"I'm Outta Love" is the debut single of American singer

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...

. Written by Anastacia,

Sam Watters Samuel Joshua Watters (born July 23, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I ...

, and

Louis Biancaniello Louis John Biancaniello is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Biancaniello's skills were developed while working alongside producer Narada Michael Walden with whom he produced hits for Shanice ''I Love Your Smile'', Whitney Ho ...

and produced by the latter two, it was released on February 29, 2000, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from her debut album, ''

Not That Kind ''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 Stu ...

'' (2000). The song became a major hit in Europe and Australia, reaching number one in

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

, Australia and New Zealand; it was the most successful song of 2000 in the latter two regions. It additionally reached the top five in several others, including France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.

Background and recording

Following a short-living dancing career on television shows such as

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Club MTV ''Club MTV'' is a half hour television show modeled after ''American Bandstand'' that aired on MTV from August 31, 1987, to June 26, 1992. ''Club MTV'' was part of MTV's second generation of programming, as the channel was phasing out its origi ...

'' and work as a

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s, including rap group

Salt-N-Pepa Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...

's clip for " Get Up Everybody (Get Up)", in 1993, Anastacia relocated from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in hopes of launching a singing career. Soon after, she signed a production deal with

Cece Peniston Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" rea ...

manager O.G. Pearce, but failed to arrange a recording contract. In 1997, Anastacia met

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

-based music executive Lisa Braudé, who signed her with Braudé Management and encouraged her to join

's '' The Cut'', a talent series for unsigned acts, the following year. Her appearance on the show led to a meeting with

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

A&R executive David Massey who offered a recording contract with his own label

Daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunligh ...

, a custom label of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

's Epic company, in March 1999. For the sound of her debut album ''

'', Anastacia envisioned "something in a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-i ...

" style. While Massey felt that it would be hard to find a song that stood up to her massive voice, he consulted

from Epic's R&B group

Color Me Badd ''Color'' Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in 1985 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by lead singer Bryan Abrams (born November 16, 1969), tenor Mark Calderon (born September 27, 1970), second tenor Sam Watters (born July 23 ...

to work on "a great song for a big voice, kind of "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 as the second single from her sixth album, '' Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris. A top-selling song, it is a popular di ...

" but with a little more substance." Within three or four days, Watters presented a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of "I'm Outta Love" in its earliest form. After listening to the demo, Anastacia agreed to further work on it alongside Watters and co-producer

. In an interview discussing the development of the song, Anastacia revealed that they had adopted Massey's approach while writing it, aiming for a song "like "

It's Raining Men "It's Raining Men" is a song by the American musical duo the Weather Girls from their third studio album, '' Success'' (1983). It was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 1982, through Columbia Records and CBS Records Internati ...

" and "I Will Survive", one that makes you move and makes you happy." Answering a question on British music show '' Later... with Jools Holland'' regarding if this song was about anybody in particular, Anastacia later replied, "It's about a lot of people in particular, not just one but probably many in my life who I wanted to have a love thing with but it wasn't there."

Composition

Written in the key of B♭ Dorian mode with a tempo of 119 beats per minute, "I'm Outta Love"'s instrumentation features a

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

bass, guitar and keyboards. Its main chord sequence of B♭m–F–A♭–E♭ starts 19 seconds into the song, after an introduction of different rhythmic keyboard and synth sounds, which is omitted in the

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may als ...

. This chord progression forms most of the song except the final line of the verses and chorus, in which it changes to B♭m–F–G♭–F. Throughout the song, Anastacia uses a gospel-like voice and uses various

ad-libs In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The r ...

in the second and third choruses. The song ends on a

fade-out In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theatre lighting in much the same way (see fade (filmmaking) and fade (lighting)). A recor ...

Critical reception

"I'm Outta Love" has been lauded by contemporary music critics. William Ruhlmann of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

called the song an "aggressive dancefloor item," and added: "The minute she opens her mouth she starts reminding you of other singers, especially

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

." Michel Paoletta, editor for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine, declared "I'm Outta Love" a "sonic joyride ..which moves and grooves with a spirit all its own." Less impressed, MTVAsia.com editor Tricia Boey wrote that this song "could very well have been sung by

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

or a whole ''Billboard'' chart-full of other divas."

Chart performance

"I'm Outta Love" was first released in the United States, where a promo-only

12-inch The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

single was issued to club DJs in November 1999. Officially released to radio and retailers on February 29, 2000, the song debuted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the week of April 1, 2000. It spent three weeks on the chart, peaking at number ninety-two. As of 2016, the single remains Anastacia's only entry on the chart. "I'm Outta Love" fared better on several of the ''

'' component charts, reaching number eleven on the

Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales In the issue dated March 16, 1985, '' Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...

chart and number two for eight consecutive weeks on the

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart. "I'm Outta Love" also reached number eleven on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...

