Whigfield loves her famous song ‘Saturday Night’ because it still makes her money.
The singer – real name Sannie Charlotte Carlson – soared to No1 in the UK charts with the 1993 track, which also made the top five in Italy, which became a mega hit thanks to the dance routine that accompanied it.
Whigfield says she still has people come up to her just to tell her they hate the earworm tune and its distinctive “Dee dee na na na” opening, but she is still grateful to the single for making her famous and for still earning a "god share" of royalties.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz from her home in Milan about "haters", she said: “I still get a good share (in royalties) from ‘Saturday Night’, let’s put it that way.
“There is connecting rights, and the song is still getting played.”
But the 52-year-old singer added the royalty cheques from the track are no longer enough to live on every year.
She explained: “I still need to tour – I still need to do live shows.”
When asked if any of the royalty cheques from the song totalled £1 million, she said: “It could be – the biggest one was a good cheque.”
Yet the '90s pop star said she had hardly any time to enjoy her wealth or fame when the song came out.
She added: “It was very strange because people would think, ‘Oh, now you’re getting all this success and enjoying life’. But there was no time to enjoy life, because I was basically booked up.
“Every six months, I was booked up in advance. That meant touring around the world, promoting different labels because I was with many different labels around the world, so I had to promote many different singles in different countries, which was very stressful, and I had to promotion, and I had to do the concerts as well.
“So there was not a lot of time to sit down and enjoy it. Of course it was a good time, but it was also very hard.”
The singer told the Sunday Times in 2019 she made “more than £1 million in the first year” of the release of ‘Saturday Night’ and around £2 million or £3 million in total from the tune.
Before it took off she had two jobs – promoting nightclubs in the evenings and working as a model in the daytime, earning her around £1,000 to £2,000 a month.
Whigfield has spent the last few years out of the spotlight writing for other artists but has recently been cashing in on a '90s nostalgia boom.
She will also play the Reminisce 22 Festival in Sherdley Park, St Helens, Liverpool, on Saturday September 10.
Other acts include 2 Unlimited, Liberty X, Boyzlife, Fatman Scoop, Nadine Coyle and S Club Allstars.
Go to Reminiscefestival.com for tickets and more information.
