"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer

Ann Lee Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers. After nearly two decades of participation in a r ...

. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Outside the United Kingdom, the single topped the charts of

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 cultu ...

and peaked within the top 10 in several countries, including Australia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand.

Background and composition

Ann Lee's previous work on a large number of Eurodance projects would help her receive a contract with Alfredo Larry Pignagnoli, with whom she had already worked with on the

Whigfield Whigfield is an Italian dance act fronted by Danish singer, songwriter and record producer Sannie Charlotte Carlson (born 11 April 1970), known by her various stage names including Whigfield, Naan, or simply Sannie. She is best known for her 1993 ...

project as a songwriter, amongst others. He worked on a track with Marco Sorcini called "Two Times". The song is played in a

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor. The F major scale is: : F major is the ...

key in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

at a BPM of 132, and throughout follows chord progression F-C7.

Critical reception

A reviewer from '' Daily Record'' wrote, "This sounds like a line-dancing song reworked for the

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

market, but it's worked for Ann Lee who has already topped the charts across Europe."

Commercial performance

The song achieved success in many European countries where it was a top-10 hit, particularly in Scotland and the

region of Belgium, where it reached number one. It peaked at number two in Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom; it has sold over 500,000 copies in the UK as of 2014. It was also a top-10 hit in Australia after initially receiving frequent airplay on Melbourne radio station KIX FM.

Music video

The song's

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was released in 1999 by Energy Productions. It sees Ann Lee performing the song during a day in her life, beginning with her waking up in the morning in her hut. She cooks, plays with her doll, takes a stroll on the beach and has a bath in her bathtub. The video ends with Lee sleeping in her bed. The singer has noted that the structure and cinematography of the video was very similar to that of Peter Gabriel's " Sledgehammer"; "The two videos were similar! I remember perfectly the 'sledge video' (love Peter Gabriel!) and my movements are in fact very similar - but I think the similarity ends there". Parts of the music video were filmed in

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in southeastern England, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay. The 2011 Census reported a population of ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Track listings

* Italian and Australian CD single # "2 Times" (original edit mix) – 3:46 # "2 Times" (original extended mix) – 6:32 # "2 Times" (G. side) – 5:32 # "2 Times" (GambaClub) – 5:14 # "2 Times" (GambaDub) – 4:15 * German and Dutch CD single # "2 Times" (original edit mix) – 3:46 # "2 Times" (original extended mix) – 6:32 * German maxi-CD single # "2 Times" (original edit mix/radio edit) – 3:46 # "2 Times" (Gamba club) – 5:14 # "2 Times" (original extended mix) – 6:32 # "2 Times" (Gamba dub) – 4:15 # "2 Times" (G. Side) – 5:32 * UK CD single # "2 Times" (original radio edit) # "2 Times" (Gamba Club) # "2 Times" (Bulletproof Euro Mix) * UK 12-inch single :A1. "2 Times" (original extended mix) :B1. "2 Times" (Gamba Club Mix) :B2. "2 Times" (Bulletproof Euro Mix) * UK cassette single # "2 Times" (original radio edit) # "2 Times" (Gamba Club)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Kristeen version

In 2000, German pop singer Kristeen recorded a similar song called "Mit Dir" ("With You"). It has the same composition and musical tune, but the lyrics are in German.

References

{{Authority control 1999 debut singles 1999 songs Number-one singles in Scotland Songs written by Ann Lee (singer) Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles ZYX Music singles Songs written by Dhany