. The single was released to greater international success in Australia and Europe, where Daylight Records and the Epic label had planned to develop a platform first and promotion through affiliates took off much quicker than in North America. In Australia, the track debuted at number six on the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, a month later reached number one and stayed there for five consecutive weeks. The song eventually became the highest-selling single of the year, and was certified double platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) for selling over 140,000 copies. In New Zealand, the single spent seven consecutive weeks at the top of the charts, and after shipping over 15,000 units to retailers, the

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

(RIANZ) certified it platinum. Like in Australia, the song ended up the highest-selling single of the year in New Zealand. The track reached the top ten in most European countries in which it charted. "I'm Outta Love" spent three consecutive weeks at number-one in the

region of Belgium and was ranked eighth on national year-end chart. It also reached the top five in Austria, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, and Switzerland, and it entered the top ten in Denmark, Germany, Spain, and the

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

region of Belgium. In the United Kingdom, "I'm Outta Love" peaked at number six and was certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) on October 1, 2000.

Music video

The

for "I'm Outta Love", directed by

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

and choreographed by

Robin Antin Robin Antin is an American actress, entrepreneur, dancer, choreographer and clothing designer. In 1995, she founded the modern burlesque troupe the Pussycat Dolls. By 2005, she diversified into various media including a pop recording group with ...

, was filmed on location at the Park Plaza Hotel in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Dick had previously shot the video for

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

's "

Welcome to the Jungle "Welcome to the Jungle" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, ''Appetite for Destruction'' (1987). It was released as the album's second single initially in the UK in September 1987 then again in October ...

" (1987) at the same location. In 1999, "I'm Outta Love" earned Anastacia her first

MTV Europe Music Award The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

nomination in the Best New Act category at the 2000 awards ceremony. The song also spawned an official remix video for the

Hex Hector Hex Hector (born Héctor Ortiz on April 15, 1965) is an American music producer and remixer. He won a Grammy Award in 2001 for Best Remixer. He was born in Manhattan, New York, of a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something ...

Radio Mix, which included some new and extended scenes.

Synopsis

The video starts out with Anastacia walking through a tunnel with her coat on and cuts to a dressing room where she and her singers are preparing for a performance on stage. Intercut scenes of her female singers are shown in-between alongside Anastacia singing in the crowd. During the performance, a man who admires Anastacia neglects his girlfriend in favor of the performance. After the girlfriend confronts him and leaves, the man writes his phone number on a letter for Anastacia. After the performance, the man finds Anastacia backstage talking with her friends and gives her the letter with his number. She quickly reads it and walks away from the man, disgusted by his actions.

Track listings

* US CD single # "I'm Outta Love" (album version) – 4:02 # "I'm Outta Love" (

radio mix) – 3:50 # "Baptize My Soul" – 4:13 * US maxi-CD single # "I'm Outta Love" (radio edit) – 3:57 # "I'm Outta Love" (Hex Hector radio edit) – 3:51 # "I'm Outta Love" (Matty's Soulflower Mix) – 5:56 # "I'm Outta Love" (Hex Hector main club mix) – 7:59 # "I'm Outta Love" (

Ron Trent Ronald "Ron" Trent (born May 23, 1973) is an American house music DJ and record producer. Music career After experimenting with beat machines and a small keyboard in 1986, he began recording the track "Altered States" while still in high scho ...

's club mix) – 8:35 # "Baptize My Soul" – 4:13 * US 7-inch and cassette single :A. "I'm Outta Love" (album version) – 4:02 :B. "Baptize My Soul" – 4:13 * UK CD single # "I'm Outta Love" (radio edit) – 3:57 # "I'm Outta Love" (

Rhythm Masters Rhythm Masters are an English house music duo composed of deejays Robert Chetcuti and Steve Mac, a.k.a. Steve McGuinness. Biography They began mixing together around 1993 after meeting in Malta, doing remixes for, among others, Todd Terry, Mic ...

vocal mix) – 6:47 # "I'm Outta Love" (Ron Trent's club mix) – 8:33 # "I'm Outta Love" (multimedia video version) * UK cassette single # "I'm Outta Love" (radio edit) – 3:57 # "I'm Outta Love" (Rhythm Masters radio mix) – 3:53 * European CD1 # "I'm Outta Love" (album version) – 4:02 # "I'm Outta Love" (Matty's Too Deep Mix) – 9:28 * European CD2 # "I'm Outta Love" (album version) – 4:02 # "I'm Outta Love" (Matty's Too Deep Mix) – 9:28 # "I'm Outta Love" (Hex Hector Main club mix) – 7:59 # "I'm Outta Love" (Hex Hector radio mix) – 4:02 * Australian CD single # "I'm Outta Love" (radio edit) – 3:57 # "I'm Outta Love" (Hex Hector radio edit) – 3:51 # "I'm Outta Love" (Matty's 2 Deep Mix) – 9:29 # "I'm Outta Love" (Hex Hector main club mix) – 7:59 # "I'm Outta Love" (Ron Trent's club mix) – 8:35 # "Baptize My Soul" – 4:13

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Not That Kind'' booklet. Studio * Recorded and mixed at Homesite 13 (

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

) * Mastered at Gateway Mastering (

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, US) Personnel * Anastacia – writing, background vocals *

– writing, background vocals, drums, production *

– writing, keyboards, drums, programming, production, mixing * Vernon Black – guitars * David Frazer – mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000 debut singles 2000 songs Anastacia songs Daylight Records singles Epic Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Music videos directed by Nigel Dick Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs written by Anastacia Songs written by Louis Biancaniello Songs written by Sam Watters Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles