Keep Holding On
Encyclopedia
"Keep Holding On" is a pop rock
power ballad song recorded by Avril Lavigne
and is the theme song for the film Eragon
(2006
). It also appears as the last track on Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing
which was released on April 17, 2007. Lavigne has described the rest of the album as being upbeat and heavy in comparison to "Keep Holding On". Originally, a different version was to be included, but the original version made it instead. The song received heavy airplay in Australia but it was not officially released there.
The song was written by Lavigne and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
; Luke also produced the single. It was the first single
from the soundtrack and premiered on radio stations across North America
in November 2006 (see 2006 in music
). "Keep Holding On" was one of the songs short-listed for the "Best Original Song
" category at the 2007 Academy Awards
, but it was not among the final nominees. The song was also ranked on the iTunes Australia top 500 at 403. http://www.novafm.com.au/nova100/competition_itunes-top-500_1877
, who composed the Eragon soundtrack. The song was recorded on 2006. According to the sheetmusic published at musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group
, the song is composed in the key of G major
and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 56 beats per minute. Lavigne vocal range spans from F#3 to D5.
Airplay Chart, being kept off the top spot by Nelly Furtado
's "Say It Right
". It became her highest-peaking airplay single there since "Complicated" which peaked at #1 for 1 week in 2002. It peaked within the top 20 on Billboard
magazine's Hot 100
chart, peaking at #17, and the top 10 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
format chart. This feat is particularly impressive considering no official music video
was made to promote it. It was not released in most of Europe, although it got to #9 in Slovakia
, #27 in the Czech Republic
and #32 in Latvia
. The single was one of the first to be issued as a digital-only release in Australia, where it charted at #5 on the Top 40 Digital Tracks
chart. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA on February 22, 2007 and Platinum on January 31, 2008.
describing it as a "gorgeous song" in which Lavigne seems to be "set to remain for the long term". Darryl Sterdan of JAM!
described the song as "A strummed guitar, lush strings and a soaring vocal about love and loyalty". He went on to compare it to "a sweeping Alanis
-like ballad". Despite this, Sterdan advises the reader to skip the track. Sal Cinquemani of Slant
magazine described the song as "sullen".
In an AOL Radio
listener's poll, "Keep Holding On" was voted Lavigne's fifth best song.
. An arrangement of it was sung by the cast of Glee
in the episode "Throwdown
" in October 2009. This song was also covered by Spectacular!
& Zoey 101
's Victoria Justice
. The song is also sung by eliminated cast members of the show The Glee Project
at the end of each episode. For Children in Need 2011
, this song was sung by choirs all over the UK in unison to raise money. This led the song to re-enter the UK top 200 chart at no.141.
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
power ballad song recorded by 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...
and is the theme song for the film Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
(2006
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
). It also appears as the last track on Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing
The Best Damn Thing
The Best Damn Thing is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Avril Lavigne. It was released on April 13, 2007 through RCA Records. According to the IFPI, The Best Damn Thing was the fourth top-selling album worldwide and Sony BMG's top-selling album of 2007. The album was certified...
which was released on April 17, 2007. Lavigne has described the rest of the album as being upbeat and heavy in comparison to "Keep Holding On". Originally, a different version was to be included, but the original version made it instead. The song received heavy airplay in Australia but it was not officially released there.
The song was written by Lavigne and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
; Luke also produced the single. It was the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from the soundtrack and premiered on radio stations across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in November 2006 (see 2006 in music
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
). "Keep Holding On" was one of the songs short-listed for the "Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
" category at the 2007 Academy Awards
2007 Academy Awards
2007 Academy Awards may refer to:* 79th Academy Awards, the 2007 ceremony honoring the best in film for 2006* 80th Academy Awards, the 2008 ceremony honoring the best in film for 2007...
, but it was not among the final nominees. The song was also ranked on the iTunes Australia top 500 at 403. http://www.novafm.com.au/nova100/competition_itunes-top-500_1877
Background and composition
"Keep Holding On" was written by Lavigne and Lukasz Gottwald. Dr. Luke also produced the song. The strings were arranged by Patrick DoylePatrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle is a Scottish musician and film score composer. A longtime collaborator of actor/director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work scoring such critically acclaimed films as Henry V , Sense and Sensibility , Hamlet , and Gosford Park , as well as noteworthy blockbusters as Harry...
