"I'm Beautiful Dammitt!" | ||||
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Single by Uncanny Alliance | ||||
from the album The Groove Won't Bite | ||||
Released | 1993 | |||
Format | 12" single and CD and Cassette single | |||
Genre | Dance | |||
Label | A&M Records | |||
Writer(s) | David Cole, Orville Brimsley Adams | |||
Producer | Manny Lehman Mark Mazzetti |
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Uncanny Alliance singles chronology | ||||
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"I'm Beautiful Dammitt!" (sometimes printed without punctuation, sometimes simply titled "I'm Beautiful") was the second single released from the Uncanny Alliance LP, The Groove Won't Bite, released as a CD single and 12".
The song, which is typical of the sample-heavy house music of the early 1990s, includes mostly spoken word vocal samples performed by lead singer/vocalist E.V. Mystique. She is asserting her own beauty while encouraging the listener to embrace their own inner beauty despite what others might perceive as lesser attributes. In the chorus she lists things that the listener should never feel they are "not too", including "white," "black," "short," "tall," "short", "red," "small", etc... Because of the camp value of the song (and the general high camp attitude of the band's persona) the song became an anthem for gay pride. The song's overall theme is that one can excel in life if one doesn't let others bring one down through oppression. As Mystique says, "Yes, well...I just recently discovered that I'm fierce. So...I want a job. I want to work! I want to serve! There's a lot of things I could do if you just give me a chance!" (The terms "work" and "serve" are gay slang, and thus serve as a double entendre.)
"I'm Beautiful" | ||||
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Single by Bette Midler | ||||
from the album Bathhouse Betty | ||||
Released | 1999 | |||
Format | 12" single and CD and Cassette single | |||
Genre | Dance | |||
Label | Warner Bros. Records | |||
Writer(s) | David Cole, Orville Brimsley Adams | |||
Producer | Manny Lehman Mark Mazzetti Bette Midler |
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Bette Midler singles chronology | ||||
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In 1998 singer Bette Midler covered the song, retitled simply "I'm Beautiful", for her album "Bathhouse Betty". That album, the title of which references her time as a performer in gay bathhouses, was catered to the gay community. As such she revised the lyrics to the song to be more specifically directed towards the struggle of gay people to be accepted. In particular there is the new lyric: "'Go away little boy' all the kids say! Everybody on the block says they think you're gay!" The song was released as a single in 1999 with numerous dance remixes, one of which reached #1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play Chart and #8 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi Singles Sales.
12": USA (Warner Bros 0-44586)
CDM: USA (Warner 2-44586)
12": USA (Warner PRO-A-9587) Promo
12": USA (Warner PRO-A-9591) Promo
12": USA (Warner) Promo