I'm like a Bird

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“I'm like a Bird”
“I'm like a Bird” cover
Single by Nelly Furtado
from the album Whoa, Nelly!
B-side "I Feel You"
Released Flag of the United StatesFlag of Canada November 28, 2000
Flag of Europe February 19, 2001
Flag of the United Kingdom February 26, 2001
Format CD single
Recorded 2000
Genre Pop, soft rock, blues
Length 4:03
Label DreamWorks
Writer(s) Nelly Furtado
Producer Gerald Eaton, Brian West
Nelly Furtado singles chronology
"Party's Just Begun (Again)"
(2000)		 "I'm like a Bird"
(2000)		 "Turn Off the Light"
(2001)
Audio sample
Info "I'm like a Bird" (help·info)

"I'm like a Bird" is a song written by Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado, and produced by Gerald Eaton and Brian West for her first album Whoa, Nelly! (2000). 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 and Brazil, number two in Australia and New Zealand, number five in the UK, and number nine in the U.S. It peaked at 9 on Billboard's Hot 100 Airplay, It won a 2001 Juno Award for "Single of the Year" and a 2002 Grammy for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance". She performed an arrangement of the song at the Grammys featuring accompaniment by virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai.

The song was covered by the band Element 101, whose version appears on the compilation album Punk Goes Pop (2002). 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!".[1]

Contents

[edit] Music video

Nelly Furtado in the video for "I'm Like a Bird".
Nelly Furtado in the video for "I'm Like a Bird".

The music video for "I'm Like a Bird" was directed by Francis Lawrence.[2]

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 the tree stem in mid-air. In the chorus she gets up and she 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 stem. At the bridge she is singing to a bug while her eyes are changing color. The conclusion of the video shows her on a branch and she falls backwards into a mosh-pit of people as she sings the lines of the song.

[edit] Music and structure

"I'm like a Bird" is composed in common time in the key of B♭ major.[3] The song moves at 90 beats per minute, and Furtado's voice spans around an octave and a half, from F3 to B♭4.[3] It is written in verse-chorus form, with a bridge before the second chorus.[3]

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Canada Single

CD Single
  1. "I'm like a Bird" (Non-LP Version) - 4:03
  2. "Party (Reprise)" (Non-LP Version) - 4:55

[edit] Europe Single

CD Promo
  1. "I'm like a Bird" (Radio Promo) - 4:02
CD Maxi-Single
  1. "I'm like a Bird" (LP version)
  2. "Party (Reprise)" (non-LP version)
  3. "I Feel You" (featuring Esthero)
  4. "My Love Grows Deeper" (non-LP version)

[edit] UK Single

CD Single
  1. "I'm like a Bird" (LP version)
  2. "Party (Reprise)" (non-LP version)
  3. "I Feel You"
  4. "I'm like a Bird" (music video)

[edit] Remixes

  • I'm Like A Bird (Junior Vasquez Club Anthem Mix) (10:21)
  • I'm Like A Bird (Junior Vasquez Earth Anthem Radio Mix) (6:30)
  • I'm Like A Bird (Gavo's Martini Bar Mix) (6:56)
  • I'm Like A Bird (Digital Cutup Lounge Remix) (vs. Asha Bhonsle) (5:33)

[edit] Charts

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 2
Belgian Singles Chart 16
Brasilian Singles Chart 1
Canadian Singles Chart 1
Chilean Singles Airplay Chart 2
Dutch Singles Chart 8
French Singles Chart 33
German Singles Chart 41
Irish Singles Chart 4
Italian Singles Chart 16
Mexican Singles Chart 4
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 2
Swedish Singles Chart 16
Swiss Singles Chart 17
UK Singles Chart 5
United World Chart[4] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 9
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 5
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream 6
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Tracks 6

[edit] Certification

Country Certification Sales
Australia 2x platinum[5] 140,000

[edit] References

  1. ^ de Silverio, Victoria. "Nelly Furtado: Free As A Bird". Blender. July 2006. Retrieved September 18, 2006.
  2. ^ Method Studios - Nelly Furtado "I'm Like a Bird"
  3. ^ a b c Sheet music for "I'm Like a Bird". Nelstar Publishing. 2001.
  4. ^ United World Chart week 18, 2001
  5. ^ ARIA Accreditations
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