I Believe I Can Fly
| "I Believe I Can Fly" | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||||||||||||
| Single by R. Kelly | |||||||||||||
| from the album R. and Space Jam: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture |
|||||||||||||
| Released | November 26, 1996 | ||||||||||||
| Format | CD single, cassette single | ||||||||||||
| Recorded | August 1996 | ||||||||||||
| Genre | R&B, gospel | ||||||||||||
| Length | 5:22 (Album Version) 4:40 (Radio Edit) |
||||||||||||
| Label | Atlantic, Jive | ||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | R. Kelly | ||||||||||||
| Producer | R. Kelly | ||||||||||||
| R. Kelly singles chronology | |||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
| Problems listening to this file? See media help. | |
"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by Kelly and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. The song later appeared on Kelly's 1998 album R..
In early 1997, "I Believe I Can Fly" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100; it was kept from the #1 spot by Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart". Despite the fact that two of R. Kelly's songs did reach #1, "I Believe I Can Fly" remains the biggest hit of R. Kelly's career. The single was #1 on the R&B Singles chart (for six nonconsecutive weeks), and #1 in the United Kingdom. It has won three Grammy Awards, and is ranked #406 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Contents |
[edit] Charts
[edit] Peak positions
| Chart (1996-1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles & Tracks | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Dance Maxi Singles | 6 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 7 |
| UK Singles Chart | 1 |
| Australia ARIA Singles Chart | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 1 |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles | 1 |
| French Singles Chart | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 11 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| Polish Singles Chart | 1 |
[edit] End of year charts
| End of year chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[1] | 6 |
[edit] End of decade charts
| Chart (1990-1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] | 87 |
[edit] Cover versions
In 2003, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered the song for their album Take a Break. William Hung recorded this song for his 2004 album Inspiration. Saxophonist Marion Meadows also covered the song from the album Dressed to Chill.[3][4] Patti Labelle sang the chorus of the song on her 1998 live album Live One Night Only as an addition to her signature tune "Over the Rainbow". Jessica Simpson sang the song on her Dreamchaser tour in 2001.
The song has also been covered by Yolanda Adams (in a duet with Gerald Levert), Ruth Brown, James Ingram, Ronan Keating, Bianca Ryan, and Tyler Carter of the band Woe, Is Me.
Katharine McPhee, Anwar Robinson, Aaron Kelly, and Jacob Lusk all performed the song in different seasons of the TV show American Idol.
[edit] In film and television
"I Believe I Can Fly" was performed by the school band in the movie Drumline during the high school graduation ceremony of Devon Miles (Nick Cannon). In Ice Age: The Meltdown, Crash sings the song before he crashes into a tree. In the film Good Boy!, Wilson briefly sings the song while diving into a pool. In Fun with Dick and Jane, Jim Carrey sings along with the song as it is played in an elevator. This song also appeared on The X Factor (U.S.) where R Kelly performed "I Believe I Can Fly" for the first time as a duet with the eventual winner of the show Melanie Amaro.
[edit] Notable other performances
R. Kelly performed the song at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.
STS-122 crew heard this song on flight day 10 as a wake up call.[5]
Since its release, it has become commonly associated with the NBA, most notably with Michael Jordan.
On December 21, 2011, R. Kelly performed it on X-Factor as a duet with Melanie Amaro.
[edit] References
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1997". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1997. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
- ^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). "1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s". Billboard. http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=9w0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PP1&lr&rview=1&pg=RA1-PA4#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
- ^ "Dressed to Chill overview". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r834606.
- ^ "Dressed to Chill Marion Meadows". JazzTimes.com. http://jazztimes.com/articles/16902-dressed-to-chill-marion-meadows.
- ^ NASA (2008). "STS-122 Wakeup Calls". NASA. http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/gallery/audio/shuttle/sts-122/html/ndxpage1.html. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
| Preceded by "Nobody" by Keith Sweat |
Billboard's Hot R&B Singles & Tracks number one single December 21, 1996 |
Succeeded by "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue |
| Preceded by "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue |
Billboard's Hot R&B Singles & Tracks number one single (second run) February 1, 1997 |
Succeeded by "On & On" by Erykah Badu |
| Preceded by "Block Rockin' Beats" by The Chemical Brothers |
UK Singles Chart number-one single April 6, 1997 – April 27, 1997 |
Succeeded by "Blood on the Dance Floor" by Michael Jackson |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- 1990s ballads
- 1996 songs
- 1997 singles
- Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one singles
- Music videos directed by Hype Williams
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Switzerland
- R. Kelly songs
- Rhythm and blues ballads
- Pop ballads
- Bianca Ryan songs
- Songs written by R. Kelly
- Singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
