Bring Me to Life
Encyclopedia
"Bring Me to Life" is a song by American rock
band Evanescence
. It was written by Amy Lee
, Ben Moody
and David Hodges
and produced by Dave Fortman
. It also features guest vocals from Paul McCoy
of the band 12 Stones
. Wind-up
released "Bring Me to Life" in 2003 as the lead single from Evanescence's debut studio album, Fallen
. The song delivers genres from alternative metal
to rap-rock and gothic metal
among others.
According to Lee, "Bring Me to Life" has several meanings and inspirations; its subjects are an incident in a restaurant, open-mindedness and waking up to the things which are missing in the protagonist's life. Lee later revealed that the song was inspired by her long-time friend and husband, Josh Hartzler. Critical response to the song was mostly positive, critics praising the melody of the song, Lee's vocals and their accompaniment by McCoy.
Following the inclusion of "Bring Me to Life" on the Daredevil soundtrack
, it has become a commercial and critical success topping the charts in Australia, the United Kingdom and Italy. It charted in the top ten in more than fifteen countries including the United States, Argentina, Germany and New Zealand. "Bring Me to Life" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) and twice Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA). The lyrics of the song have been interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ, which helped the song to chart on the Christian rock
charts.The band announced that they had no desire to be considered a Christian band.
The band won in the category for Best Hard Rock Performance
at the 46th Grammy Awards where the song was also nominated for Best Rock Song
. The accompanying music video was directed by Philipp Stölzl; it shows Lee singing and climbing on a skyscraper while having nightmares in her bedroom. "Bring Me to Life" was part of the set list during the Fallen and The Open Door Tour. Many artists recorded cover versions of the song, including the classical singer Katherine Jenkins
and American pianist, John Tesh
. The song was also used on several television shows.
: "I was inspired to write it when someone said something to me — I didn’t know him, and I thought he might be clairvoyant.[...] I was in a relationship and I was completely unhappy. But I was hiding it. I was being completely abused and I was trying to cover it up; I wouldn’t even admit it to myself. So then I had spoken maybe 10 or 15 words to this guy, who was a friend of a friend. We were waiting for everyone else to show up, and we went into a restaurant and got a table. And he looked at me and said, ‘Are you happy?’ And I felt my heart leap, and I was like, he totally knows what I’m thinking. And I lied, I said I was fine. Anyway, he’s not really clairvoyant. But he is a sociology major." Lee said in a VH1
interview: "Open-mindedness. It's about waking up to all the things you've been missing for so long. One day someone said something that made my heart race for a second and I realized that for months I'd been numb, just going through the motions of life." During an interview with Blender
, Lee claimed that she wrote "Bring Me to Life" about her longtime friend, Josh Hartzler, whom she married in 2007.
"Bring Me to Life" was released on April 22, 2003; it was the first single from the band's debut album, Fallen
. The album's opening track, "Going Under
", was initially planned to be the first single, but the after the release of the Daredevil soundtrack
, it was changed to the album's second single. Wind-up Entertainment president/CEO Ed Vetri, revealed that when the label was pushing the song to the radio, owners stated "We don't play pianos and chicks on rock radio." However, when "Bring Me to Life" was released on the Daredevil soundtrack, listeners demanded the radio to play the song. The single includes "Farther Away" as a B-side
and refers to it as the album version; however, the track order of Fallen was not finalized at the time of its release and the track was omitted from the album. The first pressing of the Australian single contained the track "Missing" as a B-side, but this was omitted from later pressings and later released as a bonus track on the band's first live album, Anywhere but Home
. Earlier versions of "Bring Me to Life" were recorded and released as demo versions before Fallens release; featuring more industrial pieces of music and the absence of Paul McCoy
's guest vocals. An acoustic version was recorded and released on the Bring Me to Life DVD. Several other versions of the track have been released, such as remixes, acoustic and altered versions. The live version featured on the Anywhere but Home DVD contains a piano and vocal solo before the song's intro and features John LeCompt
performing guest vocals.
, where most of "Bring Me to Life" was recorded, prior to full album production. The song was mixed by Jay Baumgardner
in his studio, NRG Recording Studios
in North Hollywood, on an SSL 9000 J
. A 22-piece string section was recorded in Seattle by Mark Curry
. "Bring Me to Life" was mixed at the Newman Scoring Stage and Bolero Studios, both in Los Angeles
. The orchestra parts were arranged by David Hodges and David Campbell. During an interview, Lee recalled that during the recording process of the song it was said to her that the song must to have male vocals: "It was presented to me as, 'You're a girl singing in a rock band, there's nothing else like that out there, nobody's going to listen to you. You need a guy to come in and sing back-up for it to be successful.'"
According to the sheet music published by Alfred Music Publishing on the website Musicnotes.com, "Bring Me to Life" is a rock
, alternative metal
, hard rock
, chamber pop and gothic metal
song set in a common time
and performed in a moderate tempo
of 96 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E minor
and Lee's vocal range for the song runs from the note A3
to D5
. In the song, Paul McCoy sings the lines "Wake me up/ I can't wake up/ Save me!" in a rap style. St. Petersburg Times
Brian Orloff called the song a "...boffo hit" in which Lee sang the lines "'Call my name and save me from the dark' over surging guitars." Ann Powers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
wrote: "'Bring Me to Life,' with its lyrical drama and crunchy guitars, branded the band as overdone nu-metal." Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian
called the song a power ballad. Joe D'Angelo from MTV
wrote that the "...toothy riffs" of songs like "Going Under" and "Bring Me to Life" might suggest that "...Nobody's Home" (2005) from Avril Lavigne
's second studio album Under My Skin will sound like "an Evanescence song with Avril, not Amy Lee, on vocals."
Rolling Stone
s Kirk Miller wrote that: "...thanks to the song's digital beats, clean metal-guitar riffs, scattered piano lines and all-too-familiar mix of rapping and singing", "it was similar to Linkin Park
's material. Nick Catucci of The Village Voice
found "...piano tinkles, Lee's breathless keen, dramatic pauses, guitars like clouds of locusts, [and] 12 Stones singer Paul McCoy's passing-12-kidney-stones guest vocals." Vik Bansal of musicOMH
compared Evanescence's own song "Going Under
" with "Bring Me to Life", noting their similarity to Linkin Park
's material. Lee said, during an interview with MTV News
: "Basically, we go through life every day, kind of doing the same thing, going through the motions, and nothing phases us for the most part. Then one day something happens that wakes [you] up and makes [you] realize that there's more to life than just feeling nothing, feeling numb. It's as if [you've] never felt before and just realized there's this whole world of emotion or meaning that [you've] never seen before. It's just like, 'Wow, I've been asleep all this time.'"
