In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album or LP record, typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standalone tracks or connected to an artist's album, and in the latter case would often have at least one single release before the album itself, called lead singles.
The Thrills are an Irish pop band formed in Dublin in 2001. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their break came with their debut album, So Much for the City, which became an Irish number one and charted at number 3 in the UK. The band's sound has been described as "inspired by classic American pop of the late '60s and early '70s" by Rovi and "an ocean-soaked, harmony-heavy homage to California's dreamy dreams, shaking ground, and unrelenting sunshine" by Pitchfork Media.
A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the CD single standard was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (CD3); later on the term referred to any single recorded onto a CD of any size, particularly the 12 cm (5-inch) "full-size" disc (CD5). From a technical viewpoint, a CD single is identical to any other audio CD. The format started gaining popularity in the early 1990s, but quickly declined in the early and mid 2000s, in favor of digital downloaded singles and CD albums.
A maxi single, or maxi-single, is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song.
"Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, Hopes and Fears (2004). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart during its first week of sales, becoming the band's signature song and biggest hit single to date.
"I Am Not My Hair" is a song by American soul and R&B singer–songwriter India.Arie from her third studio album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship (2006). Written by Arie, Shannon Sanders, and Drew Ramsey, it was released as the album's lead single in late 2005 to moderate chart success. The song was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2007 Grammy Awards. A remix version of "I Am Not My Hair" featuring Akon was also released.
"He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'" is a soul song written by Motown songwriters Norman Whitfield, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Edward Holland, Jr. in 1964. The song is notable in both a 1964 version by American Motown girl group the Velvelettes, and a 1982 hit version by British girl group Bananarama.
"Freaky" is the 36th single by Japanese singer Koda Kumi, released on June 27, 2007. The single took the #1 spot on the Oricon charts, making it her fourth #1 single, and charted for fifteen weeks.
"Close Every Door" is a song from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is the penultimate song of the first act of the musical, sung by Joseph while imprisoned for his supposed relationship with Potiphar's wife. Along with "Any Dream Will Do", it is one of the most popular songs from the musical.
"Escape Artists Never Die" is the third and last single from Funeral for a Friend's Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation album. This single marked the first use of the DVD format for the band's singles; second being for the very-sought-after "Monsters" DVD single. It charted at the 19th position on the UK Singles Chart, just like their previous release, "Juneau". The song was originally included on the band's second EP, Four Ways to Scream Your Name and was remixed for the album before being released as a single.
"Mademoiselle Juliette" is a song by French singer Alizée, which was released as the first single from her third studio album Psychédélices. It was released on 30 September 2007, Alizée's first single in 4 years, the last being "À contre-courant" which was released in October 2003.
"Liverpool 8" is a song by Ringo Starr and is the lead track on his 2008 album of the same name. The song was also released in early December 2007 as a download-single. It was later released in physical formats on 7 January 2008, a week before the release of the album. The B-side for the 7" is the third track from the album, "For Love". Despite the physical single being available for only 99 pence in the UK, it only reached number 99 there.
"Who Would Have Thought" is a song written by Darren Hayes and Guy Chambers, for Hayes' third solo album This Delicate Thing We've Made, released as a limited-edition 7" vinyl and digital download alongside the "Me, Myself and (I)" single release. Hayes added an animated video for the song as a teaser on his official website, as well as his Myspace profile, on 9 April 2007. The single failed to chart due to its ineligibility as a promotional release. The b-side "The Only One" is included on the album This delicate thing we've made.
"Said It All" is a song by English rock band Take That. It is the fourth single from to be taken from their fifth studio album, The Circus (2008). The single was released in the United Kingdom on 15 June 2009, where it peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the Scottish Singles Chart. It was their last hit as a four-piece as Robbie Williams return to the group on the next hit, "The Flood".
"Beautiful People" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 2 October 2009 as the third and final single from their tenth studio album, Yes (2009). Initially, the single was released in Germany only, at the request of EMI. In November, it was released digitally in the United States.
"Big Sur" is the third single released by Irish band the Thrills, taken from their debut album, So Much for the City (2003). The song contains elements from the 1966 song "(Theme from) The Monkees". "Big Sur" was released on 9 June 2003 and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the most successful single release from the band. In their home country, the song reached number nine, giving them their second top-10 single, after "One Horse Town". Elsewhere, the song reached number 44 in Italy and number 55 in the Netherlands.
"Famous" is an English language hit by Swedish girl group Play, taken from the album Under My Skin. It is the only number-one single for the group on the Swedish Singles Chart, and their only top 10 hit since Play began in 2001.
Lostboy! AKA Jim Kerr is the first solo album by Simple Minds front-man Jim Kerr, released on 17 May 2010. The album entered the UK charts at No. 94 on 29 May 2010 and UK Independent Chart at No. 8. The album also made the charts in some other European countries, most notably Germany, Italy, France and Belgium.
"Midnight" is a song by the South Korean boy band Beast. It was released digitally in South Korea on July 15, 2012 as a pre-release single of the group's fifth mini album Midnight Sun, released a week after. The song was later re-recorded in Japanese and was used as the group's third Japanese single, released on October 17, 2012.
"Mint" is the 44th single by Japanese singer Namie Amuro. It was released on May 18, 2016 in Japan and May 27, 2016 in Taiwan as a CD single, DVD single, and worldwide on May 18 as a digital download by Avex Trax, Avex Taiwan and Amuro's own label Dimension Point. It also served as Amuro's fifth non-album maxi single, after the release of her December 2015 single "Red Carpet", and features the B-side song "Chit Chat". The track was written by Andreas Öberg, Emyli, Maria Marcus, and Tiger, while production was handled by Oberg and Marcus.
