Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)

"Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)"
Single by Ashlee Simpson
from the album Bittersweet World
Released December 11, 2007 (2007-12-11)
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2007
Genre Synthpop, electropop
Length 3:36
Label Geffen
Writer(s) Ashlee Simpson, King Logan, Jerome Harmon, Santi White, Kenna
Producer Timbaland, King Logan, Jerome Harmon
Ashlee Simpson singles chronology
"Invisible"
(2006)
"Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)"
(2007)
"Little Miss Obsessive"
(2008)

"Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" is a song recorded by American recording artist Ashlee Simpson. The song was written by Simpson, King Logan, Jerome Harmon, Santi White, Kenna, and produced by Timbaland, Logan, and Harmon for Simpson's third studio album, Bittersweet World.

The song officially premiered on AOL Music on November 30,[1] and it was digitally released on December 11.[2] Simpson's website announced on January 23, 2008 that an "Outta My Head" digital EP, including "Outta My Head" and two other songs, would be released on February 5.[3]

Contents

Background and composition

The song was first mentioned in a September 2007 MTV News article describing a sneak peek of Simpson's album; the article gave its title as "Ay Ay Ay". Simpson's father Joe Simpson joked that the song was about her mother Tina, while Tina replied that the song was also about Joe; Simpson herself said that it was "not about my mom. I just have too many voices in my head, everyone having their own opinion."[4]

On November 13, 2007, Simpson told MTV News at CosmoGIRL!'s Born to Lead Awards that the album was completed and that it would be released in March 2008, with its first single, "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)", to be released in January. She described "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" as a "fun, dancey song" with "a little bit of an '80s feel" and said that it was about all of the people in her life. She said that the video would be filmed in December.[5] In December, speaking about the song, she referred to the need to "have your own creativity and place" away from others and how those other voices and opinions can lead to a feeling of frustration: "At the end of the day you're like 'Ahhh! Everybody stop!'".[6]

Reception

Critical reception

Reviews of the single were mostly positive. In their review of the song, Billboard noted that it was a "fun little romp, but ['Outta My Head'] may have difficulty returning Simpson to top 40 favor".[7] Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson noted that although the song's "beat [was] catchy enough...her vocals are sorta grating".[8] In its Bittersweet World review, Rolling Stone said that the song "channels Missing Persons",[9] while the Houston Chronicle said in its album review that "Outta My Head" "has the same synth claps and skulking groove of Madonna's "Burning Up" and a booming, Devo-esque chorus."[10] The New York Daily News, reviewing the album, said that "you won't be able to get a song like 'Outta My Head' outta yours".[11] The Washington Post was more critical, describing the song as "an attempt at '80s synth-pop that winds up cribbing its melody from Men at Work".[12]

Chart performance

"Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" failed to impact radio in the U.S. upon its release.[13] It has sold about 117,000 digital downloads as of mid-March 2008,[14] and it reached number 21 on the Bubbling Under Billboard Hot 100 chart, failing to chart on the Billboard 100. Outta My Head (Ay ya ya) is the only single from Ashlee Simpson that didn't join in the Billboard Hot 100[13] On the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, "Outta My Head" debuted at number 30 and then rose to number sixteen in its second week in based solely on downloads. It then dropped to #22, then #31 in its fourth week only on downloads. In its fifth week it rose up to #22 and stayed in top thirty for over four weeks, due to its CD single release. The video was named as cable music station Channel V's "Ripe Clip of The Week". "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" is Simpson's first single in the United Kingdom since "Boyfriend" in early 2006. It was released to UK music channels on April 1, and received extensive airplay on most music channels, but received no Radio Airplay. It peaked at #1 on Box Breakers on The Box. On April 27, "Outta My Head" entered the UK Singles Chart at #34[15] on downloads alone; it then climbed to #24 in following weeks. So far "Outta My Head" has sold over 25,000 copies in the UK since April. Outta My Head was still in UK Singles Chart over 2 months after its official release. "Outta My Head" entered the Irish Singles Chart at #20 on downloads alone. It peaked at #15 after physical release, giving Ashlee her fourth Top 20 hit in Ireland.

Music video

Directed by Alan Ferguson,[16] Simpson filmed the music video for the song over about 48 hours[17] on December 6– 7. The desert scenes were filmed on the first day in Acton, California,[18] while the indoor straitjacket scene was filmed on the second day in Burbank, California. Kenna, a co-writer of the song, played a reporter in the video.[19] In an interview with Billboard, she described the video as having surrealist influences, mentioning Salvador Dali and Being John Malkovich.[2] Her boyfriend (now ex-husband) Pete Wentz described it as "probably the weirdest video I've seen of hers" and said that it, like the song, "has this kind of multiple personality".[16] The video for the single premiered on December 19,[6] and Simpson appeared on the December 20 episode of MTV's Total Request Live for the video's premiere on the show.[20] Simpson described the video as being "ambitious" and "like an art piece" and said that it involves going into "another world and never know[ing] what's real".[6] The "Outta My Head" music video had been streamed over two million times as of March 2008.[21] By early September, the video had been viewed more than five million times on YouTube. As of July 2009 the video has been streamed over six and a half million times, making the video her most watched video on the social network youtube.