, the song "...is a mix of Lee's ethereal soprano, piano interludes, and layers of serrated guitar crunch that conjure visions of Sarah McLachlan fronting Godsmack." In his review of Evanescence's second studio album, The Open Door
, Brendan Butler of Cinema Blend
compared "Sweet Sacrifice
" (2007) with "Bring Me to Life" calling them "...radio-friendly songs." Jason Nahrung of The Courier-Mail
called the song "...an ear-grabber". Adrien Bengrad of the website PopMatters
said that Lee and McCoy made "Bring Me to Life" sound "...like a love song between a Lilith Fair
girl and an Ozzfest
dude." Blair R. Fischer from MTV News called the song a "...ubiquitous rap-rock confection". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times
said that "Bring Me to Life" "...floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and then hits like a brick." Richard Harrington from The Washington Post
called "Bring Me to Life" a "...crunching metallic" song which helped the band to win a Grammy Award. Joe D'Angelo called it an "...unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate" and that "Lee's vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture to keep it from sinking into tired mediocrity."
Ann Powers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the song a "...mix of voluptuous singing and metallic guitar (the latter enhanced by guest vocalist Paul McCoy's rap-rock declamations)". Bryan Reeseman of Mix
wrote that the song was a "...grandiose and moody single" which features a "...dramatic trade-off" between Lee and McCoy. While reviewing Evanescence's second studio album, Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net
praised the songs on The Open Door saying that they lacked "...the annoying faux-rapping that was a key component of the band's first big hit, 'Bring Me To Life' (here's hoping that more rock bands feel less pressure to include some sort of hip-hop nod on their records)." David Peschek of The Guardian
said: "Take away the identikit rock riffs and Bring Me to Life could be a Britney Spears
song, or one of those cheesily portentous techno-pop
mini-symphonies for the Gatecrasher
kids." Nick Catucci of The Village Voice compared the song with works by American rock band Creed
, and said that it sounds like a "church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal." John Hood of Miami New Times
called "Bring Me to Life" a "... huge, heavy, and mightily histrionic" song while complimenting McCoy's "... rap-infused gruff" and Lee's soaring voice.
Bill Lamb of About.com
placed the song at number twelve on his list, "Top 100 Pop Songs 2003" and number seven on his list, "Top 10 Pop Songs - Summer 2003". and wrote: "Evanescence blasted onto the pop scene seemingly out of nowhere with this massive hit single." "Bring Me to Life" won a Grammy Award
for Best Hard Rock Performance
at the 46th Grammy Awards. The song was nominated in the category for Best Rock Song
at the same event but lost to "Seven Nation Army
" by The White Stripes
. "Bring Me to Life" won an award for Choice Music Rock Track at the Teen Choice Awards
in 2004. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards
the band was nominated in the category for Best New Artist
for "Bring Me to Life". The song was nominated at the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Song
. At the 14th annual Billboard Music Awards
, it won the award for Soundtrack Single of the Year. The song ranked number 69 on VH1
's 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s.
in 2003 for selling more than one million copies in the United States
. It topped the Billboard
Alternative Songs and Pop 100
charts and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100
. It also peaked at number four on the Adult Pop Songs chart. The song initially peaked within the Christian rock
charts as well, because its lyrics were interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ by several listeners. "Bring Me To Life" charted at number 73 on Billboards Best of the 2000s Rock Songs Chart, the only song by a female-led band on that chart. The song topped the charts of Australia, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. It peaked within the top 5 of Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden. On the ARIA Singles Chart, "Bring Me to Life" peaked at number one where it stayed for six weeks.
"Bring Me to Life" charted within the top 20 of every other country of its release. The song spent four weeks at number one in the United Kingdom and helped Fallen reach number one on the UK Albums Chart
. The song also topped the European Hot 100 chart. On June 4, 2011, the song returned to the top of the UK Rock Singles Chart, eight years after its release, remaining at number one for two weeks, on June 11, 2011 to June 25, 2011. It fell to number two, remaining there for three weeks, and on July 17, 2011, "Bring Me to Life" returned to number one again and remained there for three weeks. The song remained within the top 10 into October 2011. As of October, 2011, the song has sold more than 511,500 copies in the United Kingdom.
for most of the angles, which would have restricted me a lot, but then it turned out that Amy did everything herself, hanging on Paul's arm for hours without getting tired. In the end, she is the one who made that shot strong."
The video begins with Amy Lee dressed in a nightgown, barefoot and asleep in a bed within a building, dreaming of falling through the air below a skyscraper. As the chorus begins, the band and Paul McCoy are performing in another room as Lee awakens and makes her way to the window. Lee climbs out of the window and climbs the building until she reaches the window of the room where the band is performing. During the bridge, McCoy notices Lee and opens the window, which causes her to lose her balance, and she grabs the ledge. Throughout the bridge and chorus, McCoy unsuccessfully attempts to reach Lee, who falls off the building. However, she is shown asleep in her bed again.
Ann Powers
from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote: "You might not immediately recognize Amy Lee's name, but you would know her if she plummeted past you from the top floor of a tenement building" and: "That's how anyone with basic cable
first saw the singer for the band Evanescence, in the video for the song "Bring Me to Life": falling backward in slow motion, her hair unfolding like a long black veil
as she headed for hard pavement below." According to Joe D'Angelo of MTV News, Lee's "...teetering on a ledge" in the video shows a "...distressed and emotionally wrought heroine." Corey Moss of MTV wrote: "...certainly as intense as a superhero movie, the sequence also gives a nice visual to the song's most memorable lyric, 'Save me.'" MTV's Gil Kaufman wrote that "...singer Amy Lee dreams that she has super Spidey powers, climbs up the outside of a building, spies on her creepy neighbors, then plunges into the abyss" and added, "...even if your boyfriend is a buff rap-rocker guy, he might not be able to save you from falling off a 20-story building to your death. And don't play on ledges in a billowy dress on windy days." John Hood of Miami New Times wrote that the "gothopolis backdrop" used in the video, "would make Tim Burton
green with envy." The music video for "Bring Me to Life" was nominated at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards
for Best Rock Video
.
