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Little Talks

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"Little Talks"
Single by Of Monsters and Men
from the album My Head Is an Animal
Released20 December 2011
Recorded2011
GenreIndie folk
Length
  • 4:26 (album version)
  • 4:03 (radio edit)
LabelUniversal Republic
Songwriter(s)
  • Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir
  • Ragnar Þórhallsson
Producer(s)
  • Of Monsters And Men
  • Aron Þór Arnarsson
Of Monsters and Men singles chronology
"Little Talks"
(2011) 		"Dirty Paws"
(2012)
Music video
"Little Talks" at WeWereMonkeys
Music video
"Little Talks" on YouTube

"Little Talks" is the debut single by Icelandic indie folk/indie pop rock band Of Monsters and Men. The song was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, My Head Is an Animal (2011). It was also released on the band's EP Into the Woods. It was written by Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar Þórhallsson (of Of Monsters and Men), and produced by Aron Þór Arnarsson. The song is written in the key of B-flat minor.

Song

USA Today described the song as a "monster hit", noting its "galloping chorus" and "reverb-heavy production".[1] PBS Arts described the song's "rolling, infectious energy" and foreboding lyrics.[2] According to Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, the song describes two loving people talking past each other and implies one is deceased, saying "maybe one person isn't really hearing the other one."[1] The song was inspired by an old house she moved into.[1]

Commercial performance

In August 2011, Philadelphia's Radio 104.5 began playing "Little Talks" and propelled the band to nationwide popularity in the United States.[3] It had sold over 2 million copies in the US as of March 2013.[4]

"Little Talks" reached number 12 in the UK charts and re-entered the UK Top 40 in 2013.[5] In Ireland, the song debuted at number 28 on 26 July 2012 and reached the number-one spot on 16 August, spending two weeks at the top position.[6] The song has peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming their first top 20 single in the US. The song holds the record for the longest climb to reach the top 40 of the chart with 30 weeks.[7] "Little Talks" is also the highest charting single to date on that chart by an Icelandic artist. On 21 July 2012, it topped the Alternative Songs list and remained for a second week, and ultimately ranked as the third most successful song on the year end list. "Little Talks" was later certified Platinum in the United States, becoming their first song to do so. The song was listed for 48 weeks. In Australia, where the song reached number 7, the song reached number 2 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2012 on January 26, 2013. Elsewhere, the single reached the top 10 in New Zealand and several European countries, including Austria, Flemish Belgium, Germany, and Italy.

Music video

The music video was released to the public via YouTube on 2 February 2012.[8]

It starts with five sky-sailors (played by the male members of the band) spotting something falling from the sky. When they investigate, the object splits open to reveal a beautiful female creature (played by Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdóttir). She joins the sailors on their sky ship, but they are attacked by an enormous two-headed bird. The lady magically vanquishes the bird, but the ship is wrecked, forcing the sailors and the lady to continue on foot into a cave. When they emerge, they are confronted by another beast, which is once again defeated by the lady. They push onwards, but as they are crossing a frozen body of water, the ice breaks, plunging them into the frigid depths and into the clutches of a sea monster. The lady dispatches the monster, and they use a floating iceberg to ascend into the skies, where they are met by an enormous animal clad in the same colors as the female creature, who smiles and rejoins her people as the song ends.[9]

The video was created by the production firm WeWereMonkeys[10] who also produced the video for the band's 2013 single "King and Lionheart".[11]

The music video was nominated in the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Art Direction in a Video, but lost to Katy Perry's "Wide Awake".[12] A lyric video was released in 2014 in the presence of the video. The video features the sailors in their sky ship with the woman following behind them.

In 2013 YouTube star Kurt Hugo Schneider and Coca-Cola teamed up to create music videos featuring creative covers of two 2011 hits namely "Little Talks" and Calvin Harris' "Feel So Close" for a campaign called "The Sounds of AHH". "Little Talks" shows Schneider playing only Coca-Cola bottles, glasses and cans. Featured in the version are the vocals of Kevin Olusola. Commercial edits of the video aired on season 13 premiere of American Idol on January 14, 2014 on FOX.[13]

The song was featured in the third-season premiere of Covert Affairs and on an episode of Some Girls.

The song is also a playable track in Guitar Hero Live and was released as DLC for Rock Band 4.

"Little Talks" was also featured on the soundtrack of The Sims 3: Seasons, recorded in Simlish.

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[72] 5× Platinum 350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[73] Gold 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[74] Platinum 30,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[75] 3× Platinum 240,000*
Germany (BVMI)[76] 3× Gold 450,000^
Italy (FIMI)[77] 2× Platinum 60,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[78] 2× Platinum 30,000*
Sweden (GLF)[79] Platinum 40,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[80] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[81] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[82] 5× Platinum 5,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c Mansfield, Brian (30 March 2012). "On the Verge: Of Monsters and Men". USA Today. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Of Monsters and Men - "Little Talks"". PBS Arts. Public Broadcasting System.
  3. ^ "Best New Releases, April 3rd, Vol. I – Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers, Max and the Moon, Lux, Black Mountain, Twin Steps | Best new indie rock music songs, albums, bands, artists and festivals". Indierockcafe.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  4. ^ Grein, Paul (6 March 2013). "Week Ending March 3, 2013. Songs: Is The Right Song #1?". Chart Watch. Yahoo Music. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  6. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Little Talks". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Hot 100 Chart Moves: Nicki Minaj Passes Madonna, 'Voice' Finalists Debut". Billboard.
  8. ^ Of Monsters and Men — Little Talks. 2 February 2012.
  9. ^ "Discovery: Of Monsters and Men — Page". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  10. ^ "WeWereMonkeys — Of Monsters and Men: Little Talks". Retrieved 13 April 2013.
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  12. ^ "Best Art Direction Winner 2012 MTV Video Music Awards (VMA)". MTV. Viacom International Inc. 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  13. ^ "Behind the Bottles: 5 Questions With Kurt Hugo Schneider". The Coca-Cola Company.
  14. ^ "Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
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  43. ^ "Of Monsters and Men Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  44. ^ "Of Monsters and Men Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
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  46. ^ "Of Monsters and Men Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  47. ^ "Nuevas Esta Semana". Record Report (in Spanish). R.R. Digital C.A. 13 October 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012.
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  73. ^ "Austrian single certifications – Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  74. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2013". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  75. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks". Music Canada. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  76. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Of Monsters and Men; 'Little Talks')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  77. ^ "Italian single certifications – Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 10 January 2015. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Little Talks" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  78. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  79. ^ "Artikelinformation: Of Monsters and Men — Little talks (must search for and navigate to specific album information)". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  80. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Little Talks')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  81. ^ "British single certifications – Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 20 May 2016. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Little Talks in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  82. ^ "American single certifications – Of Monsters & Men – Little Talks". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
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