Fireflies (Owl City song)

"Fireflies"
Single by Owl City
from the album Ocean Eyes
B-side "Hot Air Balloon"
Released July 14, 2009 (2009-07-14)
(see release history)
Format
Recorded 2008
Genre Synthpop[1]
Length 3:48
Label Universal Republic
Writer(s) Adam Young
Producer(s)
Owl City singles chronology
"Fireflies"
(2009)		 "Vanilla Twilight"
(2010)
Audio sample
file info · help
Music video
"Fireflies" on YouTube

"Fireflies" is the debut single from American electronica project Owl City's album Ocean Eyes. Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen is featured as a guest vocalist on the song. Adam Young described the song as "a little song about bugs and not being able to fall asleep at night."[3] The song is built around a "bleepy" synthline and includes lyrics about insomnia, fireflies and summer.

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks. Internationally, the song also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. "Fireflies" was Owl City's only top forty hit in the United States until three years later when "Good Time", a duet with Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen, charted at No. 8.[4] It has been covered by Christina Grimmie, Cheryl Cole and others.

Fireflies was used in the promotional video for Sony's EyePet video game. It is also featured in Disney Sing It: Party Hits.[5] It is also a downloadable content for both Guitar Hero 5 and Rock Band 3.[6][7]

Chart performance

The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in early-September at No. 97, and it reached No. 1 in its tenth week, becoming Owl City's first No. 1 single.[8][9] The song stayed at No. 1 for two non-consecutive weeks, in the top ten for fifteen weeks and on the Hot 100 for 31 weeks.[10] "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.[11] On the Billboard Hot 100 2009 year-end chart, it was ranked sixtieth.[12] On the Billboard Hot 100 2010 year-end chart, it was ranked thirtieth.[13] The RIAA certified "Fireflies" 3× Platinum in June 2010. By November 2012, the song had shifted 4,648,000 downloads in the United States, enough for a 4× Platinum certification.[14]

The song attained success worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the song entered at No. 50 due to early download sales from a fake version that was leaked onto iTunes. The song would go on to make a 48-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. On January 2, 2011, it was revealed that "Fireflies" was the 20th most downloaded song of all time in the UK.[15] As of April 2014, the song has sold 792,000 copies in the UK.[16]

In Australia, the song entered at No. 38 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 No. 3 and was ranked sixteenth on the 2010 year-end chart, the highest ranking for an international song for 2010. It reached No. 1 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. The song was ranked 89th on VH1's 'Top 100 songs of the new millennium'.[17]

Music video

The music video for "Fireflies" was directed by Steve Hoover.[18] It features Adam Young playing the song on a Lowrey spinet organ in a toy-filled bedroom, where most of the toys (including an astronaut, a Tyrannosaurus rex, a Speak & Spell, toy cars including one based on Brum, and a blimp) come to life. Most of the toys are older model toys, with most of them from the 1970s and 1980s (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 April 2016, the video has received more than 160 million views.[19]

Covers

A part of the song is featured in "Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medley "Polka Face", from his album Alpocalypse. Sam Tsui covered the song for his album. 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 3.6 million times.[20]

Ben Bennett with Jesse and Ashleigh performed the song for their battle round on season 1 of The Voice Australia.[21] Universal Music has since released Ben Bennett's cover on iTunes.[22]

Mac Miller also samples the melody in his song "Don't Mind if I Do" from his 2010 mixtape, K.I.D.S..

Also in 2010, American hip-hop group Blue Scholars sampled the song's melody in their internet-released track "Paul Valery".

Nivea Hamilton covered the song as a part of a medley with "Do You Know Where You're Going To" for her 2011 EP Nivea Undercover.

Track listings

Europe CD single
  1. "Fireflies" – 3:48
  2. "Hot Air Balloon" – 3:35[23]
US CD promo
  1. "Fireflies" – 3:48[24]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2009–10) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[25] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[26] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[27] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[28] 4
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[29] 2
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[30] 2
Denmark (Tracklisten)[31] 1
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[32] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[33] 7
France (SNEP)[34] 17
Germany (Official German Charts)[35] 6
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 1
Israel (Media Forest)[37] 2
Italy (FIMI)[38] 2
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[39] 3
Luxembourg Digital Songs (Billboard)[40] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[41] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[42] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[43] 2
Norway (VG-lista)[44] 2
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[45] 2
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[46] 8
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[47] 27
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[48] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] 4
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[50] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[51] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[52] 11
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[53] 1
US Christian Songs (Billboard)[54] 44
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[55] 38
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[56] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[57] 79
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[58] 100
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[59] 26
US Billboard Hot 100[60] 60
Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[61] 6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[62] 14
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[63] 14
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[64] 26
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[65] 13
Germany (Media Control Charts)[66] 36
Ireland (IRMA)[67] 7
Italy (FIMI)[68] 93
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[69] 16
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[70] 14
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[71] 26
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[72] 44
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[73] 28
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[74] 6
US Billboard Hot 100[75] 30
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[76] 22
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[77] 21
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[78] 33