Evanescence performed "Bring Me to Life" as part of the set-lists of the Fallen and The Open Door tours. The band performed the song on August 13, 2003 in Chicago during their Nintendo Fusion Tour
. During the performance, former Evanescence guitarist John LeCompt replaced McCoy during the song. According to Blair R. Fischer: "The guitarist did an adequate job imitating McCoy while he laid down the song's fiery, Iron Maiden-esque riff." The band performed "Bring Me to Life" in Wantagh, New York
on July 23, 2004. According to Joe D'Angelo from MTV News
: "...the massive popularity of the song was a smart set-list assembly that helped the crowd respond in kind." The song was performed on November 21, 2007 at WaMu Theater.
Evanescence performed "Bring Me to Life" at the Webster Hall
in New York City in September 2003. During the performance, Lee wore an Alice in Wonderland dress covered with scrawled words, including the words Dirty, Useless, Psycho and Slut. She explained her reasons for wearing the dress. On her previous visit to New York City, Lee had met a DJ from the radio station K-Rock
, who had made what she called horrible comments about the pleasure he had derived from the picture of her face on the cover of Fallen. She had felt too ashamed to say anything, so she decided to respond through the dress, which represented something innocent that had been tainted. The band performed "Bring Me to Life" during their concert at The Great Saltair on October 25, 2006. Lee wore red and black, with a skirt. She was called a magnet of the night by the Deseret News reviewer Larry D. Curtis. Other performances of the song were in Magna, Utah
in October 2006, and the Air Canada Centre
in January 2007. The band also played the song at a secret gig in New York City on November 4, 2009. During their concert at War Memorial Auditorium
in Nashville, Tennessee
on August 17, 2011, Evanescence performed "Bring Me to Life" to promote their third album, Evanescence
. They also performed the song during the 2011 Rock in Rio
festival on October 2, 2011. While reviewing a concert by the band, Caroline Sullivan wrote "Slowly raising her arms during Bring Me to Life's thunderous, strobe-lit fade-out, she's missing only a chariot."
genre, like fellow Wind-up Records artists Creed
. In April 2003, Wind-up Records chairman, Alan Meltzer, wrote to Christian radio and retail outlets to explain that, despite the "...spiritual underpinning that ignited interest and excitement in the Christian religious community," Evanescence are "...a secular band, and as such view their music as entertainment." Therefore, he wrote, Wind-Up "...strongly feels that they no longer belong in Christian markets." Almost immediately, many Christian radio stations removed "Bring Me to Life" from their playlists. Terry Hemmings, CEO of Christian music distributor Provident, expressed puzzlement at the band's about-face, saying: "They clearly understood the album would be sold in these [Christian music] channels." In 2006, Amy Lee told Billboard that she had always opposed Evanescence being identified as a Christian band.
Welsh
classical singer Katherine Jenkins
recorded a cover version of "Bring Me to Life" on her 2009 album Believe
. Jenkins said: "I'd mentioned that I wanted to try Evanescence's Bring Me To Life and David [Foster
] said 'you can't sing that'. I came out there questioning my vocal abilities. I'm just not used to being told that. I went home that night and I just thought to myself 'you have to pull yourself together, he's worked with so many incredible artists you have to step up the plate.' I did talk myself round and I went in there the next day on a mission. It's good to be pushed sometimes - and I proved him wrong!" Jenkins decided to change the guitar-led and percussive original version and instead, "make it more orchestral with the percussion coming from the strings." Alfred Hickling of The Guardian
gave a mixed review of Jenkins' cover, calling it "...histrionic." However, a writer of BBC Online chose her version of the song as a highlight on the album. On November 23, 2011, Jenkins sang the song live at the Leicester Square
station in London, England. German band Gregorian
released a cover version of the song on their 2010 album Dark Side of the Chant
. American pianist, John Tesh
released an instrumental version of the song on his albums A Deeper Faith, Vol. 2 (2003) and A Passionate Life (2007). Black metal
band Wykked Wytch
covered the song and produced an accompanying music video. Their version was digitally released
in October, 2008 on iTunes Store
.
During the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008
, contestant Carly Smithson
performed "Bring Me to Life". Jai McDowall
, the winner of the fifth series
of Britain's Got Talent sang the song live during the semi-finale of the show. Lys Agnés, a contestant on the sixth season
of America's Got Talent, performed an opera version of "Bring Me to Life" and was praised by the show's judges. Zayra Alvarez
, a Puerto Rican singer, performed the song on Rock Star: Supernova. On October 31, during the thirteenth season
of the US reality show Dancing with the Stars
, a group called Team Paso Doble danced while the song was played in the background. "Bring Me to Life" was included in the games Rock Band
, Rock Band Unplugged
and Fight Girl Battle World. It was also used during the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
.
International CD Maxi (April 14, 2003)
Australian CD Single
Subsequent pressings single (June 24, 2003)
International DVD (June 2, 2003)
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
. It was written by Amy Lee
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
, Ben Moody
Ben Moody
Benjamin Robert Moody is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003...
and David Hodges
David Hodges
David Hodges is a songwriter, producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist from Little Rock, Arkansas. He is best known for his work with the band Evanescence, which he left in 2002. He has also been part of the bands Trading Yesterday, The Age of Information, Avox, and David Hodges solo...
and produced by Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman
Dave Fortman is the guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe. He currently is an American music producer. He has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Watership Down, Eyehategod, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both...
. It also features guest vocals from Paul McCoy
Paul McCoy
Paul McCoy is an American musician. He is the lead singer and main-songwriter of Louisiana post-grunge band 12 Stones.-Biography:...
of the band 12 Stones
12 Stones
12 Stones is a rock band that was formed in 2000 in Mandeville, Louisiana. They have collectively sold more than 2 million records.-History:The four band members met in Mandeville, Louisiana, a small suburb north of New Orleans, and within 15 months were signed to a record deal with Wind-up Records...
. Wind-up
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
released "Bring Me to Life" in 2003 as the lead single from Evanescence's debut studio album, Fallen
Fallen (Evanescence album)
-Critical response:Fallen has received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic scored the album three and a half stars out of five, and named it an AMG Album Pick, saying, "The album does include flashes of the single's PG-rated nu-metal...
. The song delivers genres from alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
to rap-rock and gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
among others.
According to Lee, "Bring Me to Life" has several meanings and inspirations; its subjects are an incident in a restaurant, open-mindedness and waking up to the things which are missing in the protagonist's life. Lee later revealed that the song was inspired by her long-time friend and husband, Josh Hartzler. Critical response to the song was mostly positive, critics praising the melody of the song, Lee's vocals and their accompaniment by McCoy.
