Free

**"Free"** is a song recorded by Kuboian singer-songwriter Ericka Streets. The song was composed by independent producer Young Seedee and Ericka herself, the latter of which was the sole lyricist. The song was released in Kuboia and neighbouring countries by Oyea Records on 4 October 2005 as the second single from Ericka's second studio album, *That Girl*, and internationally on 10 October by Virgin Records.

Musically, "Free" is an uptempo dance-pop song with pulsating house-influenced beats and soft, breathy vocals. Despite the upbeat production, its lyrics describe and are sung from the point-of-view of a woman trapped in a controlling, abusive marriage who wants to be free and be herself. The woman was revealed in 2007 to be Zara Dawson, with Ericka acting as her "interpreter" at a time where Dawson could not speak out for herself.

## Backgroudn and release

According to Ericka, the song was created as a response to a letter she had received from Zara Dawson in March 2004. The letter talked about the abusive treatment Dawson was receiving in her marriage and ended with a plea to Ericka to "get [her] story out there, but not reveal who it is". Once receiving the letter, Ericka wrote "Free" over a period of two days and then faxed a photocopy of the lyrics to Dawson.

A week later, Ericka approached independent producer Young Seedee. According to Young Seedee, *"She gave me a sheet with the lyrics and a request to make it upbeat, not a ballad. Then we recorded an acapella demo, and after that, she just walked out."* Young Seedee also clarified that Ericka's reasoning for the decision to make "Free" an uptempo dance-pop song was that "*a good activist*", referring to the song being a way to raise awareness of the abuse Dawson was going through, "*finds different ways to express their viewpoints*". The song's instrumental took two weeks to compose, and the song was finished by May 2004.

Ericka intended "Free" to appear on her debut studio album, *We Go*, but it was not finished in time for the album's release. It was held over for *First Call for Global Success* instead, where it was released as the second lead single. While intended to be released in August 2005, the domestic release was postponed to 4 October 2005 with a B-side of "Freaky Freak". Internationally, it was released on 10 October 2005 by Capitol Records. For airplay and the edited edition of its parent album, Ericka recorded a clean version of the song where "I don't give a shit now" is changed to "I won't give it up now".

## Critical reception

"Free" received generally positive reviews from music critics, several of which compared it to Britney Spears' 2001 single "Overprotected".

## Music videos

Two music videos were filmed for "Free" - the first was shot in late July 2005 on a soundstage.

## Track listing

* **Kaninichia enhanced CD single (October 2005)**

1. "Free" (explicit)
2. "Free" (edited)
3. "Free" (instrumental)
4. "Freaky Freak" (explicit)
5. "Free" (first video; explicit)

* **Kaninichia enhanced CD single (December 2005)**

1. "Free" (edited)
2. "Free" (explicit)
3. "Free" (instrumental)
4. "Free" (second video; edited)

* **Kaninichian "budget"/International CD single**

1. "Free" (explicit or edited version, depending on retailer)
2. "Free" (instrumental)

* **Sing-along VCD single**

1. "Free" (karaoke version of second video; edited on right audio track and instrumental on left audio track)

* **DVD single**

1. "Free" (second video; explicit)
2. "Free" (first video; explicit)
3. "More Than Just a Story" (with Spy Fandel; bonus video)

## Spanish version

A Latin house remix of "Free" with Spanish-language lyrics, entitled **"Libre"**, was released as a bonus track in Hispanophone countries on *First Call for Global Success: Bejewelled*. Local branches of EMI released the song as a single on 9 July 2007 in countries where it was included on the album. "Libre" managed to peak at number two on the PROMUSICAE Top 20 Singles chart in Spain, and received large amounts of airplay in Latin America. It charted in Ericka's native Kuboia at number seventy on the airplay chart, despite not being officially released domestically at the time.

"Libre" was not released elsewhere until 4 June 2009, when Favelopia Records (Universal Music Group internationally) included it on Ericka's remix album *Remix, Babe!*. It was released as a single on 15 September 2009, peaking at number twenty-three in Ericka's native Kuboia. In Salliland, it peaked within the top-twenty on the Salliland Top 100 and reached the summit of the Non-English Top 40 chart. Remaining at number one for twelve weeks, "Libre" was the longest-running number one on said chart until its record was broken with "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. However, "Libre" remains the longest-running number one on the Non-English Top 40 by a female artist.

### Music videos

To promote *First Call for Global Success: Bejewelled*, a music video for "Libre" was first made out of pre-existing footage of Ericka visiting Ibiza Town and Cancún. The video was sent to MTV Latin America and MTV Spain in May 2007 and was immediately withdrawn when the proper video had been completed. The placeholder video has never been officially put up on Ericka's Vevo channel, but Ericka posted it on Instagram in 2020.

The proper music video for "Libre" was filmed in May 2007 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It premiered on MTV Spain on 13 July 2007, and received a domestic release on 2 October 2009 on MTV Kuboia.

#### Synopsis

The video revolves around Ericka as a salsa dancer who has been forced to perform in a cage for a rich man, but convinces him to let her out so they can dance together. While dancing with him, she reaches behind and slips laxatives into his beer, then flees to a meadow where she performs a Janet Jackson-inspired dance routine with other women - namely, they recreated the choreography from "All for You". Ericka explained that the decision to do so was to be ironic, as the man is getting "none for him anymore". The original screenplay of the video had Ericka poisoning the beer, but MTV Spain requested it to be censored as it would not be allowed to receive airplay otherwise.