Fireflies (Owl City song)
Encyclopedia
"Fireflies" is a song and the debut single from synthpop
artist Owl City
's album Ocean Eyes
. Relient K
vocalist Matt Thiessen
is featured as a guest vocalist in the song. Adam Young described the song as "a little song about bugs and not being able to fall asleep at night."
The song is based around a "bleepy" 80s-influenced synthline and features wondrous, child-like lyrics about insomnia
, fireflies
and summer
.
The single attained worldwide success in late 2009-early 2010, topping the charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Netherlands.
Fireflies was used in the promotional video for Sony's EyePet
video game. It is also featured in Disney Sing It: Party Hits
.
in a toy-filled bedroom, where most of the toys (including an astronaut, toy cars, and a blimp) come to life. Most of the toys are older model toys, with most of them from the 1970s and '80s (the exceptions being a Robosapien
and a Roboraptor
). There are also vintage household devices such as a black-and-white television and a record player. The video had an exclusive premiere on MySpace
, but was leaked onto Dailymotion
some time before and YouTube
soon after. As of 12 November 2011, the video has received 60,167,927 views on YouTube.
US CD promo
in early-September at number ninety-seven, and it reached number one in its tenth week, becoming Owl City's first number-one single. The song stayed at number one for two non-consecutive weeks, in the top ten for fifteen weeks and on the Hot 100 for thirty-one weeks.
"Fireflies" contributed to sales of the album Ocean Eyes, and was credited as being responsible for its entry to the top ten on the U.S. Billboard 200
. On the Billboard Hot 100 2009 year-end chart
, it was ranked sixtieth. The RIAA
certified "Fireflies" triple-platinum in June 2010. By June 2011, the song had shifted 4,257,000 downloads in the United States. On the Billboard Hot 100 2010 year-end chart
, it was ranked thirtieth.
In the United Kingdom
, the song entered at number fifty due to early download sales from a fake version that got leaked onto iTunes. The song would go on to make a forty-eight place jump to number two the following week, beaten only to the top by "Replay
" by Iyaz
. The following week, it rose to number one, and topped the chart for three consecutive weeks, the song has sold 639,587 copies to date. The BPI
certified "Fireflies" silver in February 2010. On 2 January 2011 it was revealed that "Fireflies" is the twentieth most downloaded song of all time in Great Britain.
In Australia
, the song entered at number thirty-eight and on the week of January 10 2010, it topped the chart with 37,354 copies sold, having the biggest sales for a song in one week.
In Japan
, the song peaked at number three and was ranked sixteenth on the 2010 year-end chart, the highest ranking for an international song for 2010.
The song has attained success worldwide. It has reached number one in Denmark, Ireland
, Sweden, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (for 10 weeks) and the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.
's polka medley "Polka Face", from his album Alpocalypse
. Cheryl Cole
covered the song on BBC Radio 1
's Live Lounge. Popular YouTube
drummer Cobus Potgieter did a drum cover over the song. He posted it to his Youtube account on March 30, 2011 and it has since been watched over 2.2 million times.
Mac Miller also samples the melody in his song "Don't Mind if I Do".
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...
artist Owl City
Owl City
Owl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement...
's album Ocean Eyes
Ocean Eyes
Ocean Eyes is the second full-length album by electropop act Owl City. It was made available for download on July 14, 2009, on iTunes, and on September 1, 2009 it was released in stores with a photograph of the Burj Al Arab as its album artwork. A vinyl edition and a two-disc Deluxe Edition of the...
. Relient K
Relient K
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...
vocalist Matt Thiessen
Matt Thiessen
Matthew Arnold Thiessen is a Canadian-American musician, known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released six full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that...
is featured as a guest vocalist in the song. Adam Young described the song as "a little song about bugs and not being able to fall asleep at night."
