- Fly Like a Bird
Infobox Single
Name = Fly Like a Bird
Artist =Mariah Carey
Album =The Emancipation of Mimi
Released =April 3 2006 (U.S.)
Format =Digital download
Recorded =New York City , U.S.;Capri ,Italy ; 2004
Genre = R&B, gospel
Length = 3:52 (Album/Single Version)
Label = Island
Writer = Mariah Carey, James Wright
Producer = Mariah Carey, James Wright
Last single = "Say Somethin' "
(2006)
This single = "Fly Like a Bird"
(2006)
Next single = "Mine Again "
(2006)Extra tracklisting
Album =The Emancipation of Mimi
Type = studio
prev_track = "Joy Ride"
prev_no = 13
this_track = "Fly Like a Bird"
track_no = 14
next_track =
next_no =Extra tracklisting
Album =The Emancipation of Mimi (Ultra Platinum Edition)
Type = studio
prev_track = "Joy Ride"
prev_no = 13
this_track = "Fly Like a Bird"
track_no = 14
next_track = "Don't Forget about Us "
next_no = 15"Fly Like a Bird" is a song written and produced by American singer
Mariah Carey andJames "Big Jim" Wright for Carey's tenth studio album, "The Emancipation of Mimi " (2005). It was released as a single from the album in 2006 (see2006 in music ). The song's protagonist speaks toGod : "Fly like a bird, take to the sky, I need you now Lord, carry me high!"Theme
Carey created the chorus' main lyrics and melody, while Wright arranged its chord structure. Carey later wrote the rest of the lyrics and asked her pastor, Clarence Keaton, to speak on the track. Keaton read directly from the
Bible : "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy will come in the morning". Carey called it her "favorite song on the album [...] mainly because it's very much a spiritual message.... And I just felt like the message was really important to include on the album and that's why it's the final song on the album. It kind of sums up everything. It kind of leaves you on a spiritual high moment.""Billboard" magazine called the song "a classic" [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/reviews/single_review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002275388 Billboard.com] ] and described it as "another career-redefining hit ... The flight of "Bird" from humble call for deliverance into a frenzied ecclesiastic hymn is utterly spine-tingling. A joyful noise." [ [http://www.mariahdaily.com/corantofiles/news-archive-2-2006.shtml Mariah Daily] ]
Commercial release
"Fly Like a Bird" was released on a two-song
promotional single with "My Saving Grace" — a track from Carey's ninth studio album, "Charmbracelet " (2002) — to gospel radio stations in the United States onMay 18 2005 . It received little airplay and consequently was not released to other radio formats, but it was played by several urban, rhythmic, and urban adult contemporary stations across the U.S. Carey performed the song live during theHurricane Katrina telethon inSeptember 9 , 2005. She later performed the song with a medley of "We Belong Together " in February at the 2006 Grammy Awards with Wright on the piano & organ. The performance was met with a standing ovation, and many critics cited it as "the best performance of the night" as well as one of Mariah's best performance in recent years. It even prompted actressTeri Hatcher , who was presenting an award following the performance, to say that it felt like "we've just been saved".In April 2006 "Fly Like a Bird" was released to U.S. urban and urban adult contemporary radio stations, at the same time "
Say Somethin' ", another song on "The Emancipation of Mimi", was released to pop and rhythmic radio stations. "Fly Like a Bird" did not chart on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100, instead reaching number four on Billboard'sBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, which represents the twenty-five songs below the Hot 100's number 100 position that have not yet appeared on the Hot 100. It peaked at number nineteen on "Billboard"'sHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and topped the HotAdult R&B Airplay chart for six weeks. The song had longevity in the urban market, reaching its peak on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in its twenty-fourth week. It was still in the top thirty after its fiftieth week. Plans for amusic video for the single were cancelled.Fact|date=February 2007After Carey won at the
Grammy Awards in early 2006, the song became successful on the radio in Asia. In thePhilippines it was released as a radio-only single and became popular, but because it was only released as a promo single it was unable to chart.An official urban remix produced by
Kanye West and Melonie Daniels was recorded but has yet to be released. The remix samplesEarth, Wind & Fire 's "Keep Your Head to the Sky".Fact|date=February 2007Tracy Young andMaurice Joshua produced remixes of the song: the Needin' You Remix and the Maurice Joshua Anthem, respectively.Carey performed the song on American Idol's 2008 "
Idol Gives Back " charity special on April 9, 2008. The performance featured Randy Jackson on bass guitar and was subsequently released to iTunes as a digital single.Charts
Notes
References
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