"Fly Away" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Lenny Kravitz | ||||
from the album 5 | ||||
B-side | "Believe" (live acoustic) | |||
Released | November 9, 1998 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lenny Kravitz | |||
Producer(s) | Lenny Kravitz | |||
Lenny Kravitz singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Fly Away" on YouTube |
"Fly Away" is a song by American singer Lenny Kravitz. It was released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, 5 (1998). Released on November 9, 1998, "Fly Away" peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Fly Away" topped the charts in Iceland and the United Kingdom and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Performance in 1999.
"Fly Away" emerged from Kravitz testing an amp that was brought to the studio. After plugging in the available guitar, Kravitz started playing the song, stating, "I was listening to the way different chords were ringing, just moving between A, C, G and D, and the next thing I knew I was telling the engineer to hook up the mics and record." [5]
By the time he wrote "Fly Away", Kravitz had already turned in the completed album to Virgin Records, and he considered releasing the song as a b-side. However, after playing the song for a friend, they responded, "If you don’t put it on the album, I’m gonna be so pissed off at you." After Kravitz contacted his label about the inclusion of the song, they were reluctant, but he sent them the song anyway. Upon hearing the track, they added it to the album. [6]
Birmingham Evening Mail commented, "If you watch TV you'll already be familiar with this - it's the song from the Peugeot TV ad which seems to have rarely been off the screen during the past few weeks. It's about time Kravitz returned to the big time - remember when he sold out the NEC in `91? - and this could see him back in the chart big time." [7]
"Fly Away" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped both the Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Tracks charts. [8] [9] [10] On Canada's RPM Top Singles chart, "Fly Away" reached number three and stayed in the top 20 for six weeks. [11] Outside North America, the song reached number one in Iceland and on the UK Singles Chart; [12] [13] its success in the UK is attributed to its appearance in a television advertisement for the Peugeot 206 Supermini car. [14] In Australia and New Zealand, "Fly Away" peaked at number eight and was certified Gold in both countries. [1] [15] [16] [17] The song helped to expand the success of his fifth studio album, 5, in Europe and earned Kravitz a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best Male Rock Performance, his first of four consecutive wins in this category. [18]
The music video for the single was directed by American director Paul Hunter. It features Kravitz and his band playing in a club, surrounded by a crowd dancing to the song, with some of them having fun and others making out. Special effects were added to the video to make it look beat up and grainy. A girl in the crowd is briefly shown topless several times during the video. The video is featured on the DVD for Kravitz's Greatest Hits album tour edition.
Kravitz also appears in a 2010 video in which he joined the Voice of Praise Choir from the First Baptist Church of Lewisville, Texas, as they performed "Fly Away" on a street in New Orleans. [19]
International CD and cassette single [20] [21] [22]
European CD single [23]
French CD single [24]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [16] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [52] | Platinum | 60,000* |
Italy (FIMI) [53] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [17] | Gold | 5,000* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [54] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [55] | Platinum | 556,000 [56] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | May 11, 1998 | Active rock radio | Virgin | [57] |
October 20, 1998 | Contemporary hit radio | [58] | ||
November 9, 1998 | CD | [1] | ||
United Kingdom | February 8, 1999 |
| [59] |
Internet personality Neil Cicierega made a lyric video of the song with the vocal tracks heavily altered, [60] which received coverage from several websites. [61] [62] [63] The song has also been used in a tourism campaign for The Bahamas, featuring Kravitz who is of Bahamian descent. [64]
"Millennium" is a song by English singer Robbie Williams from his second studio album, I've Been Expecting You (1998). On 7 September 1998, it was released as the first track from the album and became Williams' first single to top the UK Singles Chart. The song also received extensive airplay in the United States and Canada, where it was the lead single from Williams' 1999 compilation album, The Ego Has Landed.
"Because We Want To" is a song performed by British pop singer Billie. The song was written by Dion Rambo, Jacques Richmond, Wendy Page, and Jim Marr and produced by Marr and Page for Billie's debut album, Honey to the B (1998). It was released as her debut single on 29 June 1998 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number one in July 1998, making Billie the youngest artist to debut at number one, at age 15. It also reached the top 10 in Ireland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The song was the official theme of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"Up and Down" is a song by Dutch Eurodance group Vengaboys. Originally released in the Netherlands in February 1998, it reached number four in the United Kingdom in November 1998. It also reached number one on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1999. The Tin Tin Out remix of the song was sampled in DMC's remix of Cher's "Believe". The "Wooo!" voice in the song is sampled from "Crash Goes Love" by Loleatta Holloway.
"American Woman" is a song by Canadian rock band the Guess Who, released January 1970, from the album of the same name. It was later released in March 1970 as a single backed with "No Sugar Tonight", and it reached number one for three weeks commencing May 9 on both the United States' Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian RPM magazine singles chart. Billboard magazine placed the single at number three on the Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970 list, and it was listed as number five for 1970 on the RPM Year-End Chart. On May 22, 1970, the single was certified as gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also reached the top ten in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria, and the top twenty in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
"Hey Boy Hey Girl" is a song by the British big beat duo the Chemical Brothers. The song contains a sample from "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three. "Hey Boy Hey Girl" was released as the first single from the Chemical Brothers' third studio album, Surrender (1999), on 26 May 1999 in Japan and on 31 May in the United Kingdom.
