Halo (song)
| Halo | |
|---|---|
| Beyoncé | |
| publication | February 20, 2009 (Europe) |
| length | 4:21 (Album Edit) 3:44 (Radio Edit) |
| Genre (s) | Pop , R&B |
| Author (s) | Evan Bogart, Beyoncé Knowles, Ryan Tedder |
| Label | Columbia Records |
| album | I am ... Sasha Fierce |
Halo [heɪ.loʊ] ( ) is a song by American R & B - singer Beyoncé Knowles . The song was produced by Knowles, Evan Bogart and Ryan Tedder for their third studio album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce . Halo was released on January 20, 2009 as the fourth single from the album I Am ... Sasha Fierce in the USA and on February 20, 2009 as the third single in Europe.
Halo is an R&B and pop ballad with the use of piano, strings, synthesizers, drums and percussions. The song won both the category Best female vocal performance - Pop at the Grammy Awards in 2010 as well as the category Best Song of the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards . Knowles reached the top of the charts in Brazil, Norway and Slovakia with Halo and was able to reach the top five of the singles charts in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA.
background
Halo was composed and written by Ryan Tedder, vocalist for One Republic , Knowles and Evan Bogart. The arrangement came about because Tedder tore his Achilles tendon and the planned tour of One Republic had to be canceled. Back in Los Angeles , he met Bogart and they wrote the song within 3 hours. According to Simon Cowell, owner of the music production company Syco Entertainment , Bogart and Tedder should have written the song for his client, the singer Leona Lewis , who could not record it due to her tight schedule. Tedder denied this statement and stated that they had only offered the song to other artists on a trial basis, as Knowles waited a long time before she recorded the song. Halo is included on the I Am ... CD of the double album I Am ... Sasha Fierce , as it is a ballad that shows Knowles as a person "under the make-up and away from the limelight".
Musical and content
Halo is a modern downtempo pop and R&B ballad with gospel and soul influences. The song was written in A major and has a tempo of 84 beats per minute . It is based on the chord progression A – Bm – F ♯ m – D and is written in the usual verse - refrain form. Knowle's voice ranges from C ♯ 3 to the falsetto note F ♯ 5 , contains melisms and is supported by background singers . Accompanied by a piano, clapping and stamping, which creates a special atmosphere, Knowles opens the song with the lines “Remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they're tumbling down "(Eng .:" Do you remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they are falling down "). She sings the introduction in a low register and the power of her voice increases as the song progresses. She begins the refrain with “Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace, baby I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace, you're everything I need and more, it's written all over your face, baby, I can feel your halo, pray it won't fade away ”before repeating the word“ halo ”several times with the chorus.
publication
In the US it was planned to release Halo together with Ego , another song from Knowle's album I Am ... Sasha Fierce . This was already practiced in a similar way with the previous singles , when If I Were a Boy and Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) were released together. The record company ultimately decided to release Halo along with the song Diva on February 20, 2009. The two songs come from the two different CDs of the double album and are intended to show Knowles different personalities, which is, among other things, the central theme of the album, in which the ballads and the up-tempo songs are on 2 different CDs. In Europe, Halo was released on March 20, 2009 as a stand-alone download. The single CD was released on April 3, 2009 in Germany. The song Diva was not released as a single in Europe.
criticism
Halo received mostly positive reviews from the critics. Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak described Halo as an absolutely gorgeous and perfectly produced song that had the potential to be as successful as Crazy in Love or Irreplaceable . According to James Montgomery of MTV News , Knowles shows sides through the tearful power in her voice that were previously unknown. Ryan Dombel of Pitchfork Media compared Knowle's “shrill and exposed” voice with that of Celine Dion and says that the listener in the Beyoncé vs. Sasha Fierce loses. Despite what he called "Forest and Meadow Text" by Halo , James Reed of The Boston Globe described the song as "Knowles' most impressive power ballad".
Above all, the similarities to Rihanna's song Umbrella were criticized . Alexis Petridis of the Guardian found that Halo "has the same icy synths, the same rocking dynamics and a similarly repetitive chorus". Digital Spy’s Nick Levine described Halo as a "muscular combo" of Umbrella and Leona Lewis Bleeding Love .
Commercial win
Halo debuted at # 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 on February 7, 2009, and reached # 5 on May 23, 2009, the highest ranking for the song. Knowles achieved more top 10 placements on the Billboard Hot 100 between 2001 and 2010 than any other female artist. In total, the song stayed in the charts for 31 weeks and was awarded double platinum for over 2,000,000 CDs sold. In the UK , Halo rose to number 4, stayed in the charts for a total of 47 weeks and also went platinum. In Germany the song rose to number 5. It was able to stay in the top 10 for 8 weeks and in the top 100 for 46 weeks and was awarded gold. In Austria the song reached 6th place, in Switzerland Halo achieved 4th place as the best place and was awarded gold.
