| "I'm Like a Bird" | |||||||||
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| Single by Nelly Furtado | |||||||||
| from the album Whoa, Nelly! | |||||||||
| B-side | "I Feel You" "Party (Reprise)" "My Love Grows Deeper" |
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| Released | October 24, 2000 (See release history) |
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| Format | CD single | ||||||||
| Recorded | 1999 | ||||||||
| Genre | Pop, folk, R&B | ||||||||
| Length | 4:03 | ||||||||
| Label | DreamWorks | ||||||||
| Writer(s) | Nelly Furtado | ||||||||
| Producer | Gerald Eaton, Brian West | ||||||||
| Certification | 2× Platinum (ARIA)[1] | ||||||||
| Nelly Furtado singles chronology | |||||||||
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"I'm Like a Bird" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado, and produced by Gerald Eaton and Brian West, as the first single from her first album Whoa, Nelly!. It was one of the year's critically acclaimed songs and widely considered as Furtado's signature song. Furtado said that "I'm Like a Bird" is her favourite song: "There's a simplicity about it that I love," she explained. "It's my freedom song".
It was one of the most successful singles of 2001, reaching number one in Canada, number two in Australia and New Zealand, number five in the UK, and number nine in the United States.
The song received critical acclaim for its freedom-themed lyric and Furtado's vocal, and became one of the most critically acclaimed songs of 2001. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, making Furtado the first female act to win the award for her debut single since Mariah Carey did so ten years earlier and the last to be awarded to a Canadian artist winner in the category. It also won the Juno Award for Single of the Year.
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"I'm Like a Bird" is composed in common time in the key of B♭ major.[2] The song moves at 90 beats per minute, and Furtado's voice spans around an octave and a half, from F3 to B♭4.[2] It is written in verse-chorus form, with a bridge before the second chorus.[2]
Furtado said of the song, "I've heard it sung at karaoke or by cover bands and it was awesome — I was like, wow, I've got one of those songs. Somebody once called it a 'hairbrush song', one that girls and guys sing in front of the mirror with their hairbrush. I just think I'm lucky I have it — it's paying the bills!"[3]
The CGI-based music video for "I'm Like a Bird" was directed by Francis Lawrence.[4] The video begins in the sky where the camera slowly pans down onto Furtado, who is lying in the grass. It then shows her singing on a tree trunk in mid-air. In the chorus she gets up and starts singing to the camera while birds are flying around her. The second verse shows her sitting in mid-air in a forest, while singing to the camera. The chorus consists of flashes of Furtado singing in mid-air, again, while leaning on the tree trunk. During the bridge she is singing to a bug while her eyes change colour. The conclusion of the video shows her falling backwards from a branch into a mosh-pit as she sings the final chorus of the song. The last shot pans out to reveal a crowd of millions.
Credits are adapted from the Whoa, Nelly! album liner notes.[5]
| Country | Release date |
|---|---|
| United States | October 24, 2000 |
| Canada | November 28, 2000 |
| Europe | February 19, 2001 |
| United Kingdom | February 26, 2001 |
| Chart (2001)[6] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[7] | 2 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[8] | 41 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] | 16 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[10] | 19 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] | 1 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[12] | 13 |
| France (SNEP)[13] | 33 |
| Germany (Media Control AG)[14] | 41 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[15] | 4 |
| Italy (FIMI)[16] | 16 |
| Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[17] | 8 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[18] | 2 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[19] | 17 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] | 16 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] | 17 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[22] | 5 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[23] | 9 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Top 40[24] | 6 |
| US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[25] | 4 |
| US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[26] | 5 |
| US Latin Pop Songs (Billboard)[27] | 31 |
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