Ice Queen (song)

"Ice Queen"
Single by Within Temptation
from the album Mother Earth
B-side "Mother Earth" "World of Make Believe" "Caged" "Believer"
Released June 2001
Format CD single,
DigitalDownload
Recorded 2000
Length 5:20 (Album Version)
3:50 (Radio Version)
Label DSFA Records,
GUN Records (re-releases)
Writer(s) Robert Westerholt,
Sharon den Adel
Within Temptation singles chronology
"Our Farewell"
(2001)		 "Ice Queen"
(2001)		 "Mother Earth"
(2003)

"Ice Queen" is a song by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released in June 2001 as the second single from their second studio album Mother Earth. The song was the band's commercial breakthrough, and it remains one of the band's most successful songs to date in Europe.

Along with the singles "Mother Earth," "Angels," and "Stand My Ground", "Ice Queen" has become one of the band's signature songs and is played as ending song on the setlist on almost every concert, except for most recently when it was the first song played at the first concert of their 2011 World Tour at The Ahoy, Rotterdam and some shows on The Unforgiving Tour where they ended with the song "Stairway to the Skies".

Track listing

CD single (original)
  1. "Ice Queen" (radio version)
  2. "Mother Earth"
CD Multi single (original)
  1. "Ice Queen" (radio version)
  2. "Mother Earth" [Live 11.02.2001 at Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
  3. "Caged" [Live 11.02.2001 at Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
  4. "Ice Queen" [Live 11.02.2001 at Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
  5. "Believer" (Ice Queen Demo)
  6. "Caged" (demo version)
CD single (2002 release)
  1. "Ice Queen" (radio version)
  2. "Caged" [Live 11.02.2001 at Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
CD single (2003 release)
  1. "Ice Queen" (single edit)
  2. "Mother Earth" [Live 11.02.2001 at Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
  3. "Ice Queen" (acoustic at "MXL")
CD Multi single (2003 release)
  1. "Ice Queen" (single edit)
  2. "World of Make Believe"
  3. "Ice Queen" (acoustic at "MXL")
  4. "Ice Queen" [Live 11.02.2001 at Amsterdam, The Netherlands]
  5. "Mother Earth" (Orchestra version)
  6. "Mother Earth" (Leidse Kade live)

Video

There are two official videos for the song "Ice Queen". The first video, released only in the Netherlands even though it is generally known as the "German Version", starts with a girl checking a website for concert videos. Then she finds two links, one saying 'Within Temptation'. She clicks on that link and their concert in Landgraaf in 2001, is shown on her screen. While watching the concert on her computer, she clicks on a couple of links and information on the band appears on her screen.

The second video was made for international release. Sharon, the singer, is dancing on a background of a blue, starry sky. She is wearing a white dress and has white extensions in her hair. The other band members are surrounded by fire, thunderstorms and futuristic images. After a while, all band members are shown together on a red planet.

Lyrics

Like many of Within Temptation's songs, the lyrics of Ice Queen take their inspiration from nature. "It's a song about nature", said vocalist Sharon den Adel, in an interview with Dennis Weening on Westpop. "And how things go in nature". Guitarist Robert Westerholt further added that "it's about winter".[1]

Charts

Single Charts

Chart (2001-2002) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[2] 53
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[3] 3
Germany (Official German Charts)[4] 21
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[5] 2

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Belgium (BEA)[6] Gold 25,000*
Netherlands (NVPI)[7] Gold 40,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Year-end charts

Chart (2002) Position
Belgian Singles Chart[8] 12
Dutch Singles Chart[9] 17

References

  1. ↑ Video on YouTube
  2. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Within Temptation – Ice Queen" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  3. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Within Temptation – Ice Queen" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  4. ↑ "Musicline.de – Within Temptation Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  5. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Within Temptation search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2002". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "Dutch single certifications – Within Temptation – Ice Queen" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Within Temptation: Year-end Belgian Charts". Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  9. ↑ "Within Temptation: Year-end Dutch Charts". Retrieved 2014-07-05.

External links

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