Iris (song)

"Iris"
Song

"Iris" is a song by American alternative rock band the Goo Goo Dolls. Originally written for the soundtrack of 1998 film City of Angels, the song was later included on the band's sixth album Dizzy Up the Girl. "Iris" has contributed greatly to the band's success. It is the longest charting number one single in Billboard Hot 100 Airplay history with 18 weeks in the number one spot.

Origins and theme

The instrumentals in the song are heavily driven by guitar riffs, mandolin, violins, and cellos, with a steady drum beat beneath. The acoustic guitar in the song gives a distinctive sound as it is in an odd tuning, with 5 of the 6 strings tuned to D. This gives a ringing effect similar to a 12-string guitar.

It was the first song that the Goo Goo Dolls had been asked to write specifically for a film. Songwriter Johnny Rzeznik has been quoted as saying he broke several years of writer's block and several years of sobriety simultaneously the night he wrote this track.

In the music video the band is shown high up in skyscrapers, watching the lives of people through telescopes. Seen throughout the video is the actor Nicolas Cage. This theme reflects on what the angels do in the film. Interspersed throughout the video are clips from the film depicting scenes where Seth is falling in love and deciding whether or not to give up being an angel.

The song was named "Iris" by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik for Iris DeMent. Rzeznik found an article about her written by Daniel Levitin while flipping through an issue of Billboard Magazine, and thought she had a nice name, and thus chose it for the song title. Prior to this, some fans of the song have speculated that the title refers to the Greek messenger of the gods, Iris. This is thought supposedly because angel is the ancient Greek word for messenger and this song was written for the movie City of Angels (in which the main character is an angel).

Track listing

• CD1

1. "Iris" (Edit) – 4:49
2. "Lazy Eye" – 3:45
3. "I Don't Want To Know" – 3:37

• CD2

1. "Iris" – 4:51
2. "Slide" – 3:34
3. "Iris" (acoustic version) – 3:26
4. "Slide" (acoustic version) – 3:15

Reception

Upon its release, "Iris" became second of a string of hits from the film's soundtrack, City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture. (The first was Alanis Morissette's "Uninvited" and the third was Sarah McLachlan's "Angel.") On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 the song peaked at number nine for five weeks, and it spent a record eighteen weeks at number one on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. It was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 until after it had peaked (still managing to crack the top ten at #9) because no commercial single had been released. "Iris" also peaked at #8 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts.

The song was also a major international hit. "Iris" spent 31 weeks on the charts and peaked at number 5 in the Ireland singles chart, it is the thirteenth biggest-selling single there. The Goo Goo Dolls performed this on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden as part of the The Concert For New York City to raise money for victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks. This song was also used in the production of The Bear by Anton Chekov performed by Rebecca Gove and Ioannis Bakogeorgos. Besides the song's success on the charts, "Iris" enjoyed critical acclaim. At the 41st Grammy Awards, "Iris" received nominations for "Record of the Year" and "Pop Performance by a Duo or Group." The song also garnered John Rzeznik a "Song of the Year" nomination. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on August 18, 2008.

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	1
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	1
Swedish Singles Chart	34
New Zealand Singles Chart	16
UK Singles Chart	50
U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	8
US Billboard Hot 100	9
Chart (1999)	Peak position
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	3
Dutch Singles Chart	9
Irish Singles Chart	5
UK Singles Chart (re-release)	26
Chart (2006)	Peak position
Norwegian Singles Chart	19
UK Singles Chart	39
Chart (2011)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	3

Ronan Keating version

"Iris"
Song

In 2006, Irish singer, Ronan Keating, covered the song and subsequently released it as the second single from his fourth studio album, Bring You Home. The single was accompanied with a music video shot in Dubai. It remains his only single not to reach the UK top ten, peaking at #15.

Tracklisting

UK CD1

1. "Iris" - 4:08
2. "When You Say Nothing At All" (Live At Bush Hall)

UK CD2

1. "Iris" - 4:08
2. "Lovin' Each Day" (Live At Bush Hall)
3. "Last Thing On My Mind" (Live At Bush Hall)
4. "Iris" (Video)

Charts

Chart (2006)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	15
Irish Singles Chart	30
German Singles Chart	24
Austrian Singles Chart	22

Cover versions

• Avril Lavigne performed the song on stage at the Fashion Rocks Awards with Goo Goo Dolls lead singer Johnny Rzeznik. It was the choice of the first dance for her 2006 wedding with Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley.
• It was recently featured on the reality show Rock Star: Supernova, performed by Ryan Star.
• New Found Glory also recorded the song for their album, From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II
• Jade Gallagher covered the song on her Maybe This album, released in 2007
• Finley recently covered the song on their Adrenalina 2 album, released in 2008
• Boyce Avenue released a cover of the song in 2008.
• Pakistani band Jal has recorded a cover version of the song and released it on their website
• "Iris" was also covered by Boyz II Men on their 2009 Love album
• Gothic metalcore band Motionless in White covered the song 2006 where it appeared on their second demo
• The Wanted covered the song on their Behind Bars Tour in 2011 and a live performance of the song was featured on their Glad You Came digital EP.
• Leona Lewis recorded her version of the song on her EP album called Hurt which will be out December 9, 2011.