Jump to content

Fireflies (Owl City song): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
only the most common length should be presented. The rest may be explained with prose in the articel
Thevideodrome (talk | contribs)
1,128 edits
No edit summary
Line 350: Line 350:
[[Category:2009 singles]]
[[Category:2009 singles]]
[[Category:Owl City songs]]
[[Category:Owl City songs]]
[[Category:Cheryl Cole songs]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Adult Top 40 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Adult Top 40 number-one singles]]

Revision as of 20:47, 6 August 2013

"Fireflies"
Song
B-side"Hot Air Balloon"

"Fireflies" is a synthpop song and the debut single from Owl City's album Ocean Eyes. Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen is featured as a guest vocalist in the song. Adam Young described the song as "a little song about bugs and not being able to fall asleep at night."[3] The song is built around a "bleepy" 1980s-influenced synthline and includes lyrics about insomnia, fireflies and summer.

The single attained worldwide success in late 2009-early 2010, topping the charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Netherlands. "Fireflies" was Owl City's only hit in the US Top 40 until three years later when "Good Time", a duet with Canadian recording artist Carly Rae Jepsen, charted at No. 8.[4]

Fireflies was used in the promotional video for Sony's EyePet video game. It is also featured in Disney Sing It: Party Hits.[5] It is also a downloadable content for both Guitar Hero 5 and Rock Band 3.[6][7]

Music video

The music video for "Fireflies" was directed by Steve Hoover.[8] It features Adam Young playing the song on a Lowrey spinet organ in a toy-filled bedroom, where most of the toys (including an astronaut, a Tyrannosaurus rex, a Speak & Spell, toy cars, and a blimp) come to life. Most of the toys are older model toys, with most of them from the 1970s and 1980s (the exceptions being a Robosapien and a Roboraptor). There are also vintage household devices such as a black and white television and a record player. The video had an exclusive premiere on MySpace, but was leaked onto Dailymotion some time before and YouTube soon after. As of July 3, 2013, the video has received nearly 100,000,000 views.[9]

Track listings

Europe CD single
  1. "Fireflies" – 3:48
  2. "Hot Air Balloon" – 3:35[10]
US CD promo
  1. "Fireflies" – 3:48[11]

Chart performance

The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in early-September at No. 97, and it reached No. 1 in its tenth week, becoming Owl City's first No. 1 single.[12][13] The song stayed at No. 1 for two non-consecutive weeks, in the top ten for fifteen weeks and on the Hot 100 for thirty-one weeks.[14] "Fireflies" contributed to sales of the album Ocean Eyes, and was credited as being responsible for its entry to the top ten on the U.S. Billboard 200.[15] On the Billboard Hot 100 2009 year-end chart, it was ranked sixtieth.[16] On the Billboard Hot 100 2010 year-end chart, it was ranked thirtieth.[17] The RIAA certified "Fireflies" triple-platinum in June 2010. By November 2012, the song had shifted 4,648,000 downloads in the United States.[18]

In the United Kingdom, the song entered at No. 50 due to early download sales from a fake version that was leaked onto iTunes. The song would go on to make a forty-eight place jump to No. 2 the following week, beaten only to the top by "Replay" by Iyaz. The following week, it rose to No. 1, and topped the chart for three consecutive weeks, the song has sold 639,587 copies to date.[19] The BPI certified "Fireflies" silver in February 2010. On January 2, 2011 it was revealed that "Fireflies" is the twentieth most downloaded song of all time in Great Britain.[20]

In Australia, the song entered at No. 38 and on the week of January 10, 2010, it topped the chart with 37,354 copies sold, having the biggest sales for a song in one week.[citation needed]

In Japan, the song peaked at No. 3 and was ranked sixteenth on the 2010 year-end chart, the highest ranking for an international song for 2010.[citation needed]

The song has attained success worldwide. It has reached No. 1 in Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (for 10 weeks) and the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland. The song has reached over 90 million views on YouTube[9]and was ranked 89th on VH1's 'Top 100 songs of the new millennium'.[21]

Covers

The song is featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medley "Polka Face", from his album Alpocalypse. Sam Tsui covered the song for his album. Cheryl Cole covered the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. Popular YouTube drummer Cobus Potgieter did a drum cover over the song. He posted it to his YouTube account on March 30, 2011 and it has since been watched over 3.1 million times.[22]

Ben Bennett with Jesse and Ashleigh performed the song for their battle round on Season 1 of The Voice Australia.[23] Universal Music has since released Ben Bennett's cover on iTunes.[24]

Mac Miller also samples the melody in his song "Don't Mind if I Do" from his 2010 mixtape, K.I.D.S..

