"Feeling Good" (also known as "Feelin' Good") is a song written by English singer-songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd starring Cy Grant, who sang the original version of the song. It has since been recorded by many artists, including Nina Simone, Muse, Adam Lambert, Sammy Davis Jr., Bobby Darin, Traffic, Michael Bublé, The Pussycat Dolls, George Michael, John Barrowman, My Brightest Diamond, John Coltrane, Toše Proeski, Joe Bonamassa, Frank Sinatra Jr, Jennifer Hudson, Stephen Williams, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Ed Sheeran and Alice Russell with The Quantic Soul Orchestra, Prince Poppycock, Rebecca Ferguson, Roman Veremeychik, Eels and Ronan Parke.
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| "Feeling Good" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Nina Simone from the album I Put a Spell on You | |
| Released | 1965 |
| Recorded | 1965 |
| Length | 2:53 |
| Label | Philips |
| Writer | Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley |
Nina Simone's version appeared on her 1965 album I Put a Spell on You. Simone's version is also featured in the 1993 film Point of No Return, in which the protagonist uses the code name "Nina" and professes to be a longtime fan of Simone's music. The song was also featured in the promotional video of the TV series Six Feet Under (4th season), and is included in the show's volume 2 soundtrack. Simone's version is in the soundtracks of the 2006 film Last Holiday,[1] the 2010 film Repo Men, the 2009 game The Saboteur (set during World War II, long before the song was written),[2] and the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Honeymooners".
The George Michael version contains samples, and is featured in Swedish rap group Fjärde Världen's song "Ingen Annan".
The track "About You" on Mary J. Blige's album The Breakthrough features an unusual take on the song. The bulk of the recording consists of new lyrics, composed by Mary J. Blige, will.i.am and Keith Harris. However, the chorus samples several lines from "Feeling Good" as performed by Nina Simone. The original vocals are distorted so that the voice is almost unrecognizable. For this reason, Simone receives a credit as a feature artist, and writers Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse receive credit as writers. The track is produced by will.i.am. A song by 50 Cent Bad News contains a sample from the Nina Simone's version as well, as does Lil Wayne's "Birds Flying High." The song is also sampled in the song "New Day" from the debut collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West Watch the Throne, released August 8, 2011.
In April, 2011, PBS used the song to promote their airing of the remake of "Upstairs, Downstairs".
The vocal from the Nina Simone recording is also sampled in numerous house and dubstep tracks. Like by Huff & Herb or in Viper's - The Twister together with the Duran Duran sample.[3][4]
Muse crafted a version on their album Origin of Symmetry and with "Hyper Music" as part of a double A-side. The Muse version was used by Nescafé for their advertising, but without the band's permission, so Nescafé replaced it with the Nina Simone version. Muse was subsequently paid settlement money, which they donated to Oxfam. In a poll by Total Guitar of "the best covers ever", the Muse version came 5th in the list.[5] It is also featured in the 2008 movie Seven Pounds starring Will Smith and in one episode of the TV series Queer as Folk as well as during the end credits of an episode of TV series Luther.
In September 2010, NME readers voted the Muse version of the song the greatest cover song of all time, beating The Beatles' version of "Twist and Shout" and Johnny Cash's "Hurt".[6]
Virgin Atlantic Airways used the Muse version as the soundtrack for a global television commercial which debuted in October 2010. The ad prominently features the song as accompaniment to a surreal sequence of vignettes depicting Virgin Atlantic cabin crew members.
| "Feeling Good" | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Michael Bublé | ||||||||
| from the album It's Time | ||||||||
| Released | 2005 | |||||||
| Format | CD single, digital download | |||||||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||||||
| Genre | Big Band | |||||||
| Length | 3:57 | |||||||
| Label | 143, Reprise | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley | |||||||
| Michael Bublé singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Feeling Good" was released as the lead single from Michael Bublé's It's Time. The single was released on April 19, 2005. "Feeling Good" was also used as the opening song for Buble's Caught in the Act live album, recorded during his performance at the Wiltern Theater. Buble's version was used in commercials and intros for ESPN's 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament, and for the 2010 NBA Draft tournament. Buble's version has also featured in a number of films.
In the UK, the song went to #162, in Australia to #70, in Germany to #36, in Austria #66, and in Poland #14. Despite this, the song became one of his most popular singles and is used in most to all of his concerts. The track finally became a hit in May 2010 when it reached #69 on the UK Singles Chart after it was featured in a series of British commercials.
| Chart (2005–2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Charts | 70 |
| UK Singles Chart | 69 |
| Polish Singles Chart | 14 |
| Austria Singles Chart | 66 |
| Mega Charts Netherlands | 61 |
| German Media Control Chart | 36 |
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