Halo was nominated for Best Single at the Urban Music Awards 2009 and Best Love Song at the Teen Choice Awards 2009 . He was also nominated in the Best Song category of the MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 and won it. Halo was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards , and won the latter. The live version of Halo , sung by Knowles in Las Vegas on their I Am… Tour , was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards , but failed to win that award.
Cover versions
In 2012 the Belarusian post-hardcore / metalcore band Dead Silence Hides My Cries released a cover version of the song. Various other artists have also released a cover version of the song. In 2014, Ane Brun published her version of the song in collaboration with Linnea Olsson.
Charts
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
5 (46 weeks) | 46 |
 Austria (Ö3)
|
6th (39 weeks) | 39 |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
|
4th (48 weeks) | 48 |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
|
4th (49 weeks) | 49 |
 United States (Billboard)
|
5 (31 weeks) | 31 |
Awards for music sales
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
||
 Australia (ARIA)
|
 7 × platinum
|
490,000 |
 Denmark (IFPI)
|
platinum
|
30,000 |
|
Germany (BVMI)
|
platinum
|
300,000 |
 Italy (FIMI)
|
platinum
|
30,000 |
 Canada (MC)
|
platinum
|
80,000 |
 Mexico (AMPROFON)
|
 gold
|
30,000 |
 New Zealand (RMNZ)
|
platinum
|
15,000 |
|
Switzerland (IFPI)
|
platinum
|
30,000 |
 Spain (Promusicae)
|
2 × platinum
|
80,000 |
|
United States (RIAA)
|
2 × platinum
|
3,874,000 |
|
United Kingdom (BPI)
|
2 × platinum
|
866,000 |
| All in all |
1 × gold 19 × platinum |
5,840,000 |
Main article: Beyoncé / Awards for Music Sales
Individual evidence
- ↑ chartsurfer.de: Beyoncé: Halo
- ↑ a b Interview with EVAN BOGART, songwriter for Beyoncé, Rihanna and Leona Lewis. hitquarters.com, February 8, 2010, archived from the original on September 30, 2011 ; accessed on September 20, 2014 .
- ↑ Bleeding cheek! The Sun , accessed June 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Beijing date announced for Beyonce's 'I Am ...' world tour. In: China Daily . China Daily Group, October 13, 2009, p. 3 , accessed June 12, 2013 .
- ^ Beyoncé "Halo" Sheet Music. Musicnotes.com Hal Leonard Corporation, accessed June 14, 2013 .
- ^ Beyonce's Very Different New Videos: One Has Dancing, One Has Relationship Problems. MTV News. MTV Networks, October 13, 2008, accessed June 12, 2013 .
- ↑ Michael Slezak: Beyonce vs. Beyonce! ('Diva' vs. 'Halo'!) Weigh in! In: Entertainment Weekly . Time Inc, January 7, 2010, accessed June 17, 2013 .
- ↑ James Montgomery: Beyonce's Road To The Grammys Proves She Is A Fierce Diva. MTV News, January 25, 2010, accessed June 17, 2013 .
- ↑ Ryan Dombal: Album Reviews: Beyoncé: I Am ... Sasha Fierce. Pitchfork Media , November 21, 2008, accessed June 17, 2013 .
- ↑ James Reed: Beyoncé branches out - The Boston Globe. In: The Boston Globe . The New York Times Company , November 30, 2009, accessed June 17, 2013 .
- ↑ Alexis Petridis: Pop review: Beyoncé, I Am ... Sasha Fierce. In: The Guardian . Guardian Media Group, November 14, 2008, accessed June 17, 2013 .
- ↑ Nick Levine: Music - Album Review - Beyoncé: 'I Am ... Sasha Fierce'. Digital Spy , November 17, 2008, accessed June 17, 2013 .
- ↑ Don Omar: The Reggaeton Starts Plugs In For Digital Sales With 'IDon' And An iPhone App . In: Nielsen Business Media (Ed.): Billboard . 121, No. 16, April 24, 2009, ISSN 0006-2510 , p. 41.
- ↑ a b Halo sales in the US; Charts News on Twitter
- ↑ a b Jack White: Beyonce's Official Top 20 biggest songs in the UK revealed. The Official Charts Company, June 28, 2016, accessed July 1, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Gold & Platinum Database BVMI. Federal Association of the Music Industry , accessed on September 15, 2017 .
- ↑ Dead Silence Hides My Cries - Halo (Beyoncé Cover) . YouTube . Retrieved April 28, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US