video on Digital Spy: http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a490653/eliza-doolittle-premieres-big-when-i-was-little-music-video-watch.html
The B-side is a “piano version” of a touching new ballad called “You and Me.” “Please don’t act up cause you know exactly what we found,” she sings with aching in her voice. It’s a very melancholic tune to say the least. “Rolling with the punches / so they won’t get in front of happiness,” she sings, hitting some impressive high notes. She sings it in a way that stretches her voice to a point that it almost cracks, but it never quite does so. It’s a beautiful thing, though, as it reveals precious vulnerability, which makes perfect sense because she puts her heart on the line with this song, leaving herself exposed. Clearly, whoever she wrote the song for could make her very happy, otherwise he’s going to stick shards of glass in her heart. “It’s gonna be you and me / it’s gonna be everything you ever dreamed,” she sings. And she does so like she’s pleading with the guy. She’s on her bruised knees begging him to love her back. It’s an experience we can all relate to, so it’s sure to strike a nerve with listeners, who’ll likely find themselves praying for the guy to love her back. To that end, you won’t be able to resist her. This is a spell-binding ballad on par with the best of Streisand. It truly takes hold of you, making you feel everything she’s feeling — all that pain — as she sings it, and it will linger in your head long after you’ve finished listening to it. It’s as serious and somber as “Big When I Was Little” is fun and carefree. And it makes this single mandatory.
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