Cosmic Girl (song)

1996 single by Jamiroquai

"Cosmic Girl" is the second single from British funk and acid jazz band Jamiroquai's third studio album, Travelling Without Moving (1996). The song was released in the United Kingdom on 25 November 1996 via Sony Soho Square and in the United States in 1997 via Work Group. It achieved great chart success, peaking at No. (Number) 6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached No. 3 in Italy, No. 4 in Iceland, and No. 10 in Finland. The accompanying music video was directed by Adrian Moat and filmed in Spain. The B side to the single is an instrumental, "Slipin' 'N' Slidin'", a song originating from another Jamiroquai track called "Mr Boogie", which was a live only song. "Slipin 'N' Slidin'", just like "Mr Boogie", also has a vocal version.

"Cosmic Girl" is a disco song, based on rhythmic "looped beats" "to give it an off centre, otherworldly" sound. The syncopated rhythm contains 10 pulses which occur inside a 32 beat pattern, with pulses on beats 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 27, and 30. Coincidentally, the first four beats of this pattern are the same as the George Gershwin song "I Got Rhythm". Jamiroquai's psychedelic lyric evokes a spacey environment, using terms such as "zero gravity", "hyperspace", "galaxy" and "quasar". A disco era aura is achieved by incorporating early electronic synthesizers along with disco style string parts also produced by synthesizers.

While the single, and especially its chart performance, received mixed reviews from critics, it has become one of the better known tracks of the band, and a concert staple. Live versions usually last for 7–8 minutes, nearly double the duration of the album version. In 2006, it was reissued as part of the "Classic Club Mixes" series, which also included "Space Cowboy", "Deeper Underground", "Love Foolosophy" and "Alright". In 2019, it was remixed by French DJ Dimitri From Paris. In the United Kingdom alone, the song has sold 250,580 copies as of March 2017, and is also their second most streamed track, with more than 110 million plays on Spotify and a further 75 million views on YouTube.

RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)Ref. (Reference)United Kingdom25 November 1996CD, cassetteSony Soho SquareJapan4 December 1996CDEpicUnited States14 January 1997Rhythmic contemporary radioWork