Charts

Peak position

Release history

Region Date Label Format
United States/Canada[76] July 14, 2009 Universal Republic Digital download
Australia[77] November 9, 2009 CD single
United Kingdom[78][79] January 8, 2010 Digital download
February 22, 2010 CD single
Ireland[80] January 14, 2010 Digital download
Poland January 16, 2010 CD single
Germany January 22, 2010 CD single

See also

References

  1. ^ "Owl City on SortMusic". SortMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  2. ^ "LiveDaily Interview: Matt Thiessen of Relient K >> Tour dates at LIVE DAILY". Livedaily.com. May 5, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Fireflies Songfacts". Songfacts.com. July 14, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  4. ^ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  5. ^ "Disney Sing It: Party Hits | Disney". Disney.go.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  6. ^ "Guitar Hero Song List". Guitarhero.com. June 21, 2012.
  7. ^ "Rock Band songs". Rockband.com. June 21, 2012.
  8. ^ "Owl City » Fireflies". MTV Music. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Owl City - Fireflies". YouTube. December 15, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  10. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies (CD, Single)". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  11. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies (CD, Single, Promo)". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  12. ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio (October 29, 2009). "Owl City's 'Fireflies' Lands At No. 1 On Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  13. ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio (November 12, 2009). "Rihanna's 'Roulette' Lands In Hot 100's Top 10". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  14. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies – Music Charts". αCharts. February 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  15. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 28, 2009). "'New Moon' Rises To No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  16. ^ "Best of 2009 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  17. ^ "Best of 2010 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  18. ^ Grein, Paul (November 21, 2012). "Week Ending Nov. 18, 2012. Songs: Rihanna Ties Madonna". Yahoo!. Yahoo!. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  19. ^ "Burke and The Script are top of charts". Music Week. September 20, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  20. ^ "Radio 1 - Chart - Top 100 Downloads of All Time". BBC. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  21. ^ "VH1's Top 100 Songs of the New Millenium". Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  22. ^ "Cobus Potgieter's drum cover of 'Fireflies'". Youtube.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  23. ^ Griffin, Michelle (May 8, 2012). "When did cover versions become a bad thing? Judges get tough as The Voice goes epic". Brisbane Times. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  24. ^ "Fireflies (The Voice Performance) - Single by Ben Bennett". iTunes. May 8, 2012.
  25. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Tracklisten.
  27. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Owl City" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  28. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Top 40 Singles.
  29. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  30. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  31. ^ a b "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  32. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  33. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  34. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  35. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  36. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 15. týden 2010 in the date selector.
  37. ^ "Owl City – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Owl City. [dead link]
  38. ^ "Owl City: Fireflies" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  39. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in French). Les classement single.
  40. ^ "Chart Track: Week 03, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
  41. ^ "Media Forest Week 05, 2010". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  42. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Top Digital Download.
  43. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard.
  44. ^ "Luxembourg Digital Songs - February 27, 2010". Billboard.
  45. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". VG-lista.
  46. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  47. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200950 into search.
  48. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" Canciones Top 50.
  49. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Singles Top 100.
  50. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Swiss Singles Chart.
  51. ^ "Owl City: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  52. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  53. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  54. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles 2009". ARIA. January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  55. ^ "Dutch Top 40 Year-end Chart" (PDF). Dutch Top 40. January 9, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  56. ^ "RIANZ Annual Chart (see 2009)". RIANZ. January 9, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  57. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  58. ^ "Ultratop Annual Charts 2010". IFPI. December 26, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  59. ^ "Ultratop Annual Charts 2010". IFPI. December 26, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  60. ^ [1][dead link]
  61. ^ German Airplay Chart, Retrieved June 3, 2011
  62. ^ "FIMI - Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana - Ricerche e dati di mercato". Fimi.it. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  63. ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  64. ^ "Dutch Top 40 Year-end Chart" (PDF). Dutch Top 40. December 30, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  65. ^ "RIANZ Annual Chart (see 2010)". RIANZ. January 9, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  66. ^ http://www.promusicae.org/files/listasanuales/radios/TOP%2020%202010-definitivo.pdf
  67. ^ "2010 Year-end UK Singles". The Official Charts Company. January 5, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2011.
  68. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  69. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2010". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  70. ^ "Denmark Singles Chart (week 53 -2009)". IFPI. Retrieved January 10, 2010. [dead link]
  71. ^ "Italian single certifications" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  72. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  73. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Fireflies')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  74. ^ "British single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 1, 2012. Select singles in the Format field. Type Fireflies in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  75. ^ "American single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  76. ^ Album Detail – Fireflies – Owl City www.owlcitymusic.com. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
  77. ^ Owl City – Fireflies australian-charts.com
  78. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Hmv.com. December 15, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  79. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Hmv.com. December 15, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  80. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Chart-track.co.uk. January 22, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fireflies_(Owl_City_song)&oldid=567447637"