"Little Bit" is a song by Swedish recording artist Lykke Li

Lykke Li

Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson , better known by her stage name Lykke Li , is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos...

 from her debut album, Youth Novels

Youth Novels

Youth Novels is the debut album by Swedish recording artist Lykke Li, released in Sweden on 30 January 2008 on her own label, the EMI-distributed LL Recordings. It was entirely produced by Björn Yttling of Swedish indie rock trio Peter Bjorn and John and co-produced by Lasse Mårtén...

. Produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John

Peter Bjorn and John

Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...

 and co-produced by Lasse Mårtén, the track was released in Sweden on 24 September 2007 as the album's lead single

Lead single

A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...

. It was included on the soundtrack to the HBO series Bored to Death

Bored to Death

Bored to Death is an American comedy series, which premiered on HBO on September 20, 2009. , three seasons have aired, each consisting of eight episodes. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames – a writer based in Brooklyn, New York...

, while a snippet of the song was used in the commercial for Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...

 Ipex bra starring Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum

Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...

. Also, Canadian singer Drake

Drake (entertainer)

Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....

 sampled "Little Bit" for a song of the same name on his 2009 mixtape So Far Gone.

Critical reception

"Little Bit" received positive reviews from music critics. In a review for Blogcritics

Blogcritics

Blogcritics is a blog network and online magazine of news and opinion. The site—a self-proclaimed "sinister cabal of superior writers"—was founded in 2002 by Eric Olsen and Phillip Winn...

, Tan The Man wrote that the song is "mesmerizing, evoking a sensual striptease fantasy by a former love" and that it "fuses so many sounds, from quasi-bossa nova

Bossa nova

Bossa nova is a style of Brazilian music. Bossa nova acquired a large following in the 1960s, initially consisting of young musicians and college students...

 to soul

Soul music

Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

, while maintaining a simplistic and raw, non-explicitly erotic beat in the background." Matthew Perpetua from Spin

Spin (magazine)

Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

rated the track seven out of ten, stating it is "built upon the clack and clang of acoustic percussion and little else, aside from occasional bits of guitar or saxophone", addind that it sounds "exceptionally intimate, to the point where it's easy to feel voyeuristic when listening on the title cut to her unguarded declaration of love." Q

Q (magazine)

Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...

magazine noticed "a breathless intensity to [the] lyrics that takes the song beyond the realm of throwaway pop. 'I would do it, push the button, pull the trigger, jump of a cliff...' she sings, clearly not just 'a little bit' in love as she tries to convince herself, but rather in the grip of an overwhelming infatuation." Jon Lusk of BBC Music

BBC Music

BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....

 called it "metronomic, infectiously hummable" and viewed it as "a great new example of the emotional conflict which 10cc

10cc

10cc are an English art rock band who achieved their greatest commercial success in the 1970s. The band initially consisted of four musicians -- Graham Gouldman, Eric Stewart, Kevin Godley, and Lol Creme -- who had written and recorded together for some three years, before assuming the "10cc" name...

 and Smokey Robinson

Smokey Robinson

William "Smokey" Robinson, Jr. is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. Robinson is one of the primary figures associated with Motown, second only to the company's founder, Berry Gordy...

 lyrically documented so well." Adrien Begrand of PopMatters

PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

 felt that the song's "approach is far more subtle that most contemporary pop singles would ever dare to be, its gentle, slightly distorted bass synth propelled by the faintest traces of percussion, both electronic and acoustic, Yttling providing mandolin accents during the chouses. But it's Lykke Li who commands our attention, delivering as perfect a hook in the chorus that rivals Robyn's best work, but not before making us fall off our chairs with a second verse that tosses aside all nuance in favor of direct, unadulterated lust." Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

s Will Hermes opined that "[a] quietly intoxicating electropulse drives the reluctant lover's confession in 'Little Bit' while Li memorably rhymes 'legs apart' with 'tainted heart.'"

Track listings

Swedish iTunes EP and promo CD single

1. "Little Bit" – 4:34
2. "Everybody but Me" – 3:17
3. "Time Flies" – 3:15

Swedish limited edition 10" single

A1. "Little Bit" – 4:34

B1. "Everybody but Me" – 3:17

B2. "Time Flies" – 3:15

U.S. EP

1. "Little Bit" – 4:41
2. "Dance, Dance, Dance" – 3:43
3. "Everybody but Me" – 3:18
4. "Time Flies" – 3:22

UK iTunes EP

1. "Little Bit" – 4:35
2. "Little Bit" (Loving Hand Remix) – 9:26
3. "Little Bit" (CSS Remix) – 4:40
4. "After Laughter" – 3:40

UK promo CD single

1. "Little Bit" – 4:34
2. "Dance, Dance, Dance" – 3:42

UK limited edition 7" single

A. "Little Bit" – 4:34

B. "Dance, Dance, Dance" – 3:42

UK 12" single

A1. "Little Bit" (Loving Hand Remix) – 9:26

B1. "Little Bit" (CSS Remix) – 4:40

B2. "Little Bit" (Staygold's Skansen Remix)

Personnel

• Lykke Li – vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• Tommy Andersson – assistant engineer
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
  
• Matt Azzarto – additional engineer
• Bill Emmons – additional engineer
• John Eriksson
  Peter Bjorn and John
  Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
  
   – cymbal
  Cymbal
  Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
  
  
• Tom Gloady – assistant engineer
• Janne Hansson – engineer
• Henrik Jonsson – mastering
  Audio mastering
  Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
  
  
• Neil Lipuma – assistant engineer
• Lasse Mårtén – co-producer, engineer, mixing
  Audio mixing (recorded music)
  In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
  
  , additional engineer
• Björn Yttling
  Peter Bjorn and John
  Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie rock band, formed in Stockholm in 1999 and named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén , Björn Yttling and John Eriksson .They are best known for the 2006 single "Young Folks", which...
  
   – producer
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
  , engineer, mixing, keyboards
  Keyboard instrument
  A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
  
  , percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  , mandolin
  Mandolin
  A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
  
  

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Belgian Tip Chart (Flanders)	9
Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....	20

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
Sweden	24 September 2007	Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...	LL Recordings
	2007	Promo CD single, 10" single Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
United Kingdom	25 February 2008	Promo CD single, 7" single Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...	Moshi Moshi Records Moshi moshi records Moshi Moshi Records is a small London-based record label that has released music by bands such as The Rakes, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, Hot Club De Paris, Kate Nash, Junkboy, Architecture in Helsinki, Tilly and the Wall, Slow Club, Yeti, and Au Revoir Simone...
United States	6 May 2008	EP Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...	The Control Group The Control Group The Control Group is a relatively small record label, founded by Nabil Ayers. Notable artists to have albums released by this label include Kings of Leon and The Killers.-Bands Signed with TCG :*Alien Crime Syndicate*El Perro Del Mar*Figurines...
United Kingdom	24 October 2008	Digital download	Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
	27 October 2008	12" single 12-inch single The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...