Paid My Dues

"Paid My Dues"
Single by Anastacia
from the album Freak of Nature
B-side	"I Dreamed You" "Funk Medley"
Released	November 6, 2001
Format	CD single, 12" single
Recorded	2001; Cove City Sound Studios (Glen Cove, New York) Sony Music Studios (New York City, New York)
Genre	Pop R&B
Length	3:21
Label	Epic Records Daylight Records
Writer(s)	Anastacia Greg Lawson Damon Sharpe LaMenga Kafi
Producer(s)	Ric Wake Richie Jones
Anastacia singles chronology
"Made for Lovin' You" (2001) "Paid My Dues" (2001) "One Day in Your Life" (2002)
Music sample Paid My Dues

"Paid My Dues" is a song by American recording artist Anastacia from her second studio album, Freak of Nature. Released as the album's lead single, the song was written by Anastacia herself, Greg Lawson, Damon Sharpe, and LaMenga Kafi and produced by Ric Wake, with additional production by Richie Jones. The song became an overall hit, peaking in Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland, and reaching the top ten in several other mainland European countries.

Composition and critical reception

"Paid My Dues" was written by Anastacia, LaMenga Kafi, Greg Lawson and Damon Sharpe, while production was handled by Ric Wake, with additional production by Richie Jones.^[1] According to James Salmon from Yahoo! Music, the song is a "typically robust 'go girl' anthem."^[2]

Jose F. Promis writing for Allmusic called it "the soulful, bombastic rocker".^[1] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine wrote that "her tenacious attitude on songs like 'Paid My Dues' carve a unique niche for the singer."^[3] Aidin Vaziri wrote for Rolling Stone that the song is "grating" and an "obvious offender."^[4]

Music video

Directed by Liz Friedlander, the music video for "Paid My Dues" was shot in Los Angeles, California. In the beginning, Anastacia is speaking while being in a virtual mirror. Then you can see Anastacia in a room where she is packing her suitcases. Following this, you see her while she is trying to make her a way but there are many people she must across. Then she is in some kind of a disco, where she successfully tries again to find her way through people, this time to a stage.

When she finally arrives there, she goes through a mirror and is "teleported" to a stage, where she lip-synchs the song. In the end she pulls out the electricity cable.

Track listing

• United Kingdom

1. "Paid My Dues" – 3:20
2. "Paid My Dues" (The S-Man's Darkstar Mix) – 5:35
3. "I Dreamed You" – 5:08

• Cassette

1. "Paid My Dues" – 3:20
2. "Paid My Dues" (The S-Man's Darkstar Radio Edit) – 3:29
3. "I Dreamed You" – 5:08

• Europe

1. "Paid My Dues" – 3:20
2. "Paid My Dues" (The S-Man's Darkstar Mix) – 5:25
3. "Paid My Dues" (The S-Man's Darkstar Dub) – 5:23
4. "Funk Medley" (Live From Amsterdam) – 7:30

• Australia

1. "Paid My Dues" – 3:20
2. "Paid My Dues" (The S-Man's Darkstar Mix) – 5:25
3. "Paid My Dues" (The S-Man's Darkstar Dub) – 5:23
4. "Funk Medley" (Live From Amsterdam) – 7:30
5. "I Dreamed You" – 5:08

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001/2002) Peak position Australian Singles Chart[5] 39 Austrian Singles Chart[6] 3 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[7] 6 Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)[8] 16 Danish Singles Chart[9] 1 Dutch Top 40[10] 4 European Hot 100 Singles[11] 2 Finnish Singles Chart[12] 18 French Singles Chart[13] 10 German Singles Chart[14] 3 Hungarian Singles Chart[15] 17 Italian Singles Chart[16] 1 New Zealand Singles Chart[17] 24 Norwegian Singles Chart[17] 1 Portuguese Singles Chart[18] 1 Polish Singles Chart[19] 2 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[20] 3 Spanish Singles Chart[16] 7 Swedish Singles Chart[21] 2 Swiss Singles Chart[22] 1 UK Singles Chart[23] 14

Certifications Country Certification Austria Gold[24] Belgium Gold[25] France Silver[26] Germany Gold[27] Norway Gold[28] Switzerland Gold[29]

Chart succession

References

1. Promis, Jose F. "Freak of Nature – Anastacia – Review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
2. Salmon, James (November 26, 2001). "Anastacia – 'Freak Of Nature'". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
3. Cinquemani, Sal (June 24, 2002). "Anastacia: Freak of Nature". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
4. Vaziri, Aidin (June 18, 2002). "Anastacia: Freak Of Nature". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
5. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Australian Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
6. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". IFPI Austria (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
7. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
8. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
9. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". IFPI Denmark. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 1 – 2002". Radio 538 (in Dutch). top40.nl. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
11. "European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 28th January 2002" (PDF). Music & Media. Pandora Archive. Retrieved June 22, 2009.
12. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". YLE. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
13. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
14. "Anastacia: Paid My Dues". Media Control (in German). PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
15. "Single (track) Top 10 lista – 2002. 20. hét" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
16. Sexton, Paul (January 4, 2002). "Anastacia, Sting Still Strong On Euro Chart". Billboard. AllBusiness.com. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
17. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
18. "Top40-charts.com". Retrieved November 24, 2015.
19. "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on 2008-05-08.
20. Romanian Top 100: Editia 2, saptamina 14.01-20.01, 2002
21. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
22. "Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Media Control. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
23. "Chart Stats – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". The Official Charts Company. Chart Stats. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
24. "Gold & Platin Datenbank" (in German). IFPI Austria. March 29, 2002. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
25. "Gold and platinum certifications – Singles – 2002". Belgian Entertainment Association. Hung Medien. February 18, 2002. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
26. "Certifications Singles Argent – année 2002" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. April 17, 2002. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Paid+My+Dues')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
28. "Salgstroféer" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved June 20, 2009.
29. "Awards 2001". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 20, 2009.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics