"Big Me" | ||||
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Single by Foo Fighters | ||||
from the album Foo Fighters | ||||
Released | February 25, 1996 | |||
Format | CD, white vinyl (7") | |||
Recorded | January 1995 | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, power pop | |||
Length | 2:13 | |||
Label | Roswell/Capitol | |||
Writer(s) | Dave Grohl | |||
Foo Fighters singles chronology | ||||
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"Big Me" is the fourth single by the Foo Fighters from their self-titled debut album Foo Fighters. Released in the spring of 1996, the song became a crossover hit for the band on pop radio, when it reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay.
The song became well known for its music video, which parodies Mentos advertisements, turning them into commercials for "Footos." The concept came from director Jesse Peretz, who had originally pitched the idea to another band, and the Foo Fighters accepted as according to Dave Grohl, "We had some difficulty finding a treatment that would suit the song, which is this short, tongue-in-cheek, ridiculously candy-coated pop tune. We didn't want to make this big, pretentious portrait video. We wanted to make fun of ourselves and the song." The video made its MTV debut on February 14, 1996, and quickly became a Buzz Bin clip.
"Big Me" was nominated for 5 MTV Video Music Awards at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards, winning only "Best Group Video". The video, which parodies the Mentos ad campaign, was filmed on location in Sydney, Australia.
The video's success led to many fans throwing Mentos at the band whenever they played the song live. For an extended period of time, the band did not play the song live due to this, as Grohl cited: "We did stop playing that song for a while because, honestly, it's like being stoned. Those little … things are like pebbles – they hurt." The band only started to change its mind after Weezer started performing "Big Me" during the Foozer tour both bands did together.