Better Off Alone (Alice Deejay song)

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"Better Off Alone"
Single by Alice Deejay
from the album Who Needs Guitars Anyway?
Released July 19, 1998[1]
Format
Recorded 1998
Genre
Length 3:34
Label
Writer(s)
  • Sebastian Molijn
  • Eelke Kalberg[3]
Producer(s) DJ Jurgen
Alice Deejay singles chronology
"Better Off Alone"
(1998)		 "Back in My Life"
(1999)
Music sample
"Better Off Alone"
21 second excerpt where the song's primary line is featured.

"Better Off Alone" is a song by Dutch group Alice Deejay. It was released on July 19, 1998 as the lead single from their debut album Who Needs Guitars Anyway?. It was originally written and released in 1998 on Canadian label ISBA Music Entertainment Inc. but was re-released in 1999 by Positiva, Universal and Republic.

Composition

"Better Off Alone" is written in the key of G sharp minor with a fast tempo of 137 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of E–G♯m—D♯m–F♯, and the vocals span from B3 to G♯4.[4]

Production

"Better Off Alone" was initially an instrumental track.[3] DJ Sebastiaan Molijn came up with the lyric "Do you think you're better off alone?" after his romantic partner had left him. Molijn stated that "I started humming the vocal melody while the track was playing and we decided to add vocals. It made the emotion of the song as real as it gets. One simple line that said it all."[3] Judith Pronk served as singer for the album.[5]

Style

Entertainment Weekly described the song as "techno-pop" while Spin described it as a "trance-fueled Eurodance".[5][6]

Release and chart performance

Pronk changed her stagename to Alice Deejay after the track was released. The track was released to dance clubs and became an international hit in clubs reaching #2 on the Billboard club charts and a top ten club chart worldwide. The song then became a hit reaching #2 in Canada, #25 in the U.S. and #2 in the UK. It went on to sell over 600,000 copies in the UK and become one of the country's best-selling singles of 1999, despite the radio edit not being on the commercial CD release.[7] The song was in the top 100 best selling singles in Australia for 2000 as compiled by the Australian Recording Industry Association.[8]

Reception

Entertainment Weekly gave the song a B rating, describing the song as "waaaay lite" with "barely-there lyrics" referring to the song as having "catchy, throwaway results".[6]

The song was later sampled for French DJ David Guetta's 2013 single "Play Hard", featuring R&B singer-songwriters Akon and Ne-Yo, from his album Nothing but the Beat 2.0.

Track listings and formats

Charts and certifications

Cover versions and samples

In 2001, rock group Weezer covered the song during sessions for their album Maladroit. In 2007, New Jersey rock group Paulson released a rock cover of the song on their Calling on You EP.[40] In January 2008, Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa sampled the instrumental portion of the song for his single "Say Yeah".[41] A cover by The Secret Handshake is an iTunes exclusive bonus track on their 2009 album My Name Up in Lights. Brooklyn duo Matt and Kim frequently cover this track during their live sets. UK hardcore producer S3RL also covered this track featuring Tamika. Hardstyle artists Neilio and Sound Rusherz released a cover of the song in early July 2011.[42] Michigan band Salem released a cover in 2011.[43] David Guetta heavily sampled the song in 2013 for the song "Play Hard", which features Ne-Yo and Akon. Giraffage remixed this track and frequently plays it during his live sets.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p398650/charts-awards/billboard-singles
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ "Alice Deejay: Better Off Alone" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  27. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone" (in French). Les classement single.
  28. ↑ "Musicline.de – Alice Deejay Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – DJ Jurgen presents Alice Deejay search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  32. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone". Top 40 Singles.
  33. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone". VG-lista.
  34. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone". Singles Top 60.
  35. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone". Swiss Singles Chart.
  36. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1999-08-14" UK Singles Chart.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Better Off Alone in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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