Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)

Album: Bittersweet World (2007)
Charted: 24
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Songfacts®:

  • This was written by Ashlee Simpson, the Ethiopian/American musician Kenna, and Timbaland, who also produced it.
  • Simpson explained on MTV News that this "leave me alone" song was not about her mother but about everyone in her life: "It's about too many voices, too many people having their own opinion. So it's not necessarily about my mom. I love my mom - there's no sides here - and my dad gets to hear me say all the sweetest things about him. It's mainly a fun, dancey song. I think it's got a little bit of an '80s feel to it, too - you'll hear that in it. But at the same time, it's Timbaland."
  • The surreal video was directed by Alan Ferguson, who was also responsible for Fall Out Boy's "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" promo. Simpson's boyfriend Pete Wentz is the bassist and primary lyricist for the band. In People magazine Simpson explained the inspiration for the video: "I went to [Salvador] Dali's museum in Paris and was really inspired by the surrealism. I wanted to do an ambitious video [where] you basically go into another world and never know what's real. I am 5 different people in the video. The real me is in therapy and then it all turns into a painting. For me it's like an art piece. Its fun to do all of the crazy hair and make-up changes and different characters."
  • Though this didn't chart in the Hot 100, this was popular in the clubs. Simpson told SheKnows.com about seeing the song she'd created making people dance in the very forum she wanted people to hear it: "It was a great experience. I'm not a big club girl (laughs). It was funny to be in clubs every night. It was cool to see people react to it. I didn't know if these people would be into it or not. It was great to see the audience accept it and really like it."
  • This was voted the Worst Track of the Year at the 2008 Virgin Music Awards.

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