"Freed from Desire" is a 1996

1996 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...

 dance song recorded by the Italian artist Gala. Released as the first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 from her second album Come into My Life, it was a hit in many countries, topping the charts in France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Israel, Brazil, Greece and Denmark.

The track was released in the UK in July 1997 and peaked at #2 and spent 8 weeks inside the Top 10 and 14 weeks in total in the Top 75.

The song was composed by Gala, Filippo Andrea Carmeni and Maurizio Molella.

The verses contain the leitmotif

Leitmotif

A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...

 "He got his strong beliefs" while the refrain, consisted of numerous percussions, is characterized by the repetition of the syllable "na". Thanks to this hit, Gala achieved a great renown in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, although it was her second single.

"Freed from Desire" was also released in a remixed version in 2003 (by Happymen vs Gala) and 2008. It was performed in a remixed version in 2008 by French singer Lorie

Lorie

Laure Pester, professionally known as Lorie, is a French singer. Her fame can be attributed to producer, songwriter and composer Johnny Williams and her father–manager Dominique Pester...

, during her tour "Le Tour 2Lor". It was rereleased in a remixed version done by Klaas in 2011.

In 2005, the song was released in an acoustic version by Sagi Rei.

Track listings

CD single "Freed from Desire" (edit mix) — 3:21 "Freed from Desire" (full vocals mixx) — 4:13 CD maxi Europe "Freed from Desire" (radio mix) — 3 30 "Freed from Desire" (solid base remix) — 5:30 "Freed from Desire" (the paradise mix) — 8:35 "Freed from Desire" (full vocal extended mixx) — 4:17 NEWLIN Australia "Freed from Desire" (radio mix) — 3 32 "Freed from Desire" (paradise mix) — 8:37 "Freed from Desire" (full vocal mixx) — 4:17 "Freed from Desire" (whistle remix) — 6:06 "Freed from Desire" (the soundlovers remix) — 5:57 NEWLIN 12" maxi "Freed from Desire" (full vocals mixx) — 4:13 "Freed from Desire" (edit mix) — 3:21 "Freed from Desire" (the paradise mix) — 8:35

CD maxi - Remixes "Freed from Desire" (short mix) — 3:35 "Freed from Desire" (the soundlovers remix) — 6:01 "Freed from Desire" (whistle remix) — 6:09 12" maxi - Remixes "Freed from Desire" (the soundlovers remix) — 5:52 "Freed from Desire" (whistle remix) — 6:00 "Freed from Desire" (video mix) — 3:28 12" maxi - Remixes "Freed from Desire" (Mr. Jack club mix) — 7:33 "Freed from Desire" (full vocal mix) — 4:13 "Freed from Desire" (Mr. Jack deja vu dub) — 5:01 12" maxi - UK Remixes "Freed from Desire" (Allisters Full Vocal Mix) — 7:05 "Freed from Desire" (Mr Jack Club Mix) — 8:15 "Freed from Desire" (Dillon & Dickins Dillon & Dickins Dillon & Dickins is a Dance music production group based in London, United Kingdom, and one of the many aliases used by House music producers and DJs Marc Dillon and Patrick Dickins who also founded the dance record company and music publishing company Higher State...  Mix) — 8:41 "Freed from Desire" (Original Mix) — 4:13

Peak positions

Chart (1996/97)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart	16
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	1
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	1
Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...	5
Finnish Singles Chart	17
French SNEP Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	14
Irish Singles Chart	2
Italian FIMI Singles Chart	1
Spanish Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart	42
Swiss Singles Chart	13
UK Singles Chart	2

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	65
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	3
French Singles Chart	3
End of year chart (1997)	Position
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	19
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart	30
Dutch Top 40	52
French SNEP Singles Chart	55

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified	Physical sales
France	Diamond	January 16, 1997	750,000	1,013,000
UK	Gold	August 1, 1997	400,000

Chart successions