J'en ai marre!

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"J'en ai marre!"
Single by Alizée
from the album Mes courants électriques
Released21 February 2003
Recorded2002
GenreFrench pop, dance-pop
Length5:12
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)Mylène Farmer
Producer(s)
Alizée singles chronology
"Gourmandises"
(2001)
"J'en ai marre!"
(2003)
"J'ai pas vingt ans"
(2003)
Music video
"Alizée - J'en ai marre ! (Clip Officiel HD)" on YouTube

"J'en ai marre!" (English: "I'm fed up!") is a song performed by French singer Alizée, written by Mylène Farmer. Released in February 2003, the song is Alizée's fifth single as the lead artist, and was the first song from her second studio album Mes courants électriques. It charted at #4 in France and #2 in Japan.

The release included the single version of the song followed by an instrumental version. Later on, three remixes were made available in special editions of the single. Internationally, it was released as "I'm Fed Up!". In Japan, it was released as "Mon bain de mousse" ("My Foam Bath") along with a music video and a remix version of the song.

Background[edit]

Alizée told MTV Spain that the song was released as her comeback single because of its upbeat sound.[1]

Content[edit]

Internationally, the song was released as the English language translation and re-recording "I'm Fed Up!".

The title translates as "I'm fed up". The English translation is artistic rather than literal, lacking both the wordplay and some of the darkness of Mylène Farmer's French. In particular, the French "extrémistes à deux balles" may be translated as "cheap/worthless extremists" though to whom this refers is open to speculation. The French "délits dociles" is a pun which may mean "docile offence" or "docile delight", and also echoes "de lit", "of bed", but the translation does not attempt to render this and replaces it by a simple filler, "Twisting up my toes". The whinging big sister and the idiomatic French "annoying people who roll(drive) at 2km/h" of the chorus are both replaced by a different character, a stressed-out uncle, with various different but similarly annoying complaints.

The translation does however introduce some of its own novel English wordplay such as "I’m foamely ecstatic", which captures the playfulness and cross-line phrasing of the French the "mon etat aquatique" from another section of the song.

Live performances[edit]

The song is widely noted for its live TV performance routine which appeared on several French programmes as well as the UK's Top of the Pops. This featured distinctive choreography featuring a section of notable hip movement which, amongst other reactions, inspired the female Night Elf dance emote in the popular international video game World of Warcraft.

Music video[edit]

The video, filmed on 4 February 2003 and directed by Olivier Megaton, premiered 19 February 2003 on M6. It is the first video for a song from Alizée's second album. During the filming of the clip, the artist harmed her knees due to lack of appropriate protection, which led to a swelling.[1]

In the video, Alizée, dressed in a red jumpsuit, is enclosed in a glass cubicle, big enough for her to move freely; this scene represents a redfish swimming on an aquarium.[1] Some scenes show her creeping against the glass wall, some show her throwing a tennis ball towards the wall; one particular scene shows her throwing a camera to the ground and smashing it in the process. Throughout the video, water is poured into the cubicle, making Alizée wet. In the middle of the video, i.e. towards the final chorus, Alizée punches the cubicle and it breaks.

Formats and track listings[edit]

French CD Single

  1. "J'en ai marre !" – 4:35
  2. "J'en ai marre !" (Instrumental Mix) – 5:05

French CD maxi single

  1. "J'en ai marre !" (Single Version) – 4:35
  2. "J'en ai marre !" (Soft Skin Club Mix) – 7:40
  3. "J'en ai marre !" (Bubbly Club Remix) – 7:50
  4. "J'en ai marre !" (My Goldfish is Under me Remix) – 3:40

French 12" vinyl single

A Side:

  1. "J'en ai marre !" (Soft Skin Club Mix) – 7:40

B Side:

  1. "J'en ai marre !" (Bubbly Club Remix) – 7:50
  2. "J'en ai marre !" (My Goldfish is Under me Remix) – 3:40

Charts and sales[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Interview with Alizée (in Spanish). MTV Spain. 8 April 2003.
  2. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  3. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  4. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  7. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  8. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!". Top Digital Download. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  9. ^ "Polish Airplay Charts - Lista krajowa 27/2003". PiF PaF Production. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  10. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!". Singles Top 100. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Alizée – J'en ai marre!". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2003". Ultratop. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2003". Ultratop. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Top Singles SNEP 2003". SNEP. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2003 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2003". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "French single certifications – Alizée – J'en ai marre" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.