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1234 (Feist song)

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For the Plain White T's song, see 1, 2, 3, 4 (Plain White T's song).
"1234"
Song

"1234" (pronounced "One Two Three Four") is a song from Feist's third studio album, The Reminder. It is Feist's most successful single to date. The original song was written by Sally Seltmann, an Australian singer-songwriter who records under the name New Buffalo, and Feist added and rewrote parts of the lyrics.[1]

History

In an interview with Songfacts, Seltmann said:

I had been listening to Feist's album Let It Die. I thought my little song about lost love, and the hope to recapture what you once had, sounded too much like a Feist song for me to use for New Buffalo, so I shelved it. Then, in late 2005 I did a tour across Canada supporting Feist, and Broken Social Scene. After meeting Feist, I started to wonder whether she might like to do a cover of "1234," but I was too shy to tell her about it. At the last Broken Social Scene show, I plucked up the courage to tell her that I had written a song which I thought she might like to use. We went onto the tour bus, and I recorded a simple version of the song into her laptop, with guitar and vocals. To my surprise, she loved the song, and started playing it live.[2]

On 14 December 2005, Feist played the song live at The Trabendo in Paris, France in a show broadcast on Europe2 TV, with the title Sally's Song and with somewhat different lyrics than in the commercially released version.[3]

Awards

"1234" was nominated for Grammy Awards in the categories of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Short Form Music Video. Likewise, the success of the song largely contributed to Feist's other nominations that year for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album.This song was #19 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.[4] "1234" also won the Juno award for Single of the Year on 6 April 2008 in Calgary. Pitchfork Media deemed the video the fifth best video of the decade [5].

Release

The song was digitally released through iTunes Music Store. It became famous subsequent to its use in an iPod nano commercial. It also appeared in an Australian commercial for eBay.[6] It has been released in the United Kingdom, in Canada and in other countries digitally. It has recently been used in the trailer for the 2009 film New York, I Love You.

Chart success

Since its digital release, "1234" peaked at #2 at the US Hot Digital Songs. The single has also reached #8 in the US Hot 100, #10 at the US Pop 100, and #34 at the US Modern Rock Tracks chart.[7] The single's unexpected success led to its release worldwide. In the UK it proved to become a huge hit, making it in the top 10 peaking at #8.[8] It had a very successful release in Canada making it at number 2.[9] The song has also entered the top 10 in other European countries. The single's success has made Feist famous globally and it has boosted the remaining sales. It also managed to debut at number 67 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, as digital tracks were added from the 5th of November 2007 to the singles chart in Australia. It later entered the top 50 of the chart in late December, and has thus far peaked at #36.

It also ranked number 34 in the Triple J Hottest 100

Time magazine named "1234" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at #2 after "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse. Writer Josh Tyrangiel called the song a “masterpiece”, praising Feist for singing it “with a mixture of wisdom and exuberance that's all her own."[10][11]

In the 28 April 2008 episode of The Colbert Report where she was a guest, Feist said that she had planned to offer "1234" as the official campaign theme for Stephen Colbert's Presidential bid, before he dropped out.[12]

Remixes and covers

The original version of the song was mixed by Renaud Letang.[13] It was remixed by Van She Tech, consisting of several members of the band Van She. The song was also rewritten as a counting song for the 39th season of Sesame Street, in which Feist counts chickens, monsters, and penguins to 4.[14]

Brooke White of American Idol fame performed a cover of "1234" in her set on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008, which ran from 1 July to 13 September.

It was parodied by MADtv for the continuous releases of new iPods, a commercial in which the song was originally used.

It was sung by the character of Andy Bernard in "Lecture Circuit", an episode of The Office, in an attempt to woo a client he finds attractive. This attempt fails, and Dunder Mifflin loses the account.

Electropop band Joy Electric released a cover of the song in 2009 on their album Favorites at Play.

Singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins remade the song for his 2009 album All Join In. The lyrics were changed because of "dark" subjected material and the song also featured Kenny's 11-year old daughter Hana.[15]

Charts

Chart Peak
Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 8
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 10
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 34
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 30
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 36
European Hot 100 Singles 20
Canadian Hot 100 3
UK Singles Chart 8
Dutch Singles Charts 97
Swiss Singles Charts 63

Awards and nominations

Sally Seltmann has received a nomination for 2008 APRA's (Australian Performing Right Association) peer nominated, Song Of The Year Award.[16]

References

  1. ^ Everett-Green, Robert (2008-02-09). "Grammy girl: Feist". The Globe and Mail. pp. R1, R19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ Songfacts for "1234". Accessed on 12 December 2007
  3. ^ "feist - trabendo session - paris - 14th december 2005". 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  4. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2007"No byline (11 December 2007). Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 December 2007
  5. ^ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7695-the-top-50-music-videos-of-the-2000s/5/
  6. ^ eBay Make Shopping Exciting with Feist in Whistler » The Inspiration Room | Daily
  7. ^ Billboard chart history
  8. ^ The Charts
  9. ^ Billboard.com
  10. ^ Tyrangiel, Josh; "The Best Top 10 Lists of the Year"; "The 10 Best Songs"; Time magazine; 24 December 2007; Page 39.
  11. ^ Time magazine's Top 10 Songs of 2007 at time.com
  12. ^ Feist | The Colbert Report | Comedy Central
  13. ^ Paul Tingen (April 2008). "Secrets of the Mix Engineers: Renaud Letang". Sound on Sound magazine.
  14. ^ Agrell, Siri (2008-07-16). "Will Feist's famous number be a monster hit with children?". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. A1. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  15. ^ www.spinner.com
  16. ^ 2008 Apra Nominees Announced
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