It's My Life (Dr. Alban song)

"It's My Life" is a song by the Nigerian-Swedish artist Dr. Alban. It was released in April 1992 as the first single from his second studio album, One Love. Produced by Denniz PoP, the song was a hit in most of the European countries where it was released, peaking at number one in Sweden, Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium and number two in the UK. In France, the song was marketed twice: first in 1992, then in 1993 because the song was used in a TV advert for Tampax tampons (as it was in the UK and other countries in Europe in 1992), thus giving to the single a second career.[1] According to Infodisc website, about 91,000 copies of the single were sold in France.[2] The song had enough airplay on US college radio stations to reach the Billboard Modern rock tracks in 1992. "It's My Life" was re-released in 1994 in Australia, following the success of "Sing Hallelujah".

"It's My Life"
Single by Dr. Alban
from the album One Love
B-side	"Remix"
Released	25 February 1992 (Europe) April 1992 (US)
Recorded	1992
Genre	Eurodance, pop-rap
Length	4:00
Songwriter(s)	Dr Alban Denniz PoP
Producer(s)	Denniz PoP
Dr. Alban singles chronology
"(Sing Shi-Wo-Wo) Stop the Pollution" (1991) "It's My Life" (1992) "One Love" (1992)
Music video
"It's My Life" on YouTube

Critical reception

Larry Flick from Billboard magazine called it "a fast'n'furious cut".[3] He wrote that the European rapper/toaster "has previously been heralded for his sturdy dancehall releases. This time, however, he aims for mainstream approval with a gem of a jam that carefully skirts the line dividing hi-NRG and rave sectors. Anthemic chants are placed within a percolating vat of keyboard and percussion effects that will kick during peak-hour sets."[4] Linda Ryan from Gavin Report said it is a "mad creation".[5] Music Week commented, "A highly commercial house track, recorded in Sweden, it's basically a West Indian accented rap punctuated at regular intervals by a catchy chorus. Probable Top 10 hit."[6] R.S. Murthi from New Straits Times described the song as "a righteous declaration of independence" and added that it "show a genuine attempt at depth."[7]

Chart performance

"It's My Life" made a huge impact on the charts in Europe, becoming one of Dr. Alban's most successful songs to date. It peaked at number-one in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100. In addition, the single managed to climb into the Top 10 in Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it peaked at number 2 on September 20, 1992,[8] in its fourth week on the UK Singles Chart. It was held off reaching the top spot by The Shamen's "Ebeneezer Goode". Outside Europe, "It's My Life" reached number 2 on the Canadian RPM Dance Chart, number 3 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and number 10 in Zimbabwe. In Australia and New Zealand, it was a Top 50 hit. The song was awarded with a silver record in France, after 125,000 units were sold, and a platinum record in Austria and Germany, with a sale of 30,000 and 500,000 singles.

Music video

The music video of "It's My Life" was uploaded to YouTube in November 2009. As of August 2020, it has got more than 106,3 million views.[9]

Track listings

• CD single

1. "It's My Life" (radio edit) — 4:00
2. "It's My Life" (club edit) — 4:07

• CD maxi

1. "It's My Life" (radio edit) — 4:00
2. "It's My Life" (extended radio) — 7:04
3. "It's My Life" (extended) — 7:44

Personnel

Composers

• John Amatiello - Composer
• Chuck Anthony - Composer, Vocals (Background)
• Dr. Alban - Composer
• Jörgen Elofsson - Composer
• Peo Haggstrom - Composer
• Kristian Lundin - Composer
• Sonny Okosun - Composer
• Todd Terry - Composer
• Errol Thompson - Composer
• Jorge Vasconcelo - Composer

Vocals

• Dr. Alban (primary artist)
• Chuck Anthony (Background vocals)
• Atari
• Kofi Benitez & The Girls (Background vocals)
• Anneli Berg (Background vocals)
• Marilyn Bergman (Background vocals))
• Giovanna Bragazza (Background vocals)
• Gladys Delpilar (Background vocals)
• Toro Paola Choir (Background vocals)
• Poe & The Afrikan Conga Association (Background vocals)
• Rico (Background vocals)
• Bjorn Strom (Background vocals)

Technical

• Douglas Carr - Engineer, Producer
• Björn Engelmann - Mastering
• Anders Hansson - Arranger
• Rene "JM Fax" Hedemyr - Producer
• Denniz Pop - Producer
• Gundars Rullis - Engineer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1992–93) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 97 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 1 Canada Dance (RPM)[13] 2 Denmark (IFPI)[14] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[15] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 5 France (SNEP)[17] 13 Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 1 Greece (Virgin)[19] 2 Ireland (IRMA)[20] 2 Italy (FIMI)[21] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 49 Norway (VG-lista)[25] 6 Portugal (AFP)[26] 9 Spain (AFYVE)[27] 11 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[28] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 2 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[30] 2 UK Music Week Dance Singles[31] 9 US Billboard Hot 100[32] 88 US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[32] 3 US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[32] 4 US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[32] 28 Zimbabwe (ZIMA)[33] 10 Chart (1994) Peak position Australia (ARIA Singles Chart)[34] 43 Chart (2016) Peak position Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[35] 56

