Oh No! (Marina and the Diamonds song)

Background

Written on a trip to Los Angeles a week after The Family Jewels was mastered, "Oh No!" was the final track to complete the album. The singer explained:

["Oh No!"] was written in response to be terrified of not achieving what I say I want to achieve every time I open my big mouth. It's my part ii to "Mowgli's Road". I was paralysed by fear before my trip to the states and couldn't stop thinking about being a failure "etc" and was convinced that I'd become a self-fulfilling prophecy if my brain didn't shut up and stop being so negative. So I put it in a song. "Mowgli's [Road]" questioned who I want to be, "Oh No!" confirms it. It made me feel confident again after a shaky 6 months. Life is just a barrel of laughs at end of day, anyway!

On Greg Kurstin, who produced the song, she said, "I had really admired his work for a long time. Seeing as I was in LA, I asked if he wanted to write together and [the song] came out really well. He's great actually, very easy to work with. I really like his production style as well."

The instrumental of "Oh No!" was used to advertise the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory on E4 in the United Kingdom. On 25 July 2010, Diamandis performed the track on Channel 4's Big Brother's Little Brother, a spin-off show of the reality television series Big Brother in the UK and Ireland. "Oh No!" is included in the 2012 video game Just Dance 4. The song was used in a promo for the third season of the MTV series Awkward in 2013.

Music video

The music video for "Oh No!" was directed by Kinga Burza and filmed on 10 June 2010. It was released on 28 June 2010. Diamandis said the music video was influenced by 1990s cartoons and the old "zany neon" MTV graphics. Burza said the concept of the video stems from the lyrics of "Oh No!" which reference being obsessed with consumerism, success, money and fame. The music video features a dance sequence with four dancers which was choreographed by David Leighton. He described the routine as quirky and "very bubblegum pop". The stylist for the video was Celestine Cooney who chose to feature outfits by Christopher Kane, Henry Holland and Ashish Soni.

1. "Oh No!" – 3:02
2. "Starstrukk" – 4:44

1. "Oh No!" – 3:02
2. "Oh No!" (Active Child Remix) – 3:53
3. "Oh No!" (Grum Remix) – 4:22
4. "Oh No!" (Steve Pitron and Max Sanna Remix) – 7:28
5. "Oh No!" (Jaymo & Andy George's Moda Mix) – 4:02

A. "Oh No!" – 3:02 B. "Oh No!" (Active Child Remix)

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.

Marina Diamandis – vocals

Dan Gulino – bass guitar

Greg Kurstin – guitar, keyboards, mixing, production, programming

Mat Maitland – sleeve art

Rankin – cover portrait

Jon Shone – arrangement, piano

Dave Turner – mastering