"Left Outside Alone" | ||||
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Single by Anastacia | ||||
from the album Anastacia | ||||
B-side | "Get Ready" | |||
Released | March 15, 2004 | |||
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Genre | Pop rock | |||
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Anastacia singles chronology | ||||
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Audio sample | ||||
Left Outside Alone | ||||
Music videos | ||||
"Left Outside Alone" is a song by American recording artist Anastacia from her third studio album, Anastacia . Written by Anastacia,Dallas Austin,and Glen Ballard,the song details the singer's strained relationship with her estranged father. It was released as the album's lead single on March 15,2004,to both critical and commercial success. The song peaked at number one in Australia,Austria,Italy,Spain,and Switzerland;number two in Denmark,Germany,Ireland,the Netherlands,and Norway;and number three in the United Kingdom and Hungary,while overall it became the sixth-biggest-selling European single of 2004.
In the United States,"Left Outside Alone" was another success on the Billboard dance charts,where it reached the top position on the Hot Dance Singles Sales,as well as number five on the Hot Dance Club Play. The track received universal acclaim,with praise coming from Anastacia's new musical sound as well as her new singing sound found in the opening of the song being compared to Evanescence's Amy Lee.
"Left Outside Alone" received universal acclaim from critics. AllMusic editor Matthew Chisling wrote "Stronger tracks on the album include "Left Outside Alone,"...,on which Anastacia berates the listener with cries of frustration in pop/rock at its finest." [1] Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian wrote "Apparent references pop up:"It's not OK,I don't feel safe," runs the chorus to Left Outside Alone." [2] The Independent editor Andy Gill said that this song is "the source of the vulnerability." [3]
Dom Passantino of Stylus Magazine wrote "Left Outside Alone" starts off as if we're being sang to by the Holy Ghost (assuming Kate Bush is the Father and Tori Amos is the Son),over,yes,exactly the same chords that oversaw "Daredevil"... Then Anastacia switches style back to her normal voice…calling it normal seems a fallacy." He later praised the song with these words "genuinely interesting,genuinely experimental,and genuinely good single." [4] Yahoo! Music editor Dann Ginoe praised the song:"With a high-pitched gothic quiver floating atop ambient brooding,"Left Outside Alone"'s opening strains could easily have her mistaken for Evanescence's Amy Lee. The familiar air-raid siren wail does kick in eventually,but it's bellowing to an uncharacteristically snarly,guitar-churning chorus. Yup,that's right,Anastacia's gone rock." [5]
Shot in Burbank,California in February 2004,the regular music video for "Left Outside Alone" directed by Bryan Barber. [6] There are actually three music videos for the song. The regular (and first) version was released to the worldwide market,excluding North America.
The regular version begins with Anastacia on a bridge. Later she is walking along a street with a red poster on an advertising pillar. The street is of European style with European cars (a Fiat 500 with a vehicle registration plates of France,a Smart Roadster,and a Citroën DS). Then she gets in a car,and whilst driving,she looks into a car next to her and sees "herself" canoodling passionately with a man. When she gets out of the car she notices people dancing to her song on the street.
The alternate version of this video,known as the "blue-poster version",was made for the Jason Nevins Global Club Edit of the song,contains different edits,including the usage of a blue poster instead of the red one,and it also has a different ending.
In 2005,a completely new video was released for American audiences. Shot on May 19–20,2005,this version was directed by David Lippman and Charles Mehling,and was shot in Los Angeles,California. [7] Although this version was recorded specially for the American market,"Left Outside Alone" was never officially released there. In this version,Anastacia is in a castle lying alone in a bed surrounded by candles.
A different version of the track (entitled "Left Outside Alone,Part 2") appears on the deluxe edition of Anastacia's sixth studio album Resurrection . This version features an alternative melody for the same lyrics heard in the original song. She was quoted as saying:"Ten years later,I'm putting out an album and I wanted to revisit that song. I gave myself an opportunity to do that. I loved it and it's a completely different perspective on the song." [8]
US 12-inch single [9]
US maxi-CD single [10]
UK and European CD single [11] [12]
| European maxi-CD single [13]
German mini-CD single [14]
Australian CD single [15]
|
Credits are taken from the Anastacia album booklet. [16]
Studios
Personnel
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [67] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria) [68] | Gold | 15,000* |
Belgium (BEA) [69] | Gold | 25,000* |
Germany (BVMI) [70] | Gold | 150,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [71] | Gold | 5,000* |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [72] | Gold | 20,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [73] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | March 15, 2004 | CD | [74] | |
Europe | [75] | |||
United Kingdom | March 22, 2004 | [75] [76] | ||
North America | April 6, 2004 | [75] | ||
United States | April 19, 2004 | [77] |
In 2020, Finnish nu metal band Blind Channel recorded a cover version of the song. [78] Blind Channel released a short clip of Anastacia and the band singing "Left Outside Alone" on Instagram in June 2023. [79]
British metal band Malevolence recorded a cover as part of The Aggression Sessions split EP [80] released on April the 7th 2023.
