writers really got my personality and the direction I want to go in," she said. "The first single is a great example – the first time I heard it I knew it's what I wanted." In an interview, Stevens revealed that she recorded the song two weeks after S Club 7 announced their spilt. Critical reception "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. The BBC called the song "perfectly pleasant" but "unlikely to set the world alight, despite heavy rotation on radio and TV". The review also went on to say that while Stevens is popular, she will "need stronger material than this to maintain a pop career past her first album". Jamie Gill, in a review for Dotmusic, called the song "utterly addictive", while Amazon.co.uk called the song "sassy" and full of "feminine confidence". In a separate review on Amazon.com, Georgina Collins, called the song a "corker of a popsong", praising it for being catchy and fun to listen to. The song was also nominated for ITV's annual Record of the Year prize, finishing 6th behind Westlife who won with their cover of Barry Manilow's "Mandy", and was also nominated at the 2004 BRIT Awards for Best British Single, losing out to Dido with her song "White Flag". Chart performance "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" was a commercial success in the United Kingdom, debuting at number two on the UK Singles Chart, being held off from number-one by "Where Is the Love?" by Black Eyed Peas. It stayed in this position for two non-consecutive weeks, with a further three inside the top 10. Elsewhere in Europe, the song also went on to be a commercial success, reaching the top ten in Denmark, Ireland, and Norway. Despite receiving minor airplay, "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" was not released in the United States. In December 2003, the single was certified Silver for sales of 200,000 in the UK. By the end of 2003, the song was ranked the 22nd-best-selling single of the year in the United Kingdom. To date, the song has remained Stevens' biggest success worldwide, with her follow-up singles charting well out of the top 10 worldwide. In the UK, only "Some Girls" and "More, More, More" were able to live up their predecessor's success, with "Negotiate with Love" and "So Good" only just breaking the top 10. Music video The music video