Following the inclusion of "Bring Me to Life" on the Daredevil soundtrack
Daredevil: The Album
Daredevil: The Album was released in 2003 by Wind-Up Records for the movie Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck. All songs were previously unreleased, and some songs appeared on later releases...
, it has become a commercial and critical success topping the charts in Australia, the United Kingdom and Italy. It charted in the top ten in more than fifteen countries including the United States, Argentina, Germany and New Zealand. "Bring Me to Life" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) and twice Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA). The lyrics of the song have been interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ, which helped the song to chart on the Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
charts.The band announced that they had no desire to be considered a Christian band.
The band won in the category for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
at the 46th Grammy Awards where the song was also nominated for Best Rock Song
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre...
. The accompanying music video was directed by Philipp Stölzl; it shows Lee singing and climbing on a skyscraper while having nightmares in her bedroom. "Bring Me to Life" was part of the set list during the Fallen and The Open Door Tour. Many artists recorded cover versions of the song, including the classical singer Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
and American pianist, John Tesh
John Tesh
John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
. The song was also used on several television shows.
Background and release
According to Amy Lee, the song has several meanings, the first being an incident at a restaurant. During an interview from a tour stop in Tulsa she told The Boston PhoenixThe Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
: "I was inspired to write it when someone said something to me — I didn’t know him, and I thought he might be clairvoyant.[...] I was in a relationship and I was completely unhappy. But I was hiding it. I was being completely abused and I was trying to cover it up; I wouldn’t even admit it to myself. So then I had spoken maybe 10 or 15 words to this guy, who was a friend of a friend. We were waiting for everyone else to show up, and we went into a restaurant and got a table. And he looked at me and said, ‘Are you happy?’ And I felt my heart leap, and I was like, he totally knows what I’m thinking. And I lied, I said I was fine. Anyway, he’s not really clairvoyant. But he is a sociology major." Lee said in a VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
interview: "Open-mindedness. It's about waking up to all the things you've been missing for so long. One day someone said something that made my heart race for a second and I realized that for months I'd been numb, just going through the motions of life." During an interview with Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
, Lee claimed that she wrote "Bring Me to Life" about her longtime friend, Josh Hartzler, whom she married in 2007.
"Bring Me to Life" was released on April 22, 2003; it was the first single from the band's debut album, Fallen
Fallen (Evanescence album)
-Critical response:Fallen has received generally mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic scored the album three and a half stars out of five, and named it an AMG Album Pick, saying, "The album does include flashes of the single's PG-rated nu-metal...
. The album's opening track, "Going Under
Going Under
"Going Under" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on September 9, 2003, as the second single from their debut album Fallen. It was written by Amy Lee, David Hodges and Ben Moody, while production was handled by Dave Fortman...
", was initially planned to be the first single, but the after the release of the Daredevil soundtrack
Daredevil: The Album
Daredevil: The Album was released in 2003 by Wind-Up Records for the movie Daredevil, starring Ben Affleck. All songs were previously unreleased, and some songs appeared on later releases...
, it was changed to the album's second single. Wind-up Entertainment president/CEO Ed Vetri, revealed that when the label was pushing the song to the radio, owners stated "We don't play pianos and chicks on rock radio." However, when "Bring Me to Life" was released on the Daredevil soundtrack, listeners demanded the radio to play the song. The single includes "Farther Away" as a B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
and refers to it as the album version; however, the track order of Fallen was not finalized at the time of its release and the track was omitted from the album. The first pressing of the Australian single contained the track "Missing" as a B-side, but this was omitted from later pressings and later released as a bonus track on the band's first live album, Anywhere but Home
Anywhere but Home
Anywhere but Home is the first live album and DVD by the rock band Evanescence, released in 2004. It includes all four of their Fallen music videos, an hour of behind the scenes features, and a recording of a concert at Le Zénith in Paris...
. Earlier versions of "Bring Me to Life" were recorded and released as demo versions before Fallens release; featuring more industrial pieces of music and the absence of Paul McCoy
Paul McCoy
Paul McCoy is an American musician. He is the lead singer and main-songwriter of Louisiana post-grunge band 12 Stones.-Biography:...
's guest vocals. An acoustic version was recorded and released on the Bring Me to Life DVD. Several other versions of the track have been released, such as remixes, acoustic and altered versions. The live version featured on the Anywhere but Home DVD contains a piano and vocal solo before the song's intro and features John LeCompt
John LeCompt
John Charles LeCompt is an American musician who has been part of the Little Rock heavy metal music scene since the mid-1990s. He has been associated with a great number of bands, ranging from the unknown and unsigned to multi-platinum sellers, most notably the alternative metal band Evanescence...
performing guest vocals.
Recording and composition
"Bring Me to Life" was written by Amy Lee, Ben Moody and David Hodges for their first studio album Fallen. Recording work for Fallen started at Ocean Studios in Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, where most of "Bring Me to Life" was recorded, prior to full album production. The song was mixed by Jay Baumgardner
Jay Baumgardner
Jay Baumgardner is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He has worked on albums by Ugly Kid Joe, Helmet, Papa Roach, Endwell, Coal Chamber, Godsmack, Three Days Grace, New Found Glory, Spineshank, Alien Ant Farm and Orgy....
in his studio, NRG Recording Studios
NRG Recording Studios
NRG Recording Studios is a recording facility located in North Hollywood, California that was created by producer and mixer Jay Baumgardner in 1992.- Facilities :*Studio A console: custom vintage Neve 8068 built by Pat Schneider...
in North Hollywood, on an SSL 9000 J
Solid State Logic
Solid State Logic is a manufacturer of high-end mixing consoles and recording studio hardware headquartered in Begbroke, Oxfordshire, UK.- Company information :...
. A 22-piece string section was recorded in Seattle by Mark Curry
Mark Curry (rock musician)
Mark Curry is an American rock musician and singer-songwriter.He formed his first band, Crystal Sphere, with "White Boy Larry" and Aaron "El Hefe" Abeyta, who would later join NOFX. The band was formed in the 1980s while Curry attended Sacramento City College...
