Singles
"Chewing Gum" was released as the album's lead single in September 2004. Built around a retro beat by Richard X, the song uses chewing gum as a metaphor for men, with Annie singing "You spit it out when all the flavor has gone/Wrap him round your finger like you're playing with gum". It was the album's most commercially successful single, reaching number eight on the Norwegian Singles Chart and number twenty-five on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a critical success, listed thirty-first on the 2004 Pazz & Jop list, a survey of several hundred music critics conducted by Robert Christgau.
"Heartbeat" was the second single released from Anniemal. It narrates a night of going to clubs with friends, using a beat symbolizing a heartbeat, which doubles its tempo when Annie's persona catches the attention of her romantic interest on the dancefloor. Like "Chewing Gum", it received acclaim from music critics. It was one place behind "Chewing Gum" on the Pazz & Jop list, and Pitchfork Media named it the best single of 2004. However, it did not sell as well as "Chewing Gum", reaching number eighteen in Norway and fifty in the United Kingdom. "Happy Without You" and "Always Too Late" were released as the third and fourth singles in 2005, but neither charted.
Read more about this topic: Anniemal