"Thanks for Leaving" | ||||
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Single by Alexandra Stan | ||||
from the album Unlocked | ||||
Released | 28 April 2014 | |||
Format | Digital download | |||
Recorded |
Perfect Sound Studios (Hollywood, California) |
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Genre | Electropop | |||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Alexandra Stan singles chronology | ||||
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"Thanks for Leaving" is a song recorded by Romanian recording artist Alexandra Stan for her second studio album, Unlocked (2014). It was made available for digital consumption on 28 April 2014 through Fonogram Records and Roton as the record's first single. Written by Alexandru Cotoi, Sebastian Jacome, Lee Anna James and Naz Tokio, the track was solely produced by Cotoi and Jacome. Musically, "Thanks for Leaving" is an electropop song and a pop ballad whose lyrical themes discuss on new beginnings, choices that can be made in difficult situations in order to move forward, and discovering the joy of being yourself. Particularly, Stan revealed that the lyrics of the recording were personal to her as referring to her past-manager Marcel Prodan, with whom she had an alleged physical altercation in 2013, which caused her career hiatus that year.
An accompanying music video for the single – directed by Khaled Mokhtar in the United States – was uploaded onto Stan's YouTube channel on 28 April 2014; it was preceded by the release of three short movies. The visual of "Thanks for Leaving" focuses on the singer's relationship with her boyfriend, which ends with him struggling with alcohol issues. Music critics were generally positive towards the recording, praising its lyrical message; one of them found that it could score high at an Eurovision Song Contest. Commercially, the song experienced minor success, reaching number forty-two on the Romanian Airplay 100, number eighty-three in Italy, and the top position on Ukraine's Pop Songs chart.
Stan's second studio album, still untitled at that time, was initially intended for a September 2013 release, but following an alleged physical altercation with her former manager Marcel Prodan, the recording was delayed. Stan accused him of physical attack and blackmail. This event led to her appearing injured on Romanian television and taking a career break. Meanwhile, Cliché (Hush Hush), her last record under Prodan's label – Maan Studio – was made available for consumption in Japan. It served as a reissue of Saxobeats (2011) with the addition of three songs ("Lemonade", "Cliché (Hush Hush)" and "All My People"), which were previously released as singles and were intended for her second studio album. After her recovery, the singer was sued by Prodan for using his songs in her live performances without his permission, but won the copyright battle in June 2014. Subsequently, Stan signed a record deal with Fonogram Records and continued working on her album with another team, including new collaborations with record producers and songwriters Alex Cotoi and Erik Lidbom.