. "Bring Me to Life" was mixed at the Newman Scoring Stage and Bolero Studios, both in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The orchestra parts were arranged by David Hodges and David Campbell. During an interview, Lee recalled that during the recording process of the song it was said to her that the song must to have male vocals: "It was presented to me as, 'You're a girl singing in a rock band, there's nothing else like that out there, nobody's going to listen to you. You need a guy to come in and sing back-up for it to be successful.'"
According to the sheet music published by Alfred Music Publishing on the website Musicnotes.com, "Bring Me to Life" is a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, chamber pop and gothic metal
Gothic metal
Gothic metal or goth metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the aggression of doom metal with the dark melancholy of gothic rock. The music of gothic metal is diverse with bands known to adopt the gothic approach to different styles of heavy metal music...
song set in a common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
and performed in a moderate tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 96 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E minor
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
and Lee's vocal range for the song runs from the note A3
A (musical note)
La or A is the sixth note of the solfège. "A" is generally used as a standard for tuning. When the orchestra tunes, the oboe plays an "A" and the rest of the instruments tune to match that pitch. Every string instrument in the orchestra has an A string, from which each player can tune the rest of...
to D5
D (musical note)
D is a musical note a whole tone above C, and is known as Re within the solfege system.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of middle D is approximately 293.665 Hz. See pitch for a discussion of historical variations in...
. In the song, Paul McCoy sings the lines "Wake me up/ I can't wake up/ Save me!" in a rap style. St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
Brian Orloff called the song a "...boffo hit" in which Lee sang the lines "'Call my name and save me from the dark' over surging guitars." Ann Powers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
wrote: "'Bring Me to Life,' with its lyrical drama and crunchy guitars, branded the band as overdone nu-metal." Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
called the song a power ballad. Joe D'Angelo from MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
wrote that the "...toothy riffs" of songs like "Going Under" and "Bring Me to Life" might suggest that "...Nobody's Home" (2005) from Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
's second studio album Under My Skin will sound like "an Evanescence song with Avril, not Amy Lee, on vocals."
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s Kirk Miller wrote that: "...thanks to the song's digital beats, clean metal-guitar riffs, scattered piano lines and all-too-familiar mix of rapping and singing", "it was similar to Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
's material. Nick Catucci of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
found "...piano tinkles, Lee's breathless keen, dramatic pauses, guitars like clouds of locusts, [and] 12 Stones singer Paul McCoy's passing-12-kidney-stones guest vocals." Vik Bansal of musicOMH
MusicOMH
musicOMH is a United Kingdom-based website which publishes independent reviews, featues and interviews from across all musical genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.-History:...
compared Evanescence's own song "Going Under
Going Under
"Going Under" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on September 9, 2003, as the second single from their debut album Fallen. It was written by Amy Lee, David Hodges and Ben Moody, while production was handled by Dave Fortman...
" with "Bring Me to Life", noting their similarity to Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
's material. Lee said, during an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
: "Basically, we go through life every day, kind of doing the same thing, going through the motions, and nothing phases us for the most part. Then one day something happens that wakes [you] up and makes [you] realize that there's more to life than just feeling nothing, feeling numb. It's as if [you've] never felt before and just realized there's this whole world of emotion or meaning that [you've] never seen before. It's just like, 'Wow, I've been asleep all this time.'"
Critical reception and awards
According to The Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, the song "...is a mix of Lee's ethereal soprano, piano interludes, and layers of serrated guitar crunch that conjure visions of Sarah McLachlan fronting Godsmack." In his review of Evanescence's second studio album, The Open Door
The Open Door
The Open Door is the second studio album by the American rock band Evanescence. It was first released in Poland on September 25, 2006, through Wind-up Records and subsequently in more than 20 other countries worldwide...
, Brendan Butler of Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend is a website founded and run by Josh Tyler dedicated to news and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films, movie projects, Television Shows, and a newly founded Music section which covers album reviews, band interviews and daily news from the industry. It combines gossip from...
compared "Sweet Sacrifice
Sweet Sacrifice
"Sweet Sacrifice" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on May 25, 2007, as the third single from their second studio album, The Open Door. It was written by Amy Lee and Terry Balsamo while the production was handled by Dave Fortman. "All That I'm Living For" was initially...
" (2007) with "Bring Me to Life" calling them "...radio-friendly songs." Jason Nahrung of The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Limited, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's...
called the song "...an ear-grabber". Adrien Bengrad of the website PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
said that Lee and McCoy made "Bring Me to Life" sound "...like a love song between a Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...
girl and an Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
dude." Blair R. Fischer from MTV News called the song a "...ubiquitous rap-rock confection". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said that "Bring Me to Life" "...floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and then hits like a brick." Richard Harrington from The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
called "Bring Me to Life" a "...crunching metallic" song which helped the band to win a Grammy Award. Joe D'Angelo called it an "...unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate" and that "Lee's vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture to keep it from sinking into tired mediocrity."
Ann Powers from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the song a "...mix of voluptuous singing and metallic guitar (the latter enhanced by guest vocalist Paul McCoy's rap-rock declamations)". Bryan Reeseman of Mix
Mix (magazine)
Mix magazine is a periodical billing itself as "the world's leading magazine for the professional recording and sound production technology industry". The magazine is distributed in 94 countries....
wrote that the song was a "...grandiose and moody single" which features a "...dramatic trade-off" between Lee and McCoy. While reviewing Evanescence's second studio album, Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net
Blabbermouth.net is a website dedicated to heavy metal and hard rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. Blabbermouth.net was founded and is run by Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was officially launched in March 2001...
praised the songs on The Open Door saying that they lacked "...the annoying faux-rapping that was a key component of the band's first big hit, 'Bring Me To Life' (here's hoping that more rock bands feel less pressure to include some sort of hip-hop nod on their records)." David Peschek of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said: "Take away the identikit rock riffs and Bring Me to Life could be a Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
song, or one of those cheesily portentous techno-pop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
mini-symphonies for the Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher
Gatecrasher is an international clubbing brand made famous by the Gatecrasher dance music events held at the Gatecrasher One nightclub in Sheffield, England during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The event received awards such as "Club Of The Year" at the Ericsson Muzik Magazine Dance Awards in...
kids." Nick Catucci of The Village Voice compared the song with works by American rock band Creed
Creed (band)
Creed is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Tallahassee, Florida. Becoming popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band has released three consecutive multi-platinum albums, one of which has been certified diamond, and has sold over 28 million records in the United States, with an...