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is a song by American musician Lenny Kravitz, released in February 1993 by Virgin Records as the first single from his third studio album, Are You Gonna Go My Way (1993). The song was written by Kravitz and Craig Ross, while Kravitz produced it. It peaked at number one in Australia and number four on the UK Singles Chart, as well as number one on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. Its music video was directed by Mark Romanek.
"It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" is a song written, produced, and performed by American musician Lenny Kravitz for his second studio album, Mama Said (1991). Released as the album's second single in June 1991 by Virgin, the song is a mid-tempo ballad musically inspired by Motown, Philly soul, and Earth, Wind & Fire. The horn line at the end is performed by the Phenix Horns from Earth, Wind & Fire. "That song just came out one day, and I knew it had a classic vibe. And I still love that song very much today," Kravitz said in an interview for VivaMusic.com in 2000. The line is based on a Yogiism, or quotation from Yogi Berra: "It ain't over 'til it's over."
"Where Are We Runnin'?" is a song performed by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz. It was released on April 5, 2004, as the lead single from his seventh studio album, Baptism (2004). Kravitz wrote the song with his long-time collaborator Craig Ross and produced it himself. Following its release, the song reached number 69 in the United States, number 13 in Italy, and number four in Spain.
"Again" is a song by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, being the only new song from his first Greatest Hits album, released in 2000. Written, arranged and produced by himself, "Again" was initially set to be on his sixth studio album; however, Kravitz found that the song didn't fit the tone of the album, releasing it instead as the lead single from the compilation on September 22, 2000, through Virgin Records. The mid-tempo rock ballad finds Kravitz wondering if he will ever see his former lover again and if they will reunite once more.
"Rock and Roll Is Dead" is a song by American musician Lenny Kravitz, released in August 1995 by Virgin as the first single from his fourth album, Circus (1995). The song, both written and produced by Kravitz, reached the top 20 in Canada, Finland, New Zealand, and Spain, but it underperformed in the United States, peaking at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video for "Rock and Roll Is Dead" was storyboarded by Andrew Trovaioli and directed by Ruven Afanador. It shows Kravitz performing the song with his band, as well as Kravitz with visual artistic related backgrounds. Kravitz was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for the song in 1996.
"Dig In" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz, the lead single from his sixth studio album, Lenny (2001). It was released in September 2001. It was used in promos by the National Basketball Association for the 2002 NBA Playoffs, as well as the ending theme for the film Returner.
"Maybe" is a single from American band N*E*R*D's second studio album, Fly or Die (2004). The song features Lenny Kravitz on guitar and Questlove on drums. It peaked at number 25 in the United Kingdom, number 31 in Ireland, and number 34 in the Netherlands. The song was featured in an iPod commercial that also promoted the song.
"Heaven Help" is a song by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released in August 1993 by Virgin America as the third single from his third studio album, Are You Gonna Go My Way (1993). The song was written by Gerry DeVeaux and Terry Britten, and produced by Kravitz. It made a brief appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 92. In the United Kingdom, it became his second top-twenty hit from Are You Gonna Go My Way, peaking at number 20, and in Canada and New Zealand, the song reached the top 30. It was later included on Kravitz' compilation album Greatest Hits. The accompanying music video was directed by Per Gustafsson.
"Out of Tears" is a song by English rock band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1994 album, Voodoo Lounge. It was released as the album's third single. The song was moderately successful, reaching the top 40 in several countries, including Canada, where it peaked at No. 3 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart for six consecutive weeks.
"Stillness of Heart" is a song written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross. The song was included on Kravitz's 2001 album, Lenny, and was released as a single on January 14, 2002. "Stillness of Heart" charted at number 38 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts, number 22 on the Canadian Singles Chart, and number 16 on the Italian Singles Chart.
"No Tengo Dinero" is the debut single of Danish musical group Los Umbrellos, considered to be their signature song. It was released by FLEX Records on 14 May 1997. Based on the theme of 1960 film Never on Sunday by Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis, the lyrics were written by Jay and Richie Balmorian and group member Al Agami. It was produced by Kenneth Bager, Michael Pfundheller and Jan Elhøj, with additional production handled by Cutfather & Joe.
"Wrong" is a song written and recorded by English musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 17 June 1996 as the second single from their ninth album, Walking Wounded (1996). The song topped the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, reached number two in Italy, and entered the top 10 in Canada, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
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"California" is a song written, produced, and performed by American singer Lenny Kravitz, released as the second single from his seventh studio album, Baptism (2004), on July 12, 2004. Kravitz plays all the instruments on the song and uses his own handclaps. The song reached number 28 in Italy and charted moderately in several other European countries. It was released in the United States as a radio single and maxi-single but did not appear on any Billboard charts.
"That Girl" is a song by English reggae singer Maxi Priest featuring Jamaican reggae musician Shaggy. It was released on 10 June 1996 as the first single from Priest's sixth album, Man with the Fun (1996). The song samples the 1962 instrumental "Green Onions" by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. "That Girl" reached the top 20 in at least eight countries, including the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at No. 3 on the Finnish Singles Chart, No. 4 on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, No. 7 on the Australian Singles Chart and No. 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
He's sold more than 40 million records worldwide, and despite playing throwback music, has released four Top 40 hits, including the gorgeous Philly soul tribute "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" and the funk-rock stomper "Fly Away."
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