I See You (Theme from Avatar)
Encyclopedia
"I See You" (also shortened as "I See You") is a pop
ballad
performed by British singer Leona Lewis
. It was written and produced by composer James Horner
, Simon Franglen and Kuk Harrell for the soundtrack album
to the highest-grossing film of all time by James Cameron
, Avatar. Horner and Franglen composed the music, and Horner, Franglen, and Harrell wrote the lyrics. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song
at the 67th Golden Globe Awards
in 2010, and Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
at the 53rd Grammy Awards
in 2011, but lost to "The Weary Kind
" from Crazy Heart
.
's big screen project Avatar and recruited Lewis to perform "I See You (Theme from Avatar)" which is played during the closing credits of the film. The song's producers James Horner and Simon Franglen were responsible for Celine Dion
's Grammy-winning single "My Heart Will Go On
" from the film Titanic
, for which Horner also composed the film score. Lewis recorded the song after being invited to watch the making of Avatar; afterwards, she declared about the film and recording the song that,
James Cameron intended to release the song as a single, thinking it would match the success of Dion's 1998 song, although Lewis was reluctant, as she had just released her second album, Echo
. The Sun
reported from a source that, "Leona was delighted to be part of Avatar but the song was never supposed to be released. But her cover of 'Run' wasn't meant to be released either—and look how well that did."
marking of 68 beats per minute. The time signature
of the music is common time, and it is played in the key of B-flat minor, with a piano for the background music. The song employs a B♭m—A♭—E♭ chord progression
. The vocal part ranges from F#3 to F5. The piece begins with a distorted vocal section sung by Lewis, using voice-altering techniques.
The phrase "I see you" is a reference to a greeting repeatedly used by the Na'vi in the film. As Jake learns to speak Na'vi, Norm explains to him that while the phrase literally means "I see you", it is being used figuratively to mean "I see into you", and essentially "I understand you".
called the song a "solid pop ballad", although was unsure if it "will become as annoyingly ubiquitous" as Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". An unfavorable review came from James Christopher Monger of Allmusic, who claimed that "the torch ballad 'I See You', a forgettable piece of grocery store balladry that (unlike the schmaltzy, but appropriate 'My Heart Will Go On') feels ridiculously out of place, especially in a film about 10 foot tall blue aliens". As part of its review of the movie, The Village Voice
criticized the "Celine Dion
clone singing in Na'vi" over the end credits. It was nominated at the 2010 World Soundtrack Awards in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.
on December 16, 2009 to perform the song and on The Today Show
on January 16, 2010, where Lewis also gave an interview.
. The video shows upclose footage of Lewis, combined with scenes from Avatar.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
performed by British singer Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis is a British singer and songwriter. Lewis first came to prominence in 2006 when she won the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
. It was written and produced by composer James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
, Simon Franglen and Kuk Harrell for the soundtrack album
Avatar: Music from the Motion Picture
-Chart positions:The album has also charted on the Billboard 200 album chart on the week of January 2, 2010, debuting at number 172. The following week it climbed the chart to gain a new peak at number 119, and then the following week it leaped to number 32...
to the highest-grossing film of all time by James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Avatar. Horner and Franglen composed the music, and Horner, Franglen, and Harrell wrote the lyrics. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
at the 67th Golden Globe Awards
67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...
in 2010, and Grammy Awards for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media has been awarded since 1988 and is awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media...
at the 53rd Grammy Awards
53rd Grammy Awards
The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the telecast on February 11. Nominations were...
in 2011, but lost to "The Weary Kind
The Weary Kind
"The Weary Kind" is a country song written by Ryan Bingham and T-Bone Burnett for the film Crazy Heart, a 2009 film directed by Scott Cooper starring Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Colin Farrell and Bridges perform renditions of the song in the film...
" from Crazy Heart
Crazy Heart
Crazy Heart is a 2009 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper and based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb. Jeff Bridges plays a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter who tries to turn his life around after beginning a relationship with a young...
.
Background
James Horner composed the score for James CameronJames Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
's big screen project Avatar and recruited Lewis to perform "I See You (Theme from Avatar)" which is played during the closing credits of the film. The song's producers James Horner and Simon Franglen were responsible for Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
's Grammy-winning single "My Heart Will Go On
My Heart Will Go On
"My Heart Will Go On" is the theme song/love theme of the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. With music by James Horner, lyrics by Will Jennings, and production by Simon Franglen, James Horner and Walter Afanasieff ,, it was recorded by Céline Dion...
" from the film Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, for which Horner also composed the film score. Lewis recorded the song after being invited to watch the making of Avatar; afterwards, she declared about the film and recording the song that,
I hope aliens are like the Na'vi. I really like them. They care about the things I'm passionate about - nature, the planet, the environment. This song required a powerful performance so I had to find an emotional connection. I found one to them.
James Cameron intended to release the song as a single, thinking it would match the success of Dion's 1998 song, although Lewis was reluctant, as she had just released her second album, Echo
Echo (Leona Lewis album)
Echo is the second studio album by British pop/R&B singer and songwriter Leona Lewis. It was released from 9 November 2009 including 16 November 2009 in the United Kingdom, and 17 November 2009 in the United States. Its worldwide release was through Sony Music.Lewis worked with Ryan Tedder, Justin...
. The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
reported from a source that, "Leona was delighted to be part of Avatar but the song was never supposed to be released. But her cover of 'Run' wasn't meant to be released either—and look how well that did."
Music structure and lyrics
"I See You" is composed as a mid-tempo ballad, with a metronomeMetronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
marking of 68 beats per minute. The time signature
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....
of the music is common time, and it is played in the key of B-flat minor, with a piano for the background music. The song employs a B♭m—A♭—E♭ chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. The vocal part ranges from F#3 to F5. The piece begins with a distorted vocal section sung by Lewis, using voice-altering techniques.
The phrase "I see you" is a reference to a greeting repeatedly used by the Na'vi in the film. As Jake learns to speak Na'vi, Norm explains to him that while the phrase literally means "I see you", it is being used figuratively to mean "I see into you", and essentially "I understand you".
Critical reception
The song has been given mixed reviews. Brian Linder from IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called the song a "solid pop ballad", although was unsure if it "will become as annoyingly ubiquitous" as Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". An unfavorable review came from James Christopher Monger of Allmusic, who claimed that "the torch ballad 'I See You', a forgettable piece of grocery store balladry that (unlike the schmaltzy, but appropriate 'My Heart Will Go On') feels ridiculously out of place, especially in a film about 10 foot tall blue aliens". As part of its review of the movie, 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...
criticized the "Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
clone singing in Na'vi" over the end credits. It was nominated at the 2010 World Soundtrack Awards in the category of Best Original Song Written Directly for a Film.
Promotion
Lewis appeared on So You Think You Can DanceSo You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
on December 16, 2009 to perform the song and on The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
on January 16, 2010, where Lewis also gave an interview.
Music video
The music video was released on December 15, 2009, the same day as the soundtrack's release. It was directed by Jake NavaJake Nava
Jake Nava was born on 17 August and grew up in northern London. He currently lives in eastern London.He graduated from the University of WestministerJake Nava is an English-born music video and film director.-Filmography:MUSIC VIDEOS...
. The video shows upclose footage of Lewis, combined with scenes from Avatar.
Charts
| Charts (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
47 |