The song is based around a "bleepy" 80s-influenced synthline and features wondrous, child-like lyrics about insomnia
Insomnia
Insomnia is most often defined by an individual's report of sleeping difficulties. While the term is sometimes used in sleep literature to describe a disorder demonstrated by polysomnographic evidence of disturbed sleep, insomnia is often defined as a positive response to either of two questions:...
, fireflies
Fireflies
Fireflies is a novel by Shiva Naipaul originally published in 1970. It was his first book, a comic novel set in Trinidad. In an essay in An Unfinished Journey, Naipaul described how in 1968 as a final year student at Oxford University studying Chinese, he had been moved to write down a sentence,...
and summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
.
The single attained worldwide success in late 2009-early 2010, topping the charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Netherlands.
Fireflies was used in the promotional video for Sony's EyePet
EyePet
EyePet is a game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable, developed by London Studio and Playlogic Game Factory. The original PlayStation 3 version was released in Europe on 23 October 2009 and in Australia on 27 October 2009. This version of EyePet was originally scheduled to be released in...
video game. It is also featured in Disney Sing It: Party Hits
Disney Sing It: Party Hits
Disney Sing It: Party Hits is a karaoke video game and sequel to High School Musical: Sing It!, Disney Sing It, Disney Sing It! – High School Musical 3: Senior Year and Disney Sing It: Pop Hits. It was released on September 24, 2010 across multiple platforms throughout Europe and on October 12,...
.
Music video
The music video for "Fireflies" was directed by Steve Hoover. It features Adam Young playing the song on a Lowrey spinet organLowrey organ
The Lowrey organ is an electronic organ named after Chicago industrialist Frederick Lowrey.During the 1960s and 1970s, Lowrey was the largest manufacturer of electronic organs in the world. In 1989, the Lowrey Organ Company produced its 1,000,000th organ....
in a toy-filled bedroom, where most of the toys (including an astronaut, toy cars, and a blimp) come to life. Most of the toys are older model toys, with most of them from the 1970s and '80s (the exceptions being a Robosapien
RoboSapien
RoboSapien is a toy-like biomorphic robot designed by Mark Tilden and produced by WowWee toys. The RoboSapien is preprogrammed with moves, and also can be controlled by an infrared remote control included with the toy, or by either a personal computer equipped with an infrared transmitter, and an...
and a Roboraptor
Roboraptor
Roboraptor is a robotic toy invented by Mark Tilden and distributed by Wow Wee Toys International. It is the successor to the RoboSapien robot and uses motion technology based on realistic biomechanics that give it fluid and natural movements. It has a multi-function remote control that uses...
). There are also vintage household devices such as a black-and-white television and a record player. The video had an exclusive premiere on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, but was leaked onto Dailymotion
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a video sharing service website, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement, Paris, France. According to Comscore, Dailymotion is the second largest video site in the world after YouTube....
some time before and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
soon after. As of 12 November 2011, the video has received 60,167,927 views on YouTube.
Track listings
Europe CD single- "Fireflies" – 3:48
- "Hot Air Balloon" – 3:35
US CD promo
- "Fireflies" – 3:48
Chart performance
The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard 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...
in early-September at number ninety-seven, and it reached number one in its tenth week, becoming Owl City's first number-one single. The song stayed at number one for two non-consecutive weeks, in the top ten for fifteen weeks and on the Hot 100 for thirty-one weeks.
"Fireflies" contributed to sales of the album Ocean Eyes, and was credited as being responsible for its entry to the top ten on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. On the Billboard Hot 100 2009 year-end chart
Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2009
Billboard magazine each year releases a Top Hot 100 songs of the year, counted from the first week of November to the final week in October. The 2009 list was dominated by The Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga, who shared the top four spots...
, it was ranked sixtieth. The RIAA
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...
certified "Fireflies" triple-platinum in June 2010. By June 2011, the song had shifted 4,257,000 downloads in the United States. On the Billboard Hot 100 2010 year-end chart
Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2010
Billboard publishes annual lists of songs based on chart performance over the course of a year based on Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems and SoundScan information. For 2010, the list for the top 100 Billboard Hot 100 Year-End songs was published on December 8, calculated with data from...
