"I Belong to Me" is a song by American recording artist

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, '' Swe ...

from her fifth studio album, '' A Public Affair''. The song was written by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

and produced by

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...

. It was released on September 26, 2006 by

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 ...

, as the second single from the album. Originally the song was not included in the standard version of the album, but was released in a version of Walmart as a bonus track. The lyrics of "I Belong to Me" is constructed in verse-chorus format and focuses on the dissatisfaction of love. The song received mixed reviews from critics. In the United States, the single reached number 10 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

and at number ninety-nine the ''Billboard''

Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...

Subject matter

When asked in an interview whether she had written songs that were reflective of her life, Diane Warren named "I Belong to Me", saying "that's one of the closer songs to me, because I feel that. I don't need someone to complete me. I complete myself. I don't believe that you need a person to complete you. That's my philosophy." Simpson said of the song, "It's a very powerful statement ... about owning yourself and controlling yourself. It's part of evolving, of growing up and becoming a woman."

Critical reception

"I Belong to Me" received mixed reviews from music critics. According to ''

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, the song has the same "self-empowerment theme" as Simpson's 2004 single "

With You With You may refer to: Music * With You., an American house music group Albums * With You (826aska album), ''With You'' (826aska album) or the title song, 2023 * With You (Stacy Lattisaw album), ''With You'' (Stacy Lattisaw album) or the title s ...

". ''Billboard'' wrote that "Simple R&B-lite production allows Simpson's lovely vocal to hold the reins, making for a song (written by the incomparable Diane Warren) that is a thematic bull's-eye for her female teen target ..let's see if programmers make this release more of the public affair it deserves to be". Sal Cinquemani of ''Slant Magazine'' wrote, "I Belong To Me," an exclusive Walmart bonus track, will instead be the follow-up, a coup for the retail giant and a big fuck-you to competitors and unknowing fans who pick up the album anywhere else. Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' (magazine) gave the song two stars out of five going on to say, "Did Ashlee get all the talent? On Jessica's big post-divorce statement, she still sounds like a prissy kid, braying, "I complete myself" in "I Belong to Me," her answer to Nick Lachey's "What's Left of Me."

Commercial release

Before the release of ''A Public Affair'', the song was taken off the album's track listing—Simpson said that this was because she "was kind of afraid to sing the song"—and only the

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

edition of the album included the song as a

bonus track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

. It was believed that the song had hit potential, and consequently Simpson's record label added it to subsequent versions of the album. During August 2006, Simpson's fans could listen on her official website to the songs "B.O.Y.", "I Belong to Me", "I Don't Want to Care", "If You Were Mine", "The Lover in Me" and "

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" is a song by English pop band Dead or Alive, featured on their second album, '' Youthquake'' (1985). Released as a single in November 1984, it reached No. 1 in the UK in March 1985, taking 17 weeks to get ...

", and vote for which song would become the second single. It was reported in early September that Simpson had chosen "I Belong to Me" as the second single. In the United States, "I Belong to Me" was made available for airplay at mainstream

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

stations on September 26. During the same period, the song debuted at number twenty-five on the ''Billboard''

chart and at number ninety-nine on the ''Billboard''

. It spent three non-consecutive weeks on each chart (until early November), peaking at number ten on the former and at number ninety on the latter. It failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Music video

Background and concept

The music video for the song directed by

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, Music video director, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his care ...

was filmed in September 2006. It was given a "sneak peek" on

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's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' in the U.S. on October 4, and was premiered in its entirety on October 11. On October 3, 2009 the video was released to the official VEVO channel Simpson, currently has over 4 million reproductions. Simpson said that the shoot was "a very emotional time" for her, and that she thought viewers of the video would "experience what I've been experiencing for the past year". The video shows Simpson with platinum blonde hair. It begins with a close-up Jessica's face with focus clear images. Then she is lying on a bed, takes a piece of clothing and throws it to the ground. The room has boxes from moving, marked Bedroom. She walks around the room and looks out a window. She keeps walking and looks in a mirror, uses scissors and begins to jaggedly cut off her hair. She takes an eye pencil, and starts exaggeratedly drawing on eyeliner. After she places a crown on her head, she starts to cry. She goes back to the bathroom and cleans off the makeup.

Credits and personnel

*Vocals:

*Songwriting: Diane Warren *Production: Stargate Credits adapted from '' A Public Affair'' liner notes.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:I Belong To Me 2006 singles 2006 songs Jessica Simpson songs Epic Records singles Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers) Songs written by Diane Warren 2000s ballads