, and said that it sounds like a "church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal." John Hood of Miami New Times
Miami New Times
The Miami New Times is a free weekly newspaper published in Miami and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered near Miami's Design District.-Overview:...
called "Bring Me to Life" a "... huge, heavy, and mightily histrionic" song while complimenting McCoy's "... rap-infused gruff" and Lee's soaring voice.
Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
placed the song at number twelve on his list, "Top 100 Pop Songs 2003" and number seven on his list, "Top 10 Pop Songs - Summer 2003". and wrote: "Evanescence blasted onto the pop scene seemingly out of nowhere with this massive hit single." "Bring Me to Life" won a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Hard Rock Performance
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance was an award presented to recording artists at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, for works containing quality performances in the hard rock music genre...
at the 46th Grammy Awards. The song was nominated in the category for Best Rock Song
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre...
at the same event but lost to "Seven Nation Army
Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003. "Seven Nation Army" reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004's Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The song is known for its...
" by The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
. "Bring Me to Life" won an award for Choice Music Rock Track at the Teen Choice Awards
Teen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
in 2004. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2003 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 28, 2003, honoring the best music videos from June 1, 2002, to June 9, 2003. The show was hosted by Chris Rock at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City...
the band was nominated in the category for Best New Artist
MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist
The MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist is one of the four original general categories that have been given out since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984...
for "Bring Me to Life". The song was nominated at the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Song
MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song
The MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song is the main award of the EMA's. It was first awarded in 1994, when "7 Seconds" won it, and has been given out since. Lady Gaga,Pink and Beyoncé have been the big winners with two awards. In 2007 and 2008 the category was named Most Addictive Track, but in...
. At the 14th annual Billboard Music Awards
Billboard Music Award
The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011...
, it won the award for Soundtrack Single of the Year. The song ranked number 69 on VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s.
Chart performance
"Bring Me to Life" peaked within the top 10 of more than 15 countries, and within the top 20 of several other countries, making it the band's most successful single to date. It was certified PlatinumRecording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
in 2003 for selling more than one million copies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It topped the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Alternative Songs and Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
charts and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. It also peaked at number four on the Adult Pop Songs chart. The song initially peaked within the Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
charts as well, because its lyrics were interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ by several listeners. "Bring Me To Life" charted at number 73 on Billboards Best of the 2000s Rock Songs Chart, the only song by a female-led band on that chart. The song topped the charts of Australia, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. It peaked within the top 5 of Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden. On the ARIA Singles Chart, "Bring Me to Life" peaked at number one where it stayed for six weeks.
"Bring Me to Life" charted within the top 20 of every other country of its release. The song spent four weeks at number one in the United Kingdom and helped Fallen reach number one on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. The song also topped the European Hot 100 chart. On June 4, 2011, the song returned to the top of the UK Rock Singles Chart, eight years after its release, remaining at number one for two weeks, on June 11, 2011 to June 25, 2011. It fell to number two, remaining there for three weeks, and on July 17, 2011, "Bring Me to Life" returned to number one again and remained there for three weeks. The song remained within the top 10 into October 2011. As of October, 2011, the song has sold more than 511,500 copies in the United Kingdom.
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Bring Me to Life" was directed by Philipp Stölzl. After the success of the video, Lee received some film offers. Talking about the video, Stölzl said: "On the one hand, it brings out the most catchy part of the song, the bridge, the duet with the male and female vocals. On the other hand, it reflects the ['Daredevil'] soundtrack background of the song. I did not know if I would have to use a stunt doubleStunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
for most of the angles, which would have restricted me a lot, but then it turned out that Amy did everything herself, hanging on Paul's arm for hours without getting tired. In the end, she is the one who made that shot strong."
The video begins with Amy Lee dressed in a nightgown, barefoot and asleep in a bed within a building, dreaming of falling through the air below a skyscraper. As the chorus begins, the band and Paul McCoy are performing in another room as Lee awakens and makes her way to the window. Lee climbs out of the window and climbs the building until she reaches the window of the room where the band is performing. During the bridge, McCoy notices Lee and opens the window, which causes her to lose her balance, and she grabs the ledge. Throughout the bridge and chorus, McCoy unsuccessfully attempts to reach Lee, who falls off the building. However, she is shown asleep in her bed again.
Ann Powers
Ann Powers
Ann Powers is an American writer and pop music critic.Powers has been writing about popular music and society since the early 1980s...
from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote: "You might not immediately recognize Amy Lee's name, but you would know her if she plummeted past you from the top floor of a tenement building" and: "That's how anyone with basic cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
first saw the singer for the band Evanescence, in the video for the song "Bring Me to Life": falling backward in slow motion, her hair unfolding like a long black veil
Veil
A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face.One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space...
as she headed for hard pavement below." According to Joe D'Angelo of MTV News, Lee's "...teetering on a ledge" in the video shows a "...distressed and emotionally wrought heroine." Corey Moss of MTV wrote: "...certainly as intense as a superhero movie, the sequence also gives a nice visual to the song's most memorable lyric, 'Save me.'" MTV's Gil Kaufman wrote that "...singer Amy Lee dreams that she has super Spidey powers, climbs up the outside of a building, spies on her creepy neighbors, then plunges into the abyss" and added, "...even if your boyfriend is a buff rap-rocker guy, he might not be able to save you from falling off a 20-story building to your death. And don't play on ledges in a billowy dress on windy days." John Hood of Miami New Times wrote that the "gothopolis backdrop" used in the video, "would make Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
green with envy." The music video for "Bring Me to Life" was nominated at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards
2004 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2004 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 29, 2004, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The show took place at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, and, unlike in previous years, had no host.-Video of the Year:...
for Best Rock Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video was first given out in , and it was one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. That year, though, the award was called the Best Heavy Metal Video. From 1990 to 1995, the award was called the Best Metal/Hard Rock Video, and...
.
Live performances
Nintendo Fusion Tour
Nintendo Fusion Tour is a touring rock music and video game festival sponsored by Nintendo, which began in 2003.Nintendo's Fusion Tour has provided early exposure for then-developing bands such as Evanescence, Story of the Year, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Anberlin and Panic! at the Disco...
. During the performance, former Evanescence guitarist John LeCompt replaced McCoy during the song. According to Blair R. Fischer: "The guitarist did an adequate job imitating McCoy while he laid down the song's fiery, Iron Maiden-esque riff." The band performed "Bring Me to Life" in Wantagh, New York
Wantagh, New York
Wantagh is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York, United States...
on July 23, 2004. According to Joe D'Angelo from MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
: "...the massive popularity of the song was a smart set-list assembly that helped the crowd respond in kind." The song was performed on November 21, 2007 at WaMu Theater.
Evanescence performed "Bring Me to Life" at the Webster Hall
Webster Hall
Webster Hall is a nightclub located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in Manhattan, New York City. Built in 1886, its current incarnation was opened by the Ballinger Brothers in 1992...
in New York City in September 2003. During the performance, Lee wore an Alice in Wonderland dress covered with scrawled words, including the words Dirty, Useless, Psycho and Slut. She explained her reasons for wearing the dress. On her previous visit to New York City, Lee had met a DJ from the radio station K-Rock
K-Rock
K-Rock is a common radio brand, generally carried by radio stations airing a modern rock format. CBS Radio has owned the K-Rock brand in the United States since 1986. Then known as Infinity Broadcasting, CBS acquired the K-Rock brand after purchasing noted Los Angeles rock station KROQ-FM , its...
, who had made what she called horrible comments about the pleasure he had derived from the picture of her face on the cover of Fallen. She had felt too ashamed to say anything, so she decided to respond through the dress, which represented something innocent that had been tainted. The band performed "Bring Me to Life" during their concert at The Great Saltair on October 25, 2006. Lee wore red and black, with a skirt. She was called a magnet of the night by the Deseret News reviewer Larry D. Curtis. Other performances of the song were in Magna, Utah
Magna, Utah
Magna is a census-designated place and township in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population was 26,505 at the 2010 census, a moderate increase over the 2000 figure of 22,770...
in October 2006, and the Air Canada Centre
Air Canada Centre
The Air Canada Centre is a multi-purpose indoor sporting arena located on Bay Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.The arena is popularly known as the ACC or the Hangar ....
in January 2007. The band also played the song at a secret gig in New York City on November 4, 2009. During their concert at War Memorial Auditorium
War Memorial Auditorium
The War Memorial Auditorium is a 1,661-seat performance hall located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is located across the street from, and is governed by, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, and is also adjacent to the Tennessee State Capitol.- History :...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
on August 17, 2011, Evanescence performed "Bring Me to Life" to promote their third album, Evanescence
Evanescence (Evanescence album)
Evanescence is the self-titled third studio album by American rock band Evanescence. The album was released on October 11, 2011, through Wind-up Records. The band started the writing process for the album in June 2009. The release of the album was changed several times...
. They also performed the song during the 2011 Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio is a series of music festivals held in three cities: Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Lisbon in Portugal and Madrid in Spain.Four incarnations of the festival were in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001 and 2011, four in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, and two in Madrid in 2008 and 2010....
festival on October 2, 2011. While reviewing a concert by the band, Caroline Sullivan wrote "Slowly raising her arms during Bring Me to Life's thunderous, strobe-lit fade-out, she's missing only a chariot."
Cultural impact
Evanescence were promoted in Christian stores until the band made it clear they did not want to be considered part of the Christian rockChristian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
genre, like fellow Wind-up Records artists Creed
Creed (band)
Creed is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Tallahassee, Florida. Becoming popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the band has released three consecutive multi-platinum albums, one of which has been certified diamond, and has sold over 28 million records in the United States, with an...
. In April 2003, Wind-up Records chairman, Alan Meltzer, wrote to Christian radio and retail outlets to explain that, despite the "...spiritual underpinning that ignited interest and excitement in the Christian religious community," Evanescence are "...a secular band, and as such view their music as entertainment." Therefore, he wrote, Wind-Up "...strongly feels that they no longer belong in Christian markets." Almost immediately, many Christian radio stations removed "Bring Me to Life" from their playlists. Terry Hemmings, CEO of Christian music distributor Provident, expressed puzzlement at the band's about-face, saying: "They clearly understood the album would be sold in these [Christian music] channels." In 2006, Amy Lee told Billboard that she had always opposed Evanescence being identified as a Christian band.
Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
classical singer Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
recorded a cover version of "Bring Me to Life" on her 2009 album Believe
Believe (Katherine Jenkins album)
- Deluxe edition :The deluxe edition of the album, released on 29 March 2010 in the UK, includes two new tracks: "Love Never Dies" and "Endless Love", with a total of 13 tracks.The track "Se Si Perde Un Amore" from the standard edition is not included....
. Jenkins said: "I'd mentioned that I wanted to try Evanescence's Bring Me To Life and David [Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
] said 'you can't sing that'. I came out there questioning my vocal abilities. I'm just not used to being told that. I went home that night and I just thought to myself 'you have to pull yourself together, he's worked with so many incredible artists you have to step up the plate.' I did talk myself round and I went in there the next day on a mission. It's good to be pushed sometimes - and I proved him wrong!" Jenkins decided to change the guitar-led and percussive original version and instead, "make it more orchestral with the percussion coming from the strings." Alfred Hickling of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave a mixed review of Jenkins' cover, calling it "...histrionic." However, a writer of BBC Online chose her version of the song as a highlight on the album. On November 23, 2011, Jenkins sang the song live at the Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
station in London, England. German band Gregorian
Gregorian (band)
Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...
released a cover version of the song on their 2010 album Dark Side of the Chant
Dark Side of the Chant
'Dark side of the chant' is Gregorian's 13th album, released in 2010. It features songs which are originally made by artists varying from 'AC/DC' and the Dutch band 'Within Temptation' to their own work.- Track listing :# "O Fortuna"...
. American pianist, John Tesh
John Tesh
John Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
released an instrumental version of the song on his albums A Deeper Faith, Vol. 2 (2003) and A Passionate Life (2007). Black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....
band Wykked Wytch
Wykked Wytch
Wykked Wytch is a black metal band signed to Perish Music Group from Miami, Florida, USA.-Biography:Wykked Wytch was formed in Philadelphia, USA in 1994. Led by the vocalist frontwoman Ipek, Wykked Wytch is a female-fronted black metal band hailing from South Florida...
covered the song and produced an accompanying music video. Their version was digitally released
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
in October, 2008 on iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
During the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008
American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008
American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 was a summer concert tour in the United States and Canada that featured the top 10 contestants of the seventh season of American Idol, which aired in 2008. This tour followed in the tradition of other American Idol summer tours following the completion of the season...
, contestant Carly Smithson
Carly Smithson
Carly Smithson is an Irish soul/pop rock singer-songwriter and actress from San Diego, California who was the sixth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2001, Smithson released her first studio album for MCA Records called Ultimate High. Smithson was dropped from the record...
performed "Bring Me to Life". Jai McDowall
Jai McDowall
Jai McDowall is a Scottish singer who won the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in June 2011. As the winner, he received £100,000 and will perform at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance...
