Mixed Up World

"Mixed Up World"
Single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor
from the album Shoot from the Hip
B-side"The Earth Shook the Devil's Hand"
Released13 October 2003 (2003-10-13)
GenreDisco
Length3:44
LabelPolydor
Songwriters
Producers
  • Gregg Alexander
  • Matt Rowe
Sophie Ellis-Bextor singles chronology
"Music Gets the Best of Me"
(2002)		 "Mixed Up World"
(2003)		 "I Won't Change You"
(2003)
Music video
"Mixed Up World" on YouTube

"Mixed Up World" is a song by British singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor, released on 13 October 2003 as the lead single from her second studio album, Shoot from the Hip (2003). Written by Bextor, Gregg Alexander and Matt Rowe, it was produced by both Alexander and Rowe. Lyrically, the song is about Ellis-Bextor trying to navigate life in a world that is mixed up, with Bextor saying that the song was partially influenced by the Iraq war, which she claimed left her "feeling powerless", with the song trying to "find joy in a world that suddenly seemed heavy and cynical".

"Mixed Up World" reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and was especially successful in Denmark, where it debuted and peaked at number three. It has sold more than 35,000 copies in the UK, and in 2024, the Official Charts Company ranked it as Ellis-Bextor's 10th-best–selling song. The music video for the song features various dancers wearing a mix of bright and dark colours.

Music video

The music video, directed by Rupert Jones, features men in bowler hats as Ellis-Bextor moves between giant black and white punctuation marks. It was the first video that shows her hair dyed blond. A short clip from the video was featured in an ad on Australia's VH1 channel in June 2006.

In a review of the song, Can't Stop the Pop claimed that the music video for "Mixed Up World" did not entirely reflect the lyrical nature of the song, claiming that whilst the song portrays "a sense of uncertainty", the music video does not visually portray this as a result of it having a "clear yet unrelated concept" which they claimed was "perfectly aligned to Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s slightly offbeat, avant-garde image".

Track listings

UK CD single

  1. "Mixed Up World" – 3:49
  2. "Mixed Up World" (Groove Collision vocal mix) – 6:38
  3. "The Earth Shook the Devil's Hand" – 2:42
  4. "Mixed Up World" (CD-ROM) – 3:49

UK cassette single

  1. "Mixed Up World" – 3:49
  2. "Mixed Up World" (Groove Collision vocal mix) – 6:38
  3. "The Earth Shook the Devil's Hand" – 2:42

European CD single

  1. "Mixed Up World" – 3:49
  2. "Mixed Up World" (Groove Collision vocal mix) – 6:38

European 12-inch single

A1. "Mixed Up World" (Groove Collision vocal mix)
B1. "Mixed Up World" (Groove Collision instrumental mix)
B2. "Mixed Up World" (radio edit)

Australian CD single

  1. "Mixed Up World" – 3:49
  2. "Take Me Home" (Sneaker Pimps remix) – 4:41
  3. "Murder on the Dancefloor" (Phunk Investigation vocal mix) – 8:34
  4. "Get Over You" (Almighty Pop'd Up mix) – 7:14
  5. "Music Gets the Best of Me" (Flip & Fill remix) – 6:05

Charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)32
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)44
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)8
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)9
Denmark (Tracklisten)3
Germany (GfK)69
Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40) 24
Ireland (IRMA)26
Netherlands (Single Top 100)76
Romania (Romanian Top 100) 56
Scottish Singles Sales (Official Charts)11
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)45
UK Singles (Official Charts)7

Sales

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom — 35,000

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 13 October 2003
  • CD
  • cassette
 Polydor
Australia 20 October 2003 CD

References

  1. ↑ Hoffman, K. Ross. "Review: Shoot from the Hip". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Herman, Craig (9 October 2023). "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World - Can't Stop The Pop". Can't Stop the Pop. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
  3. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor's Official biggest songs revealed". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  4. ↑ Mixed Up World (UK CD single liner notes). Polydor Records. 2003. 9812108.
  5. ↑ Mixed Up World (UK cassette single sleeve). Polydor Records. 2003. 9812109.
  6. ↑ Mixed Up World (European CD single liner notes). Polydor Records. 2003. 981 211-0.
  7. ↑ Mixed Up World (European 12-inch single sleeve). Polydor Records. 2003. 389 378-1.
  8. ↑ Mixed Up World (Australian CD single liner notes). Polydor Records. 2003. 9813293.
  9. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  10. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  11. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  12. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  13. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World". Tracklisten. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  14. ↑ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  15. ↑ "2003/46. heti Editors' Choice Top 40 slágerlista" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  16. ↑ "Mixed Up World | IRMA". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  17. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  18. ↑ "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 46, saptamina 1.12 – 7.12, 2003" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 20 February 2005. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  19. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 25/10/2003 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  20. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Mixed Up World – hitparade.ch". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  21. ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 25/10/2003 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  22. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor @ Sophie-Online.net • Your 24/7 resource for all things Sophie Ellis-Bextor". Archived from the original on 5 May 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  23. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 11 October 2003. p. 31.
  24. ↑ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 20/10/2003" (PDF). ARIA. 20 October 2003. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2021.