I Promised Myself

"I Promised Myself" is a song written and originally performed by British English singer Nick Kamen. Originally released on his album Move Until We Fly (1990), it was released as a single in the same year and, as a remix in 2004. The original version achieved success in numerous countries, including Austria and Sweden where it topped the charts, although did not reach the top 40 in his native country. It has been covered multiple times by artists such as Dead or Alive, A-Teens and Basshunter.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

A-Teens version

"I Promised Myself" was covered by Swedish pop group A-Teens and released on 28 April 2004 as the group's final single until 2026. It was one of three new songs to be included on their 2004 compilation album, Greatest Hits. It was produced by Grizzly and Tysper.

Music video

The video was directed by Gustav Johnson and was filmed in Sweden and shows the band's members images inserted in scenes from past videos, so that they appear to be interacting with the teenagers they were before.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Basshunter version

Swedish musician Basshunter covered the song on his fifth studio album, Bass Generation. The single was released on 30 November 2009. It was produced by Basshunter.^[18][a] "I Promised Myself" is two minutes and 38 seconds long and has a tempo of 150 beats per minute.^[19] Basshunter describing his cover of "I Promised Myself" said that it has similar setup to "Now You're Gone" with improved bass drums and bassline and it is more rhythmic.^[20] Grant Black from BBC describing the song said that it has no sign of a verse, and it sounds like previous Basshunter songs. In his opinion song with this sentiment should not have a sniff of a dance backing but he also understood that Basshunter can't make songs without bass. He appreciated that Basshunter really does try to sing, and he kind of pulls it off.^[21]

Music video

Music video for "I Promised Myself" was directed in Málaga by Alex Herron.^[22] Music video was released by Hard2Beat Records on 15 October 2009.^[23] Anders Anderson was assistant director and Maz Makhani was camera operator.^[24] On 19 November, the Pete Hammond Remix was released.^[25]

In the music video, Basshunter goes through all the trouble of finding Aylar Lie after receiving a voicemail from a friend telling him that he needs to get to the hospital. Whilst in the taxi to the hospital he looks out the window and then down at his phone in his hands that shows pictures of Aylar Lie and then recalls memories of them together. The taxi then gets stuck in traffic so Basshunter starts walking to the hospital. He then arrives at the hospital and asks where he can find Aylar and goes in search for her whilst remembering the last night he saw her. He finds the room, opens the door but then finds her with her ex-boyfriend, Lucas, from previous music videos.

Charts

Other versions

• In 1999, it was covered and released as a single by Lars A. Fredriksen.^[27]
• In 2000, it was covered and released as a single by John Davies, reaching number 46 in Germany and number 49 in Switzerland.^[28] It was also released on the album Fragile, by Dead or Alive.
• In 2007, it was covered and released as a single by José Galisteo.^[29]
• In 2009, it was covered and released as a single by DJ Antoine, reaching number 40 in Switzerland.^[30]
• In 2014, a German Schlager version was released titled "Pommes mit Senf (I Promised Myself)" by Robert Haag and Markus Becker.^[31]
• In 2020, it was covered and released as a single by Alfredo Nini, Italian DJ and producer.^[32]

Notes

1. ^ According to the Bass Generation booklet, the song was produced by Basshunter and Scott Simons.^[33]

References

1. ^ Danish Charts Archive. 3 August 1990.
2. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 50. 30 June 1990. p. IV. OCLC 29800226. – via World Radio History.
3. ^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish). 1st ed. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
4. ^ "Classifiche" (in Italian). Musica e dischi. Retrieved 29 May 2022. Select "Singoli" in the "Tipo" field, type "I Promised Myself" in the "Titolo" field and press "cerca".
5. ^ "Playlist Report: Italy". Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 5. 3 February 1990. p. 18.
6. ^ "Top 3 Singles in Europe". Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 50. 15 December 1990. p. VII. OCLC 29800226. – via World Radio History.
7. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1990" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
8. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1990 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
9. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles – 1990". Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 36. OCLC 29800226. – via World Radio History.
10. ^ "European Airplay Top 50: 1990". Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 40. Retrieved 24 April 2026. – via worldradiohistory.com.
11. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts – 1990" (in German). Offizielle Deutsche Charts. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
12. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
13. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
14. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1990" (in German). hitparade.ch. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
15. ^ "Årstopplistan 1990, Singlar" (in Swedish). Grammotex. Archived from the original on 16 February 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
16. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2004 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
17. ^ "Årslista Singlar, 2004" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
18. ^ "I Promised Myself (Remixes)". Qobuz. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
19. ^ "I Promised Myself". Beatport. Retrieved 6 May 2021.^{[dead link]}
20. ^ "Basshunter – I Promised Myself (Bass Generation Out Now)". 11 September 2009. Archived 2021-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 8 May 2021. – via YouTube
21. ^ Grant Black (29 November 2009). "Basshunter – 'I Promised Myself'". BBC. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
22. ^ "Basshunter – I Promised Myself (Behind the Scenes) (Out Now!)". December 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2021. – via YouTube.
23. ^ "Basshunter – I Promised Myself (Official Video) (Out Now)". 15 October 2009. Archived 10 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 May 2021. – via YouTube.
24. ^ "Basshunter – I Promised Myself (Behind the Scenes) (Out Now!)". 1 December 2009. pp. 3:31–3:33. Retrieved 8 May 2021. – via YouTube.
25. ^ "Basshunter – I Promised Myself (Pete Hammond Remix) (Out Now)". 19 November 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2021. – via YouTube.
26. ^ "Deutsche-DJ-Playlist" (in German). Deutsche-DJ-Playlist. p. 2. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
27. ^ "Lars A. Fredriksen – I Promised Myself". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
28. ^ "John Davies – I Promised Myself" (in German). hitparade.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
29. ^ "Jose Galisteo – I Promised Myself". spanishcharts.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
30. ^ "DJ Antoine – I Promised Myself" (in German). hitparade.com. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
31. ^ "Robert Haag & Markus Becker – Pommes mit Senf" (in German). germancharts.de. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
32. ^ "I Promised Myself – Single" (in Italian). Apple Music. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
33. ^ Bass Generation (Booklet). Hard2Beat. 2009. H2BCD14.