"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" is a song recorded by American Tejano singer, Selena. It was released as the second single from her fourth studio album, Amor Prohibido (1994). Originally written about a cheerful fish swimming freely in the ocean, the song's title is an onomatopoeic phrase suggesting the palpitating heartbeat of a person lovestruck by the object of their affection. "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" was written by Selena and her backup vocalist and dancer Pete Astudillo.
"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" is a Mexican cumbia pop song with rock en español and reggae influences. It received widespread acclaim for its musically diverse sounds, and the effects it had on listeners. The single peaked at number one on the United States Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and remained there for four consecutive weeks, the singer's second consecutive number one single. Selena began dominating the Latin music charts, and "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" contributed to her commercial success. It is believed by musicologist Ilan Stavans to have marked the beginning of the dominance of Latin pop, and was a bridge to the Tejano market. The song is considered to be one of the best compositions recorded by Selena, one of her most popular recordings, and has been cited as one of her signature songs. Her Astrodome concert performance of the song has been called one of the highlights of her musical career. "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" was ranked at number 54 on the list of the Best Texas Songs of All-time, and given honorable mention as one of the top ten best Tejano recordings of all-time.
After Selena was killed in 1995, the song's title became a popular verb to describe a fan's admiration for the singer. "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" won the Tejano Music Award for Song of the Year, while Broadcast Music Inc. recognized it as the most played Latin song of 1996. Since Billboard began monitoring music downloads in 2010, "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" has remained on the Regional Mexican Digital Songs chart for 280 non-consecutive weeks, second to the number of consecutive weeks for her 1992 single "Como la Flor". Many musicians have since recorded the song or performed it as a tribute to the singer including: Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez, Alejandra Guzmán, Kat Von D, and Jennifer Peña.
Background and writing
"Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" originated at her band's rehearsals starting off as an improvised song with few if any lyrics. According to Selena's brother, and principal music producer A.B. Quintanilla, the song came about shortly after Chris Pérez was hired as the band's guitarist in 1989 . A.B. spoke out against the "filler songs" that their father and manager Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. wanted on their recordings, and began playing a groove that gradually became a song. Suzette Quintanilla, the band's drummer, said "we were goofing off" and insisted that after A.B. began playing on his guitar, Selena started singing, coming up with lyrics "as ideas came to her". Pérez, who later eloped with Selena in 1992, wrote that the lyrics Selena came up with were unfamiliar to him despite the singer's habit of spontaneously writing ideas in a notebook and leaving it "wherever around the house". The song was originally used for soundchecks during the band's rehearsals and was then transformed into a short recording by Selena about a cheerful fish swimming freely in the ocean. Pérez said that what was then called "Little Bidi Bubbles" came easily "for everyone in the band." In a 2002 interview he said that he played a riff using a crybaby (which gave off a wah-wah sound) and that A.B. gave him a "look" that suggested he was impressed with the sound that he had improvised. The riff became the basis of the song before the writing process began.
Before A.B. began co-writing, Selena and backup vocalist Pete Astudillo were in the process of writing the song in Spanish. A.B., who arranged the piece with Roger Emerson, said in a 2002 interview that "it was kinda a little scary" because the song "had never been done or seen before". "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom" served as the second single released from Amor Prohibido on July 31, 1994. A.B. confessed to wanting the song released as the lead single but found that Selena and EMI Latin pushed for the title track instead.