Paid My Dues

"Paid My Dues" is a song by American recording artist Anastacia from her second studio album, Freak of Nature (2001). It was released on November 6, 2001 as the album's lead single. The song was written by Anastacia, Greg Lawson, Damon Sharpe and LaMenga Kafi, and produced by Ric Wake with additional production by Richie Jones. The song became a hit, reaching number one in Denmark, Hungary, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland as well as peaking within the top ten in several other mainland European countries.

"Paid My Dues"
Single by Anastacia
from the album Freak of Nature
B-side	"I Dreamed You" "Funk Medley"
Released	November 6, 2001
Recorded	2001
Studio	Cove City Sound (Glen Cove, New York) Sony Music (New York City, New York)
Genre	Pop R&B
Length	3:21
Label	Epic Daylight
Songwriter(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)
Audio sample
Paid My Dues file help

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 Australia (ARIA)[5] 39 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[6] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 6 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8] 16 Denmark (Tracklisten)[9] 1 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[10] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 18 France (SNEP)[12] 10 Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 3 Greece (IFPI)[14] 6 Hungary (Mahasz)[15] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[16] 34 Italy (FIMI)[17] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 24 Norway (VG-lista)[21] 1 Poland (Nielsen Music Control)[22] 2 Portugal (AFP)[23] 2 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[24] 3 Scotland (OCC)[25] 9 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[26] 7 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[29] 14

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[30] 92 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[31] 69 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[32] 47 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 64 Chart (2002) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[34] 14 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[35] 75 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[36] 15 France (SNEP)[37] 78 Germany (Official German Charts)[38] 26 Italy (FIMI)[39] 26 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[40] 38 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[41] 68 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[42] 36 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 11

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[44]	Gold	20,000^*
Belgium (BEA)[45]	Gold	25,000^*
France (SNEP)[46]	Gold	250,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[47]	Gold	250,000^^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[48]	Gold
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[49]	Gold	20,000^^
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Covers

German Metal Band Jaded Heart covered the song on their 2005 album "Helluva Time".

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. "Australian-charts.com – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
6. "Austriancharts.at – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
7. "Ultratop.be – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
8. "Ultratop.be – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
9. "Danishcharts.com – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Tracklisten. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
10. "European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 28th January 2002" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved June 22, 2009 – via Pandora Archive.
11. "Anastacia: Paid My Dues" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
12. "Lescharts.com – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
13. "Offiziellecharts.de – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
14. "Top 50 Singles" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on April 3, 2002. Retrieved December 23, 2020. See Best column.
15. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20 no. 4. January 19, 2002. p. 21. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
16. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Anastacia". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
17. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20 no. 2–3. January 12, 2002. p. 11. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
18. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 1, 2002" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved September 4, 2018.
19. "Dutchcharts.nl – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
20. "Charts.nz – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
21. "Norwegiancharts.com – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". VG-lista. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
22. "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on October 26, 2007.
23. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20 no. 14. March 30, 2002. p. 12. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
24. "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 2, saptamina 14.01–20.01, 2002" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on May 14, 2005. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
25. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
26. "Spanishcharts.com – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" Canciones Top 50.
27. "Swedishcharts.com – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
28. "Swisscharts.com – Anastacia – Paid My Dues". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
29. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
30. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2001". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
31. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2001" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
32. "Årslista Singlar, 2001" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
33. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2001". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved February 5, 2020.
34. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2002" (in German). Retrieved September 4, 2018.
35. "Jaaroverzichten 2002" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
36. "Year in Review – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2002" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21 no. 2–3. January 11, 2003. p. 14. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
37. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2002" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
38. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2002" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
39. "Top of the Music – Mix e Singoli" (PDF) (in Italian). FIMI. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
40. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2002". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
41. "Jaaroverzichten 2002" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
42. "Årslista Singlar, 2002" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
43. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2002" (in German). Retrieved September 4, 2018.
44. "Austrian single certifications – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
45. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2002". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
46. "French single certifications – Anastacia – Paid My Dues" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
47. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Anastacia; 'Paid My Dues')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
48. "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
49. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Anastacia; 'Paid My Dues')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 2, 2018.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics