User:Samsonite Man/sandbox
| "Holy War" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Alicia Keys | ||||
| from the album Here | ||||
| Released | October 29, 2016 | |||
| Alicia Keys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Holy War" is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys from her sixth studio album Here (2016). The song was released as the third single from the album in October 2016.[1]
Background and release[edit]
In August 2018, Keys presented Best Male Video at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, and to mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, Keys recited and sang an accapella part of the song.[2][3]
Composition[edit]
Hilary Hughes from Mtv News, described the song as a "free love anthem" and wrote that the song "begs for understanding and compassion to win out over the destructive forces of hate, ignorance, violence, and greed".[3]
Revolt: “Holy War,” accompanied by an acoustic guitar melody. “Maybe we should love somebody / Maybe we could care a little more / Maybe we could love somebody Instead of polishing the bombs of holy war.” Keys shares her passion for bringing people together while emphasizing we are all one and no different from one another.[4]
The song is a battle cry of love. Accompanied only by raspy guitar, Keys beseeches us to give up divisive language and hateful thoughts and embrace our fellow man, no matter his "sexuality or skin." Quotable Lyrics If war is holy and sex is obscene Then we got it twisted in this lucid dream Baptized in boundaries, schooled in sin Divided by difference, sexuality and skin.[5]
Critical reception[edit]
Nick Levine from NME: ‘Holy War’ is a heartfelt plea for tolerance and equality in a world Keys describes as “divided by difference, sexuality and skin”. “So maybe we should love somebody / Instead of polishing the bombs of holy war”, she sings grittily over thudding Phil Collins-style drums.[6]
Emily Macay from The Guardian wrote that "Best of all are Holy War, which sorrows over the world’s skewed priorities as it showcases the gritty, gut-punch power of Keys’s voice at its best over acoustic guitar and cavernous beats.[7]
Maeve McDermott from USA Today highlighted the song, writing that: "The album's final song brings Here's cinematic arc to a close, its hypothetical credits rolling over Keys' smoldering vocals and cinematic chorus likening war, sex and love".[8]
Mic: This new mindfulness has brought out songs like "Kill Your Mama" — an ecocide anthem in which Keys mourns the fact we've poisoned Mother Nature's waters and dug up its resources ?— and "Holy War" which ends the album with a devastatingly simple ask for love in a "twisted" world where "war is holy and sex is obscene."
The problem is though, the importance of the subjects Alicia Keys tackles often overshadows the strength of the songs themselves. "Holy War" offers way more food for thought than it does musical thrills.[9]
Allmusic: while Illangelo was involved with "Holy War," where some dulled drums interrupt a mostly acoustic number about backward societal views of war and sex.[10]
Vox:In the last track on the album, ‘Holy War,’ she sings, "We can heal each other and fill each other/We can break these walls between each other.” In a world so full of disappointments and hatred, perhaps that is the exact message we need to hear.[11]
Live performances[edit]
Keys performed the song at 2016 Keep a Child Alive Black Ball on October 19, 2016.[3] Keys performed the song on The Voice on November 15.[12]
Release history[edit]
| Region | Date | Format | Version | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finland | October 28, 2016 | Digital download | RCA | [13] | |
| France | Digital download | RCA | [14] | ||
| Various | September 27, 2022 | Streaming | RCA |
HALLELUJAH[edit]
| "Hallelujah" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Alicia Keys | ||||
| from the album Here | ||||
| Released | June 17, 2016 | |||
| Alicia Keys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Hallelujah" is a song by American singer and songwriter Alicia Keys from her sixth studio album Here (2016). The song was released as the second single from the album in June 2016.
Digital download of the song was released on June 20, 2016.[15]
Composition[edit]
On another album favorite, “Hallelujah,” Keys mentions her journey to spirituality while repeatedly asking to be forgiven of her sins. “There’s a hole in my heart I’ve been hiding / I’ve been strong for so long that I’m blind / Is there a place I can go where the lonely river flows? Where fear ends and faith begins.”[16]
Live performances[edit]
Release history[edit]
| Region | Date | Format | Version | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | June 17, 2016 | Digital download | RCA | [17] | |
| Various | June 17, 2016 | Streaming | RCA |
References[edit]
- ^ @aliciakeys (October 29, 2016). "More on this and how I feel about our world today ->
* iTunes http://smarturl.it/iHolyWar
* Spotify http://smarturl.it/spHolyWar
#AliciaIsHere #HolyWar" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 2023-08-27 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: line feed character in|title=at position 89 (help) - ^ Rodulfo, Kristina (2016-08-10). "Alicia Keys Broke Out Into an Inspiring A Capella Song at the VMAs". Yahoo!.
- ^ a b c Hughes, Hilary (2016-10-28). "Alicia Keys's 'Holy War' Is The Empowering Anthem We Need Right Now". MTV News.
- ^ Salkey, Maurita (2016-11-07). "Review: Alicia Keys "Here"". Revolt.
- ^ Schwartz, Danny (2016-10-28). "Holy War". HotNewHipHop.
- ^ Levine, Nick (November 11, 2016). "Album Review: Alicia Keys, Here". NME.
- ^ Macay, Emily (2016-11-13). "Alicia Keys: Here Review – Gritty, Gut-punch Power". The Guardian.
- ^ McDermott, Maeve (2016-11-07). "5 Essential Tracks from Alicia Keys' 'Here'". USA Today.
- ^ Barnes, Tom (2016-11-07). "Alicia Keys 'Here' Review: Keys' trades hooks for protest poetry, and makes it work". Mic.
- ^ Kellman, Andy. "Alicia Keys – Here". AllMusic.
- ^ Sibingo, Guimel (2016-11-05). "Alicia Keys' 'Here' Bears Witness to Life in the Rough Areas of New York City". Vox Magazine.
- ^ Amabile Angermiller, Michele (2016-11-16). "Watch Alicia Keys Perform 'Holy War' on 'The Voice'". Billboard. Retrieved s.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help) - ^ "Holy War - Alicia Keys". Musa24 (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Alicia Keys: Holy War". Musicme (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-09-09.
- ^ "Hallelujah - Single by Alicia Keys". Apple Music. 2016-07-20. Archived from the original on 2023-08-29.
- ^ Salkey, Maurita (2016-11-07). "Review: Alicia Keys "Here"". Revolt.
- ^ "Alicia Keys: Hallelujah". Musicme (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-09-09.