Anastacia is the third studio album by American singer Anastacia. It was released on March 29, 2004, by Epic Records. Primarily a pop, power pop and rock album, Anastacia also includes elements of soul and R&B. It was a commercial success, peaking at the top of the albums charts in several countries, including Australia, Belgium, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and becoming one of the top 10 best-selling albums of the year in much of Europe. The album has sold eight million copies.
Not That Kind is the debut studio album by American singer Anastacia. It was released on June 16, 2000, by Epic Records and Daylight Records. The album features production by Sam Watters, Louis Biancaniello, Ric Wake, Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Rickey Minor, and The Shadowmen.
"Get Busy" is a dancehall song by Jamaican reggae deejay Sean Paul, from his album Dutty Rock. The song was one of the many hits from the jumpy handclap riddim known as the Diwali Riddim, produced by then-newcomer Steven Marsden, and was the only song that never made the "Diwali" rhythm album on Greensleeves Records as it was more than likely a late entry.
"Behind Blue Eyes" is a song by English rock band the Who. It is the second single from the band's fifth album, Who's Next (1971), and was originally written by Pete Townshend for his Lifehouse project. The song is one of the Who's best-known recordings and has been covered by many artists, including Limp Bizkit. The single entered the US Billboard Charts on 6 November 1971, reaching No. 34.
"Pieces of a Dream" is a song by American singer Anastacia from her first greatest hits album, Pieces of a Dream (2005). Written by Anastacia, Glen Ballard, and David Hodges, the track was produced by the latter two and details a number of difficult issues Anastacia experienced while touring in 2005 such as the breakdown of her relationship and the death of her estranged father. The single was released as the album's lead single in Europe on November 11, 2005, and in the United Kingdom 10 days later. The single reached the 10 ten in Italy and the Netherlands and the top 20 in Germany and Switzerland. It also peaked at number one in Spain three years after its original release.
Freak of Nature is the second studio album by American singer Anastacia, released on November 23, 2001, by Epic Records and Daylight Records. The album was primarily produced by Ric Wake, Sam Watters, and Louis Biancaniello, with additional production from Richie Jones.
"Butterfly" is a song by American rap rock band Crazy Town. The song was released in October 2000 as the third single from their debut album, The Gift of Game. It gained mainstream popularity after being released physically on February 19, 2001. It is based on a sample of "Pretty Little Ditty" from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1989 album Mother's Milk, so band members Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante are credited as writers.
"Sick and Tired" is a song by American singer-songwriter Anastacia from her third studio album, Anastacia (2004). "Sick and Tired" was written by Anastacia, Dallas Austin, and Glen Ballard; as a hook line, it samples vocals sung by Sohan Lal in Punjabi from the sample library "Deepest India". The sentence repeated in the sample can be translated as "I gave my heart to someone who does not care".
"Welcome to My Truth" is a song by American recording artist Anastacia from her third studio album, Anastacia. Written by Anastacia, Kara DioGuardi, and John Shanks and released as the album's third single in Europe on November 8, 2004, the song chronicles Anastacia's strained relationship with her father, who left her at a young age, along with the singer's battle with breast cancer. While "Welcome to My Truth" failed to match overall the success of its predecessors, "Left Outside Alone" and "Sick and Tired", it fared relatively well in certain European nations, such as Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.
"Heavy on My Heart" is a song by American recording artist Anastacia from her third studio album, Anastacia (2004). Written by Anastacia and Billy Mann, its arrangement is built on simple guitar riffs, and its lyrics chronicle Anastacia's battle with breast cancer. The song was released as the album's fourth and final single on March 7, 2005, and entered the top 20 in Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. A French version of the song, titled "Trop lourd dans mon coeur", appears as a B-side to the single.
"Out of the Blue" is a song written by Delta Goodrem and Guy Chambers, produced by Chambers, Richard Flack, and Steve Power for Goodrem's second studio album, Mistaken Identity (2004). It was released as the album's first single in Australia on 11 October 2004 as a CD single and became Goodrem's sixth consecutive number-one hit on the Australian Singles Chart.
"I Belong to You (Il Ritmo della Passione)" (English: "I Belong to You (The Rhythm of Passion)") is a duet by Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti and American singer Anastacia, released as the second single from Ramazzotti's eleventh studio album, Calma apparente (2005), and the third from Anastacia's first greatest hits album, Pieces of a Dream (2005). It was met with commercial success in mainland Europe, particularly Germany, peaking at number one and becoming the ninth-biggest-selling song of 2006. It also topped the singles charts in Italy and Switzerland and peaked within the top five in several other countries.
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