, who composed the Eragon soundtrack. The song was recorded on 2006. According to the sheetmusic published at musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group is a music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group.UMPG owns or administers more than 1 million copyrights. They are one of the largest music publishing businesses in the world with more than 47 offices in 41 countries...
, the song is composed in the key of G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 56 beats per minute. Lavigne vocal range spans from F#3 to D5.
Commercial
"Keep Holding On" reached number two for four weeks on the Canadian BDSNielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections...
Airplay Chart, being kept off the top spot by Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
's "Say It Right
Say It Right
"Say It Right" is a song recorded by Canadian recording artist Nelly Furtado, from her third studio album, Loose . Written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and Nate "Danja" Hills, the song was inspired by, as Furtado described it, the "spooky, keyboard-driven pop sound" of the band Eurythmics,...
". It became her highest-peaking airplay single there since "Complicated" which peaked at #1 for 1 week in 2002. It peaked within the top 20 on 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...
magazine's 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...
chart, peaking at #17, and the top 10 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...
format chart. This feat is particularly impressive considering no official music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was made to promote it. It was not released in most of Europe, although it got to #9 in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, #27 in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and #32 in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
. The single was one of the first to be issued as a digital-only release in Australia, where it charted at #5 on the Top 40 Digital Tracks
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
chart. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA on February 22, 2007 and Platinum on January 31, 2008.
Critical
The song has been well-received by music critics, with BillboardBillboard (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...
describing it as a "gorgeous song" in which Lavigne seems to be "set to remain for the long term". Darryl Sterdan of JAM!
Jam!
Jam! is a Canadian website, which covers entertainment news. It is part of the CANOE online portal, owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division....
described the song as "A strummed guitar, lush strings and a soaring vocal about love and loyalty". He went on to compare it to "a sweeping Alanis
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
-like ballad". Despite this, Sterdan advises the reader to skip the track. Sal Cinquemani of Slant
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
magazine described the song as "sullen".
In an AOL Radio
AOL Radio
AOL Radio powered by Slacker, , is an online radio service available only in the United States.- Roots :...
listener's poll, "Keep Holding On" was voted Lavigne's fifth best song.
Cover versions and samples
The song was used in the season 2 finale of the American television series Ghost WhispererGhost Whisperer
Ghost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
. An arrangement of it was sung by the cast of Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
in the episode "Throwdown
Throwdown (Glee)
"Throwdown" is the seventh episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on October 14, 2009. It was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy and written by Brad Falchuk...
" in October 2009. This song was also covered by Spectacular!
Spectacular!
Spectacular! is a 2009 Nickelodeon musical TV-movie. It stars singer Nolan Gerard Funk, Australian singer Tammin Sursok, Zoey 101 and Victorious star Victoria Justice, and Simon Curtis. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, it premiered February 16, 2009...
& Zoey 101
Zoey 101
Zoey 101 is an American television series that ran from January 9, 2005 to May 2, 2008 starring Jamie Lynn Spears as teenager Zoey Brooks, produced for Nickelodeon and syndicated worldwide. The show was initially filmed at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, then at stages in Valencia,...
's Victoria Justice
Victoria Justice
Victoria Justice is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and dancer. She debuted as an actress at the age of 10 and has since appeared in several films and television series including the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 and Victorious...
. The song is also sung by eliminated cast members of the show The Glee Project
The Glee Project
The Glee Project is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It serves as an audition for the FOX TV series Glee. Although originally planned to begin broadcasting in late May 2011, The Glee Project premiered on June 12, 2011...
at the end of each episode. For Children in Need 2011
Children in Need 2011
Children in Need 2011 is a campaign held in the United Kingdom to raise money for Children in Need. 2011 marked the 31st anniversary of the appeal which culminated in a live broadcast on BBC One which began on the evening of Friday 18th November and ran until the early hours of Saturday 19th...
, this song was sung by choirs all over the UK in unison to raise money. This led the song to re-enter the UK top 200 chart at no.141.
Track listing
- European, Australian Promo
- "Keep Holding On"
- Japanese Promo
- "Keep Holding On"
- "Keep Holding On" (Instrumental version)
- USA Promo
- "Keep Holding On"
- "Suggested Call Out Hook"
Charts
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Czech IFPI Chart | 27 |
| Romanian Top 100 | 51 |
| Slovakian Singles Chart | 9 |
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
175 |
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
141 |
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) |
|---|---|
| United States | Platinum |
Awards
| Year | Awards ceremony | Award | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Socan Awards | Best Pop Song | |