The video begins with Simpson lying on a couch in therapy; her therapist, apparently based on Sigmund Freud, has fallen asleep. Soon the walls of the office melt away into a surreal desert landscape (including a Dalí-esque melting clock), where another, dark-haired version of Simpson sits atop a floating Rubik's Cube and the giant head of a statue in Simpson's likeness lies on the ground. There are also frequent flashes of Simpson on the couch in therapy again, this time in the desert rather than the office. Simpson is pursued by people but trips and falls to the ground. Afterwards she listens to a recording and begins singing along, but soon she is surrounded by interviewers, photographers (one of them having a camera for a head), and autograph-seekers, and she faints. When she awakes, she finds she has been tied up by tiny people(a reference to Gulliver's Travels); when she breaks free, she again awakes, this time in a bedroom. The bedroom wall is rolled away to reveal a studio set where another version of Simpson is singing and dancing in a what seems to look like a dress by Gareth Pugh, similar to Kylie Minogue's video of "In My Arms". As the real Simpson watches from her bed, where an interviewer appears and begins asking her questions, the robot Simpson eventually malfunctions and begins to explode, falling to the ground. Simpson tries to escape from this scene, fighting off interviewers and cameramen, but is captured by doctors from a mental institution and taken away in an ambulance. In her room, Simpson, now in a straitjacket, finds herself again surrounded by interviewers and cameramen; this time she bounces off the walls and spins around in the air as the video ends.[22]

Formats and track listings

iTunes single

  1. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (No Intro Version) - 3:30

iTunes single EP

  1. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" - 3:37

Walmart CD Single/Australian CD Single/UK CD Single

  1. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" - 3:37
  2. "L.O.V.E." (Missy Underground Mix) featuring Missy Elliott - 3:26

Australian Single

  1. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" - 3:39
  2. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" [Dave Audé Remix] {Radio Edit} - 4:07

Digital EP
February 5, 2008

  1. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" - 3:37
  2. "Rule Breaker" (from Bittersweet World) - 3:21
  3. "Catch Me When I Fall" (from I Am Me) - 4:00

Promo

  1. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Main) - 3:39
  2. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Instrumental) - 3:49
  3. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (A capella) - 3:45

Official Remixes

  1. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Dave Aude Club Mix) - 7:20
  2. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Dave Aude Club Dub) - 7:10
  3. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Dave Aude Instrumental) - 7:10
  4. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Dave Aude Radio Edit) - 4:06
  5. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Dave Aude Clean Radio Edit) - 4:06
  6. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Charles Feelgood Club Mix) - 6:02
  7. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Charles Feelgood Dub) - 5:02
  8. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (Jeremy Word Club Mix) - 6:49
  9. "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" (DJ AM + Eli Escobar Remix) - 6:09

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak[23][24]
position
Australian Singles Chart 16
Austrian Singles Chart 71
Canadian Hot 100 59
European Hot 100 Singles[25] 37
German Singles Chart 30
Irish Singles Chart 15
UK Singles Chart 24
U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles 21

Release history

Country Date Format
United States December 11, 2007
Australia February 11, 2008
United Kingdom April 20, 2008 iTunes
Compact disc
Germany May 16, 2008

References

  1. ^ "Ashlee Simpson, 'Outta My Head' - Song Premiere", AOL Music, November 30, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Jonathan Cohen, "Ashlee Goes 'Surreal' For New Video", Billboard.com, December 7, 2007.
  3. ^ "Digital EP Release!", ashleesimpsonmusic.com, January 23, 2008.
  4. ^ Jennifer Vineyard, "Ashlee Simpson's Bad-Girl Alter Ego Rules New Timbaland-Produced Album", MTV News, September 9, 2007.
  5. ^ Jennifer Vineyard, "Ashlee Simpson Talks About Her 'Highs And Lows,' New LP At CosmoGirl Awards", MTV News, November 13, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c Jessica Herndon, "Ashlee Simpson Talks About Her New 'Outta My Head' Video", People.com, December 19, 2007.
  7. ^ Chuck Taylor. Producers: Timbaland, King Logan, Jerome Harmon. Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  8. ^ Simon Vozick-Levinson. Snap Judgement: Ashlee Simpson's "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)" video. December 20, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  9. ^ Caryn Ganz, Rolling Stone review of Bittersweet World, May 1, 2008.
  10. ^ Joey Guerra, Bittersweet World review, Houston Chronicle, April 21, 2008.
  11. ^ Jim Farber, "Ashlee Simpson's 'Bittersweet World' is back in sync", Daily News, April 22, 2008.
  12. ^ Allison Stewart, "Ashlee's 'World': Overpopulated And Empty", The Washington Post, April 22, 2008, page C01.
  13. ^ a b Keith Caulfield, "OUTTA MY TRACKLIST" (Ask Billboard), Billboard.com, March 7, 2008.
  14. ^ "Ashlee Simpson Sets Date For Third Album", Billboard.com, March 17, 2008.
  15. ^ Neil Wilkes, "Madonna scores second week at No. 1", Digital Spy, April 27, 2008.
  16. ^ a b Jennifer Vineyard, "Ashlee Simpson Hears Voices, Gets No Help From Timbaland In Surreal New Video", MTV News, December 12, 2007.
  17. ^ Interview on The Sauce, February 27, 2008.
  18. ^ "Being: Pepsi Smash Exclusive Webisode #1", Yahoo.com.
  19. ^ "Being: Pepsi Smash Exclusive Webisode #2", Yahoo.com.
  20. ^ TRL recap for December 2007 at the TRL Archive.
  21. ^ "Ashlee Simpson's BITTERSWEET WORLD Arrives April 22", Geffen press release (PRNewswire.com), March 20, 2008.
  22. ^ "Outta My Head" music video.
  23. ^ Billboard Bubbling Under peak position
  24. ^ Outta My Head Charts
  25. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/ashlee-simpson/chart-history/585404?f=349&g=Singles