Hide and Seek (Imogen Heap song)

"Hide and Seek"
Single by Imogen Heap
from the album Speak for Yourself
B-side	"Cumulus"
Released	19 May 2005
Format	Paid download, vinyl
Recorded	2005
Genre	Folktronica, pop
Length	4:29 (album version) 3:01 (radio edit)
Label	Megaphonic
Writer(s)	Imogen Heap
Producer(s)	Imogen Heap
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Imogen Heap singles chronology
"Aeroplane" (2002) "Hide and Seek" (2005) "Goodnight and Go" (2006)

"Hide and Seek" is a 2005 song written, produced, and performed by Imogen Heap. The song was released as the first single from her second album Speak for Yourself. The single was certified gold by the RIAA on 3 April 2009. Itself influenced by Paul Lansky's "Her Song", the track was later sampled in Jason Derülo's "Whatcha Say", a song receiving international success.

Composition

The song is performed with the sole accompaniment being a keyboard synth transformed by a vocoder, creating an altered a cappella sound.

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by Joel Peissing, featuring Heap singing against a gently flashing white backdrop. The video is presented in a heavily pillarboxed format.

Covers, remakes, and samples

Heap arranged an alternate version of the song, labeled "Hide and Seek 2", for the compilation album Songs for Tibet: The Art of Peace.

Canadian guitarist Antoine Dufour recorded a solo guitar version of the song. It is featured on his album "Convergences". British alternative rock band Fightstar covered the song as a B-Side to their single, "The English Way". This is performed solely by lead singer Charlie Simpson on Vocals and Piano. The Christian crunkcore band And Then There Were None has also covered the song. Additionally, English rock/folk artists The Dunwells recorded a guitar only version of the song with three-part harmony featuring vocalists Joseph Dunwell, his brother David Dunwell, and the band's drummer, Jonny Lamb singing counterpoint. It is featured on the band's 2012 EP Leaving of the Rose. British band Amber Run also recorded a cover of the song in 2012. ^[1]

Jason Derülo's 2009 single "Whatcha Say" prominently sampled Heap's song.^[2] The single topped the Billboard Hot 100.^[3]

EDM artists Otto Knows and Afrojack have sampled the chorus from "Hide and Seek" in remixes of the song. Dubstep artist Roksonix produced a remix of the original song however titled it under Jason Derulo's single "Whatcha Say". The English folk/rock band The Dunwells have also covered a version of "Hide and Seek" in three-part harmony. ^[4]

The song was featured in Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise Remix.

The song is covered by Tim Waurick with Jordan Litz on his first album, TimTracks, released in 2010.^[5]

Christina Grimmie sang the song during the semifinals of the sixth season of The Voice USA.

The University of Oregon's women's a capella group Divisi covered Hide and Seek on their 2008 release Roots.

Other appearances in media

The song gained popularity after being featured as background music at the climax of the season two finale of the American television series The O.C., later parodied in a 2007 Saturday Night Live digital short called The Shooting.

The song also appears in the films The Last Kiss, The Town and Warren Miller's Off the Grid. It has also been featured in the series So You Think You Can Dance, Smith, The L Word, The Real World: Sydney, Gossip Girl, Degrassi: The Next Generation, the German telenovela Anna und die Liebe and CSI: Miami.

Track listings

CD Single

1. "Hide And Seek (Radio Edit)" – 3:02
2. "Hide And Seek (Album Version)" – 4:29

Vinyl

1. "Hide And Seek" – 4:29
2. "Cumulus" – 3:34

Charts

Mixes

• Album version – 4:29
• Single version – 4:16
• Radio edit – 3:01
• Afrojack remix – 4:41
• Tiësto's In Search of Sunrise remix – 8:32
• Morgan Page Bootleg Mix - 6:04
• Otto Knows Bootleg
• Ferry Corsten Bootleg

Release history

References