A Thousand Years (Christina Perri song)

"A Thousand Years"
Single by Christina Perri
from the album The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Released October 18, 2011
Format Digital download
Recorded 2011
Genre Pop, piano rock
Length 4:51
Label Atlantic, WEA International Inc.
Writer(s) Christina Perri, David Hodges
Christina Perri singles chronology
"Arms"
(2011)		 "A Thousand Years"
(2011)

"A Thousand Years" is a song by American singer-songwriter Christina Perri. It is taken from the album The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The song serves as the second single from the album. The song was released as a digital download on October 18, 2011 worldwide.[1]

Contents

Background

The lyrics of the song includes Perri singing, "Heart beats fast/Colors and promises/How to be brave/How can I love when I'm afraid to fall/Watching you stand alone/All of my doubt/Suddenly goes away somehow/One step closer." It is followed by chorus, "I have died every day waiting for you/Darling don't be afraid/I have loved you for a thousand years," Christina sings as the music soars. "I'll love you for a thousand more."[2]

A official lyric video of the song was premiered on October 17, 2011 via Perri's official Facebook and Twitter pages as well as her official website.

Critical reception

Critics praised the song for its lyrics as well as Christina's voice. Bill Lamb from About.com gave the song 4 stars (out of 5) saying that, "Initially, it sounds just a bit sappy and even a bit twee, however, stick with it and as the Waltz time begins to sway more and more the song moves into a bridge that is stunningly gorgeous. It then melts back down into a gentle place before sweeping along into a pleasing conclusion." He also praised Christina's voice saying, "She uses her voice to a great effect sounding almost as if we were sitting with a friend who chooses to speak to us in a song instead of everyday speech patterns. Instead of pushing her voice to power through a huge chorus, she lets the backing track do the speaking."[3]

Chart performance

On the week of October 23, 2011, the song debuted at No. 74 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.[4] and No. 70 on Canadian Hot 100.

Malaysian Wedding Proposal

A Vimeo clip of popular Malaysian blogger Timothy Tiah Ewe Tiam, co-founder of the popular ad-blogging site Nuffnang, proposing to his girlfriend/fiancée Audrey Ooi Feng Ling, with "A Thousand Years" used as the backing track for the proposal video, immediately went viral on the web, racking up nearly 4 million views online within a week, with 'American Idol' host Ryan Seacrest hailing it as a heartwarming coda to 2011. Perri confessed that the video made her cry.

Charts

Chart (2011-12) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[5] 13
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6] 70
Finland (IFPI)[7] 20
Ireland (IRMA)[8] 7
New Zealand (RIANZ)[9] 15
Scotland (The Official Charts Company)[10] 26
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[11] 32
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 43
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[13] 20

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States[14] October 18, 2011 Digital download Atlantic
Canada[15] WEA International Inc.
Australia[16]
United Kingdom November 7, 2011 Digital download (album only) Atlantic

References

  1. ^ "A Thousand Years - Single". Itunes USA. http://itunes.apple.com/album/a-thousand-years/id470758314?i=470758561&ign-mpt=uo%3D2. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
  2. ^ "Christina Perri Gets Romantic On 'Breaking Dawn' Track 'A Thousand Years'". MTV. 2011-10-18. http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2011/10/18/christina-perri-breaking-dawn-a-thousand-years/. Retrieved 2011-10-25. 
  3. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Christina Perri-"A Thousand Years"". About.com. http://top40.about.com/od/singles/gr/Christina-Perri-A-Thousand-Years.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-24. 
  4. ^ "Week Ending Oct. 23, 2011. Songs: Christmas In October". Yahoo Chart Watch. 2011-10-26. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74427/week-ending-oct-23-2011-songs-christmas-in-october/;_ylt=AmxcHJIR9SSV0IiG1NIFZRkPwiUv. Retrieved 2011-10-26. 
  5. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Christina Perri – A Thousand Years". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
  6. ^ "Billboard Hot 100-Position 71-80". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/charts/latin-songs#/charts/hot-100?begin=71&order=position. Retrieved 2011-27-10. 
  7. ^ "Christina Perri: A Thousand Years". IFPI Finland. http://ifpi.fi/tilastot/virallinen-lista/artistit/christina+perri/a+thousand+years. Retrieved 2011-23-12. 
  8. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
  9. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Christina Perri – A Thousand Years". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
  10. ^ "Archive Chart". Scottish Singles Top 40. The Official Charts Company.
  11. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company.
  12. ^ "Week Ending Oct. 23, 2011. Songs: Christmas In October". Yahoo Chart Watch. 2011-10-26. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74427/week-ending-oct-23-2011-songs-christmas-in-october/;_ylt=AmxcHJIR9SSV0IiG1NIFZRkPwiUv. Retrieved 2011-10-26. 
  13. ^ http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat#/column/chartbeat/chart-highlights-michael-buble-jingles-onto-1005519752.story
  14. ^ "A Thousand Years - Single". Itunes USA. http://itunes.apple.com/album/a-thousand-years/id470758314?i=470758561&ign-mpt=uo%3D2. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
  15. ^ "A Thousand Years - Single". Itunes Canada. http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/a-thousand-years/id470758314?i=470758561&ign-mpt=uo%3D2. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
  16. ^ "A Thousand Years - Single". Itunes Australia. http://itunes.apple.com/au/album/a-thousand-years-single/id470758314. Retrieved 2011-10-18. 
Christina Perri
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Other songs
"The Lonely" · "A Thousand Years"
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