I'm Not Alone (song)

"I'm Not Alone"
Single by Calvin Harris
from the album Ready for the Weekend
Released	6 April 2009 (2009-04-06)
Format	CD single, digital download, 12" single
Recorded	December 2008; Earth's Core (Glasgow, Scotland)
Genre	Electropop, trance
Length	3:31
Label	Fly Eye, Columbia
Writer(s)	Calvin Harris
Producer	Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris singles chronology
"Dance wiv Me" (2008) "I'm Not Alone" (2009) "Ready for the Weekend" (2009)
Music video "I'm Not Alone" on YouTube

"I'm Not Alone" is a song by Scottish recording artist Calvin Harris, released as the lead single from his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend. The track was first played by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 as his "essential new tune" on 23 January 2009 and has been described as a slice of euphoric dance. On 12 April 2009, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, earning Harris his first solo number-one single in the United Kingdom and third overall following his 2008 collaboration with Dizzee Rascal and Chrome, "Dance wiv Me".

Harris said of this song: "The whole track's a light and shade thing, two styles put together. I find it quite hard to write a happy-happy lyric now, for some reason. I don't know why that is, to be honest with you. Maybe it's staying in a room for a huge amount of time on your own, and that's reflected in the lyrics!"

Chart performance

"I'm Not Alone" debuted at number one in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2009 (for the week ending 18 April 2009), knocking off Lady Gaga's second British chart-topper, "Poker Face". It remained at the top position for a second consecutive week, until it was knocked off by Tinchy Stryder's "Number 1" featuring N-Dubz in its third week on the run. On 3 January 2010, "I'm Not Alone" reentered the top 100, climbing from number 193 to number ninety-nine. In Ireland, the single debuted at number fourteen on the Irish Singles Chart on 9 April 2009, peaking at number four by its third week.

Music video

Calvin portrayed as the Frankenstein-like character in the video for "I'm Not Alone".

Details and commentary

The music video for "I'm Not Alone" was filmed in Oslo, Norway on 6 February 2009. It was directed by Christian Holm-Glad.

The clip begins with a small boy (potentially meant to represent a young Harris) found in thick snow wandering the woods dragging a sledge with a toy bear on top. He then sets up camp and lights a fire to keep warm whilst cuddling his toy bear. The bear is then found on the sledge again and is then dropped. The scene closes and cuts to a dungeon styled setting that showcases Harris portrayed as a Frankenstein-type character who is seen to perform experiments on numerous female captives, combining their essences to reanimate his "lost" teddy bear.

Controversies

There is one scene found in the video of which Harris is holding an antique knife. Harris was told by his record chiefs that it was unacceptable as television laws claimed that weapons cannot be shown as they encourage knife crime. Harris protested that he was a "big softie" and "the last person to promote violence" yet it has still resulted in the video to undergo re-editing so that it can be shown on music channels.

When Chris Brown's 2010 single Yeah 3X was released, comparisons by critics to Harris's 2009 single "I'm Not Alone" and a tweet by Harris himself led to controversy resulting in Brown adding Harris to the song credits.

Response

Harris said: "My video's getting banned because I'm holding an antique knife in one of the scenes, therefore encouraging knife crime", adding, "The only ever time I was in a fight I fell down instantly and I believe they had only verbally challenged me to one at that stage. I fight like a girl."

A spokeswoman for Columbia Records said: "Calvin doesn't actually use the knife in the video but we need to cut the scene for any TV programme that wants to show the video. Rules are stricter and a lot of artist videos get edited for TV nowadays."

Cover versions and samples

• Pendulum covered the song for their performance at Glastonbury Festival 2009 and subsequent festival appearances that year.
• Madonna sampled the song's riff for the live performance of "Frozen" during the European leg of her Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2009.
• Tinchy Stryder sampled "I'm Not Alone" for a live performance of his song "Express Urself" at the V Festival 2009.
• Mumford & Sons covered the song for their Live Lounge performance on BBC Radio 1 on 3 October 2009.
• Chipmunk also covered the song for his Live Lounge performance on 5 October 2009.

Track listings

UK CD single

1. "I'm Not Alone" (Radio Edit) – 3:32
2. "I'm Not Alone" (Extended Mix) – 4:28

UK 12" single

A1. "I'm Not Alone" (Hervé's See You at the Festival Remix)

A2. "I'm Not Alone" (Radio Edit)

B1. "I'm Not Alone" (Deadmau5 Remix)

B2. "I'm Not Alone" (Extended Mix)

UK iTunes single

1. "I'm Not Alone" (Tiësto Remix) – 6:41
2. "I'm Not Alone" (Radio Edit) – 3:32

UK iTunes EP

1. "I'm Not Alone" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
2. "I'm Not Alone" (Extended Mix) – 4:26
3. "I'm Not Alone" (Deadmau5 Mix) – 8:15
4. "I'm Not Alone" (Hervé's See You at the Festival Remix) – 5:33
5. "I'm Not Alone" (Burns Rewerk) – 6:36

U.S. iTunes EP

1. "I'm Not Alone" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
2. "I'm Not Alone" (Extended Mix) – 4:28
3. "I'm Not Alone" (Tiësto Remix) – 6:41
4. "I'm Not Alone" (Deadmau5 Mix) – 8:15
5. "I'm Not Alone" (Hervé's See You at the Festival Remix) – 5:34
6. "I'm Not Alone" (Hervé's See You at the Dub Parade) – 3:41
7. "I'm Not Alone" (Burns Rewerk) – 6:36
8. "I'm Not Alone" (Instrumental) – 3:31

Personnel

• Calvin Harris – vocals, producer, instrumentation, arranger, engineering, mixing
• Brian Gardner – mastering

Official versions and remixes

• Actual Phantom Remix
• Aux Matters Remix
• Burns Rewerk
• Deadmau5 Remix
• Doorly Remix
• Extended Mix
• Instrumental
• Hervé's See You at the Festivals Remix
• Hervé's See You at the Dub Parade Remix
• MYNC Payback Mix
• Pendulum Remix
• Radio Edit
• S.A.S Remix (Mega & Mayhem) (from the Mega & Mayhem's Excellent Adventure mixtape)
• ☆Taku Takahashi Remix
• Tiësto Remix

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	48
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	13
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	8
Danish Singles Chart	6
Dutch Single Top 100	62
European Hot 100 Singles	5
Irish Singles Chart	4
New Zealand Singles Chart	40
UK Singles Chart	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2009)	Position
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	58
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	47
UK Singles Chart	23

Certifications

Country	Certification
Denmark	Gold

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga

UK Singles Chart number-one single 12 April 2009 – 26 April 2009

Succeeded by "Number 1" by Tinchy Stryder featuring N-Dubz

Release history

Country	Date	Label	Format
United Kingdom	6 April 2009	Fly Eye Records, Columbia Records	Digital download
	13 April 2009		CD single
	22 April 2009		12" single