Written by Nevil, with Duncan Pain and Mark Holding, Nevil recorded the song for his self-titled debut album, and it was released as the first single. Nevil's single spent two weeks at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in January 1987 and remained in the top 40 for 16 weeks, becoming his highest-charting US hit.[1] (It was kept from number one by two songs, "Shake You Down" by Gregory Abbott and "At This Moment" by Billy Vera and the Beaters.) Additionally, the song went to number one on the Hot Dance Club Play American dance chart for one week in February 1987 with an Arthur Baker remix. .[2] Internationally, the song reached number three on the UK singles charts and number one in Canada and Switzerland. The song featured in the Black Mirror episode, "San Junipero" and the Snowfall episode, The Sit Down.
^"Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. January 17, 1987. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
^"Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. January 31, 1987. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
^"Hot Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 5. January 31, 1987. p. 16.
^"Dance Club Songs". Billboard. February 7, 1987. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
^"Offiziellecharts.de – Robbie Nevil – C'est La Vie" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
^"Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Australian Music Report. Retrieved December 11, 2019 – via Imgur.
^"Top 100 Singles of '87". RPM. Vol. 47, no. 12. 26 December 1987. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Library and Archives Canada.
^"European Charts of the Year 1987: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 5, no. 11. December 26, 1987. p. 34. Retrieved April 9, 2022.