, it was ranked thirtieth.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the song entered at number fifty due to early download sales from a fake version that got leaked onto iTunes. The song would go on to make a forty-eight place jump to number two the following week, beaten only to the top by "Replay
Replay (Iyaz song)
"Replay" is a song performed by British Virgin Islands recording artist Iyaz. It is the first single released from his debut album Replay, which was released on 8 June 2010....
" by Iyaz
Iyaz
Keidran Jones , better known by his stage name Iyaz, is a singer signed with the record label Beluga Heights Records from the British Virgin Islands. His debut single "Replay", was released in 2009 and reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100, number-one in the UK, Australia and the top ten...
. The following week, it rose to number one, and topped the chart for three consecutive weeks, the song has sold 639,587 copies to date. The BPI
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
certified "Fireflies" silver in February 2010. On 2 January 2011 it was revealed that "Fireflies" is the twentieth most downloaded song of all time in Great Britain.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the song entered at number thirty-eight and on the week of January 10 2010, it topped the chart with 37,354 copies sold, having the biggest sales for a song in one week.
In Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the song peaked at number three and was ranked sixteenth on the 2010 year-end chart, the highest ranking for an international song for 2010.
The song has attained success worldwide. It has reached number one in Denmark, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, Sweden, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (for 10 weeks) and the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland.
Covers
The song is featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's polka medley "Polka Face", from his album Alpocalypse
Alpocalypse
Alpocalypse is the thirteenth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 21, 2011. It is his first studio release in almost five years, following the release of Straight Outta Lynwood in 2006. It is also his first studio album since 1989's UHF – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and...
. Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
covered the song on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Live Lounge. Popular YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
drummer Cobus Potgieter did a drum cover over the song. He posted it to his Youtube account on March 30, 2011 and it has since been watched over 2.2 million times.
Mac Miller also samples the melody in his song "Don't Mind if I Do".
Peak position
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
| Czech Republic IFPI Top 100 | 2 |
| French Airplay Chart 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... |
3 |
| Slovak Republic IFPI Top 100 | 8 |
| Poland (ZPAV Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... ) |
2 |
Year-end charts
| End of year chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 79 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 100 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ) | 26 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 60 |
| End of year chart (2010) | Position |
| Australian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Belgium (Flanders) | 14 |
| Belgium (Wallonia) | 14 |
| Canadian Hot 100 | 26 |
| European Hot 100 | 13 |
| Germany (Media Control AG Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... ) |
36 |
| German Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Ireland | 7 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 93 |
| Japan Hot 100 | 16 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 26 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ) | 44 |
| Switzerland | 28 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) | 6 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 30 |
Certifications and sales
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia | 4× Platinum |
| Belgium | Gold |
| Denmark | Platinum |
| New Zealand | Platinum |
| Switzerland | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Silver |
| United States | 4× Platinum |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | July 14, 2009 | Universal Republic Universal Republic Universal Republic Records is a record label, owned by Universal Music Group. It is based on the now-defunct Republic Records label founded by brothers Monte and Avery Lipman... |
Digital download 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... |
| Australia | November 9, 2009 | CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |
|
| United Kingdom | January 8, 2010 | Digital download | |
| February 22, 2010 | CD single | ||
| Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,... |
January 14, 2010 | Digital download | |
| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
January 16, 2010 | CD single | |
| Germany | January 22, 2010 | CD single |
See also
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2009 (U.S.)
- List of Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks number-one singles of 2010
- Dutch Top 40 number-one hits of 2009Dutch Top 40 number-one hits of 2009This is a list of the Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2009. The Dutch Top 40 is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of the Netherlands. Published by radio station Radio 538.-Chart history:-Number-one artists:...
- List of number-one singles in Australia in 2010
- List of number-one singles from the 2010s (UK)
- List of number-one singles of 2010 (Ireland)
- List of number-one singles (Sweden)