Fly Like a Bird
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| “Fly Like a Bird” | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Mariah Carey from the album The Emancipation of Mimi |
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| Released | April 3, 2006 (U.S.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | Digital download | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | New York City, U.S.; Capri, Italy; 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | R&B, gospel | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:52 (Album/Single Version) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Island | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Mariah Carey, James Wright | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Mariah Carey, James Wright | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mariah Carey singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Fly Like a Bird" is a R&B/gospel song written and produced by American singer Mariah Carey and James "Big Jim" Wright for Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005). It was released as a single from the album in 2006 (see 2006 in music). The song's protagonist speaks to God: "Fly like a bird, take to the sky, I need you now Lord, carry me high!"
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[edit] Theme
Carey created the chorus' main lyrics and melody, while Wright arranged its chord structure. Carey later wrote the rest of the lyrics and asked her pastor, Clarence Keaton, to speak on the track. Keaton read directly from the Bible: "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy will come in the morning". Carey called it her "favorite song on the album [...] mainly because it's very much a spiritual message.... And I just felt like the message was really important to include on the album and that's why it's the final song on the album. It kind of sums up everything. It kind of leaves you on a spiritual high moment."
Billboard magazine called the song "a classic"[1] and described it as "another career-redefining hit ... The flight of "Bird" from humble call for deliverance into a frenzied ecclesiastic hymn is utterly spine-tingling. A joyful noise."[2]
[edit] Commercial release
"Fly Like a Bird" was released on a two-song promotional single with "My Saving Grace" — a track from Carey's ninth studio album, Charmbracelet (2002) — to gospel radio stations in the United States on May 18, 2005. It received little airplay and consequently was not released to other radio formats, but it was played by several urban, rhythmic, and urban adult contemporary stations across the U.S. Carey performed the song live during the Hurricane Katrina telethon Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast in September 9, 2005. She later performed the song with a medley of "We Belong Together" in February at the 2006 Grammy Awards with Wright on the piano & organ. The performance was met with a standing ovation, and many critics cited it as "the best performance of the night" as well as one of Mariah's best performance in recent years. It even prompted actress Teri Hatcher, who was presenting an award following the performance, to say that it felt like "we've just been saved".
In April 2006 "Fly Like a Bird" was released to U.S. urban and urban adult contemporary radio stations, at the same time "Say Somethin'", another song on The Emancipation of Mimi, was released to pop and rhythmic radio stations. "Fly Like a Bird" did not chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, instead reaching number four on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which represents the twenty-five songs below the Hot 100's number 100 position that have not yet appeared on the Hot 100. It peaked at number nineteen on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart for six weeks. The song had longevity in the urban market, reaching its peak on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in its twenty-fourth week. It was still in the top thirty after its fiftieth week. Plans for a music video for the single were cancelled.[citation needed]
After Carey won at the Grammy Awards in early 2006, the song became successful on the radio in Asia. In the Philippines it was released as a radio-only single and became popular, but because it was only released as a promo single it was unable to chart.
An official urban remix produced by Kanye West and Melonie Daniels was recorded but has yet to be released. The remix samples Earth, Wind & Fire's "Keep Your Head to the Sky".[citation needed] Tracy Young and Maurice Joshua produced remixes of the song: the Needin' You Remix and the Maurice Joshua Anthem, respectively.
Carey performed the song on American Idol's 2008 "Idol Gives Back" charity special on April 9, 2008. The performance featured Randy Jackson on guitar and was subsequently released to iTunes as a digital single.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
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| U.S. Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 66 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 19 |
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
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