, the winner of the fifth series
Britain's Got Talent (series 5)
The fifth series of Britain's Got Talent began on 16 April 2011 and ended on 4 June 2011. The winner of the show was Jai McDowall, who received £100,000 and a place at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance. The show was hosted by Ant & Dec on ITV, while Stephen Mulhern presented Britain's Got More...
of Britain's Got Talent sang the song live during the semi-finale of the show. Lys Agnés, a contestant on the sixth season
America's Got Talent (season 6)
The sixth season of America's Got Talent, a reality television series, premiered on May 31, 2011 on NBC. On September 14, 2011, Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr...
of America's Got Talent, performed an opera version of "Bring Me to Life" and was praised by the show's judges. Zayra Alvarez
Zayra Alvarez
Zayra Enid Alvarez Dones is a Puerto Rican born singer and musician, currently based in Texas. She was born to Luis Alvarez Cruz and Ana Dones Torres and grew up in the coastal town of Arroyo. From a young age, she took part in talent shows and school plays, and at age 14 she started playing in...
, a Puerto Rican singer, performed the song on Rock Star: Supernova. On October 31, during the thirteenth season
Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 13)
Dancing with the Stars returned for its thirteenth season on September 19, 2011. Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli returned as the judges, and Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke Charvet returned as hosts. Twelve couples competed in this season...
of the US reality show Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...
, a group called Team Paso Doble danced while the song was played in the background. "Bring Me to Life" was included in the games Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, Rock Band Unplugged
Rock Band Unplugged
Rock Band Unplugged is an expansion of the Rock Band series of music video games released for the PlayStation Portable. The game is developed by Backbone Entertainment in conjunction with Harmonix Music Systems and is distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts...
and Fight Girl Battle World. It was also used during the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs
2004 Stanley Cup Playoffs
The 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs for the National Hockey League began on April 7, 2004, following the 2003–04 regular season. The playoffs ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning securing the Stanley Cup with a seven-game series win over the Calgary Flames on June 7. It was Tampa Bay's first Stanley Cup...
.
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from Fallen liner notes.- Amy LeeAmy LeeAmy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
- writing, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboardsMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
, vocals - Ben MoodyBen MoodyBenjamin Robert Moody is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor. He is best known as co-founder, lead guitarist, and songwriter of Grammy Award-winning rock band Evanescence from 1995 to October 2003...
- writingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, producingExecutive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration... - David HodgesDavid HodgesDavid Hodges is a songwriter, producer, composer, keyboardist and vocalist from Little Rock, Arkansas. He is best known for his work with the band Evanescence, which he left in 2002. He has also been part of the bands Trading Yesterday, The Age of Information, Avox, and David Hodges solo...
- writing, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboardsMusical keyboardA musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
, string arrangements - Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
- drums - Dave FortmanDave FortmanDave Fortman is the guitarist for the band Ugly Kid Joe. He currently is an American music producer. He has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Watership Down, Eyehategod, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both...
- producing - Francesco DiCosmo - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- David CampbellDavid Campbell (American arranger/composer)David Richard Campbell is a Canadian-American arranger, composer and conductor. He has worked on over 450 gold and platinum albums including Death Magnetic , Minutes to Midnight , KISS Symphony: Alive IV Spirit , These Days , Fallen , and various albums by his son...
- additional string arrangements - Graeme RevellGraeme RevellGraeme Revell is a New Zealand film score composer.Revell attended Auckland Grammar School, where he finished his final year in 7A...
- string arrangements, orchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l conduction
Track listing
International CD Single (April 7, 2003)- "Bring Me to Life" - 3:56
- "Bring Me to Life" (Bliss Mix) - 3:59
International CD Maxi (April 14, 2003)
- "Bring Me to Life" - 3:56
- "Bring Me to Life" (Bliss Mix) - 3:59
- "Farther Away" - 3:58
- Extras: "Bring Me to Life" (Music video) - 4:14
Australian CD Single
- "Bring Me to Life" (Album version) - 3:56
- "Bring Me to Life" (Bliss Mix) - 3:59
- "Farther Away" (Album version) - 3:58
- "Missing" (Album version) - 4:15
Subsequent pressings single (June 24, 2003)
- "Bring Me to Life" (Album version) - 3:56
- "Bring Me to Life" (Bliss Mix) - 3:59
- "Farther Away" (Album version) - 3:58
- "Bring Me to Life" (Music video) - 4:14
International DVD (June 2, 2003)
- "Bring Me to Life" (Video)
- "Bring Me to Life" (Album version)
- "Bring Me to Life" (Live acoustic version)
- "My Immortal" (Live acoustic version)
- "Interview footage"
Weekly charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
11 |
| US Billboard Adult Top 40 | 4 |
| Chart (2004–2009) | Peak position |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
3 |
| US Hot Digital Songs Hot Digital Songs The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of... (Billboard) |
35 |
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75) | 48 |
| UK Rock Chart UK Rock Chart The UK Rock Chart usually refers to the Top 40 Rock Singles and the Top 40 Rock Albums Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company from physical record sales in British retail outlets with larger than average genrespecific sales.... |
1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2003) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Australian Rock Singles Chart | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 22 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 30 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) | 11 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 52 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 20 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 4 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart New Zealand Top 50 Singles of 2003 -Chart:-External links:*... |
22 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 13 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 10 |
| US Mainstream Rock Tracks | 39 |
| US Pop Songs | 5 |
| US Alternative Songs | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart | 15 |
Decade-end charts
| End of decade chart (2000s) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 59 |
| US Rock Songs | 73 |
| US Alternative Songs | 26 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
2× Platinum |
| France Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Gold |
| Germany Bundesverband Musikindustrie The Bundesverband Musikindustrie or simply BVMI represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 350 labels and music industry related enterprises.... |
Gold |
| Switzerland | Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Platinum |
See also
- List of number-one singles of 2003 (Australia)
- List of number-one hits of 2003 (Italy)
- List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)
- Number one modern rock hits of 2003Number one modern rock hits of 2003These are the Billboard magazine Modern Rock Tracks number one hits of 2003.-See also:*2003 in music*List of number-one modern rock hits...
- List of Mainstream Top 40 number-one hits of 2003 (U.S.)
- List of UK Rock Chart number-one singles of 2011