"It's My Life" is a song by the Nigerian-Swedish artist Dr. Alban. It was released in February 1992 in Europe and in April 1992 in the US as the first single from his second studio album, One Love. Produced by Denniz PoP, the song was a hit in most of the European countries where it was released, peaking at number one in Sweden, Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium and number two in the UK. In France, the song was marketed twice: first in 1992, then in 1993 because the song was used in a TV advert for Tampax tampons (as it was in the UK and other countries in Europe in 1992), thus giving to the single a second career.[1] According to Infodisc website, about 91,000 copies of the single were sold in France.[2] The song had enough airplay on US college radio stations to reach the Billboard Modern rock tracks in 1992. "It's My Life" was re-released in 1994 in Australia, following the success of "Sing Hallelujah".
Dr. Alban has stated that the song took five hours to record. In the 2017 book Stars of 90's Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers by James Arena, he explained on the new sound of the song, "It's My Life" and another hit off the second album, "Sing Hallelujah!", had totally different sounds [compared to his 1990 debut single "Hello Afrika"], which I wanted to explore at the time. I left the "Hello Afrika" sound and did "It's My Life", which had more of a pop, catchy style. Keeping things fresh was very natural for us."[3]
Larry Flick from Billboard magazine called "It's My Life" "a fast'n'furious cut".[4] He wrote that the European rapper/toaster "has previously been heralded for his sturdy dancehall releases. This time, however, he aims for mainstream approval with a gem of a jam that carefully skirts the line dividing hi-NRG and rave sectors. Anthemic chants are placed within a percolating vat of keyboard and percussion effects that will kick during peak-hour sets."[5] Linda Ryan from the Gavin Report viewed it as a "mad creation".[6] Alan Jones from Music Week commented, "A highly commercial house track, recorded in Sweden, it's basically a West Indian accented rap punctuated at regular intervals by a catchy chorus. Probable Top 10 hit."[7] R.S. Murthi from New Straits Times described the song as "a righteous declaration of independence" and added that it shows "a genuine attempt at depth."[8]
"It's My Life" made a huge impact on the charts in Europe, becoming one of Dr. Alban's most successful songs to date. It peaked at number-one in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100. In addition, the single made it to the Top 10 in Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it peaked at number two on September 20, 1992,[9] in its fourth week on the UK Singles Chart. It was held off reaching the top spot by The Shamen's "Ebeneezer Goode". Outside Europe, "It's My Life" reached number two on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart, number three on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and number 10 in Zimbabwe. In Australia and New Zealand, it was a Top 50 hit. The song was awarded with a silver record in France, after 125,000 units were sold, and a platinum record in Austria and Germany, with a sale of 30,000 and 500,000 singles.