Year-end charts Chart (1992) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[36] 1 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[37] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[38] 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[39] 2 Germany (Official German Charts)[40] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] 1 Chart (1993) Position Canada Dance (RPM)[42] 24 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Austria[43] Platinum 15 November 1993 30,000 France[2] Silver 1993 125,000 Germany[44] Platinum 1992 500,000

Other uses

The song was used in a TV advert for Tampax tampons (as it was in the UK and other countries in Europe in 1992), thus giving to the single a second career.[1]

The song was featured in the 1993 Bollywood film Baazigar and 1994 Bollywood film Suhaag.

It was covered by Grup Vitamin, famous Turkish parody group, as "İsmail" at Yandık Desene album in 1992 and Endoplazmik Retikulum one in 2015.

The song was used the first air and song in Chilean radio Rock & Pop in December 1, 1992

It's My Life (Don't Worry)

"It's My Life (Don't Worry)"
Single by Chawki featuring Dr. Alban
Released	13 November 2014[45]
Recorded	2014
Genre	Eurodance
Length	3:29
Label	RedOne Records
Songwriter(s)	Dr Alban Denniz PoP Travon Potts RedOne and Rush
Producer(s)	RedOne
Chawki singles chronology
"Time of Our Lives" (2014) "It's My Life (Don't Worry)" (2014)
Dr. Alban singles chronology
"Colour the World" (1999) "It's My Life (Don't Worry" (2014)
Music video
"It's My Life (Don't Worry)" on YouTube

In 2014, a remake of the song was released by Moroccan singer Chawki featuring vocals by Dr. Alban. The song with amended lyrics also known as "It's My Life (Don't Worry)" was produced by RedOne and released on RedOne Records. A music video was also shot for the release. The single charted in the French SNEP official Singles Chart.

Chawki also released a bilingual English/French version of the song titled "It's My Life (C'est Ma Vie)"

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
France (SNEP)[46]	187

References

1. Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, p. 252 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)
2. French certifications, database Infodisc.fr Archived 2012-07-13 at WebCite (Retrieved April 11, 2010)
3. Flick, Larry (1992-12-12). "Dance Trax: Roc & Kato Shaking Up The Deep-House Sound" (PDF). Billboard. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
4. "Billboard: Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 2018-01-23.
5. Ryan, Linda (1993-03-05). "Alternative: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 49. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
6. "Mainstream: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 1992-08-22. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
7. "Impassioned Mission". New Straits Times. 1992-07-01. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
8. "Official Singles Chart Top 75 20 September 1992 - 26 September 1992". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
9. "Dr. Alban - It's My Life". YouTube.
10. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Dr. Alban – It's My Life" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
12. "Ultratop.be – Dr. Alban – It's My Life" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
13. "Canadian Dance peak".
14. "Top 10 Denmark" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
16. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
17. "Lescharts.com – Dr. Alban – It's My Life" (in French). Les classement single.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Dr. Alban – It's My Life". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
19. "Top 10 Greece" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
20. Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie Archived 2011-10-12 at WebCite (Retrieved August 12, 2008)
21. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (20 June 1992). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books.
22. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dr. Alban" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Dr. Alban – It's My Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
24. "Charts.nz – Dr. Alban – It's My Life". Top 40 Singles.
25. "Norwegiancharts.com – Dr. Alban – It's My Life". VG-lista.
26. "Top 10 Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
27. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
28. "Swedishcharts.com – Dr. Alban – It's My Life". Singles Top 100.
29. "Swisscharts.com – Dr. Alban – It's My Life". Swiss Singles Chart.
30. "It's My Life", UK Singles Chart Official Charts Company (Retrieved August 12, 2008)
31. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 1992-09-12. p. 20. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
32. Billboard Allmusic.com (Retrieved August 12, 2008)
33. • Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
34. "australian-charts.com > Dr. Alban - It's My Life (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
35. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
36. 1992 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
37. "Jaaroverzichten 1992". Ultratop. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
38. "Single top 100 over 1992" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
39. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1992". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
40. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
41. 1992 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived 2013-10-22 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
42. "Canada Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1993". RPM. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
43. Austrian certifications ifpi.at Archived 2013-07-01 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
44. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Dr. Alban; 'It's My Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 20, 2008.
45. "It's My Life (don't Worry) [feat. Dr. Alban] - Single by Chawki" – via music.apple.com.
46. "Lescharts.com – Chawki Feat. Dr. Alban – It's My Life (Don't Worry)" (in French). Les classement single.