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[79] 6× Platinum 420,000
Belgium (BEA)[80] Gold 15,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[81] Platinum 30,000
Italy (FIMI)[82] Gold 15,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[83] Platinum 15,000
Sweden (GLF)[84] 2× Platinum 80,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[85] Gold 15,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[86] Platinum 792,000[16]
United States (RIAA)[87] 7× Platinum 7,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Label Format
  • United States
  • Canada[88]
 July 14, 2009 Universal Republic Digital download
Australia[89] November 9, 2009 CD single
United Kingdom[90][91] January 8, 2010 Digital download
February 22, 2010 CD single
Ireland[92] January 14, 2010 Digital download
Poland January 16, 2010 CD single
Germany January 22, 2010 CD single

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Owl City on SortMusic". SortMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  2. ↑ "LiveDaily Interview: Matt Thiessen of Relient K >> Tour dates at LIVE DAILY". Livedaily.com. May 5, 2010. Archived from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Fireflies Songfacts". Songfacts.com. July 14, 2009. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Disney Sing It: Party Hits | Disney". Disney.go.com. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Guitar Hero Song List". Guitarhero.com. June 21, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rock Band songs". Rockband.com. June 21, 2012.
  8. ↑ Pietroluongo, Silvio (October 29, 2009). "Owl City's 'Fireflies' Lands At No. 1 On Hot 100". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  9. ↑ Pietroluongo, Silvio (November 12, 2009). "Rihanna's 'Roulette' Lands In Hot 100's Top 10". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Owl City – Fireflies – Music Charts". αCharts. February 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  11. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (October 28, 2009). "'New Moon' Rises To No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Best of 2009 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Best of 2010 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  14. ↑ Grein, Paul (November 21, 2012). "Week Ending Nov. 18, 2012. Songs: Rihanna Ties Madonna". Yahoo! (Yahoo!). Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Radio 1 - Chart - Top 100 Downloads of All Time". BBC. January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  16. 1 2 "UK Charts - Bring The Noise (as revealed on BBC Radio 1 on April 21, 2014 during the All-time Official Download Chart Top 100)". wordpress.com. April 28, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ "VH1's Top 100 Songs of the New Millenium". Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Owl City » Fireflies". MTV Music. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  19. ↑ "Owl City - Fireflies". YouTube. December 15, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Cobus Potgieter's drum cover of 'Fireflies'". Youtube.com. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  21. ↑ Griffin, Michelle (May 8, 2012). "When did cover versions become a bad thing? Judges get tough as The Voice goes epic". Brisbane Times. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Fireflies (The Voice Performance) - Single by Ben Bennett". iTunes. May 8, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Owl City – Fireflies (CD, Single)". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Owl City – Fireflies (CD, Single, Promo)". Discogs.com. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Owl City – Fireflies". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  26. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Owl City – Fireflies" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Owl City – Fireflies" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Owl City – Fireflies" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  29. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Owl City.
  30. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201015 into search.
  31. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Owl City – Fireflies". Tracklisten.
  32. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" European Hot 100 for Owl City.
  33. ↑ "Owl City: Fireflies" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  34. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Owl City – Fireflies" (in French). Les classement single.
  35. ↑ "Musicline.de – Owl City Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  36. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 03, 2010". Irish Singles Chart.
  37. ↑ "Owl City – Fireflies Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  38. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Owl City – Fireflies". Top Digital Download.
  39. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for Owl City.
  40. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Billboard Luxembourg Digital Songs for Owl City.
  41. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Owl City search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  42. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Owl City – Fireflies" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  43. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Owl City – Fireflies". Top 40 Singles.
  44. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Owl City – Fireflies". VG-lista.
  45. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  46. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200950 into search.
  47. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Owl City – Fireflies" Canciones Top 50.
  48. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Owl City – Fireflies". Singles Top 100.
  49. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Owl City – Fireflies". Swiss Singles Chart.
  50. ↑ "Owl City: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  51. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Owl City.
  52. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Owl City.
  53. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Owl City.
  54. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Billboard Christian Songs for Owl City.
  55. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Owl City.
  56. ↑ "Owl City – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Owl City.
  57. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. January 1, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  58. ↑ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2009" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  59. ↑ "RIANZ Annual Chart (see 2009)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. January 9, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  60. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs: 2009 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  61. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  62. ↑ "Ultratop Annual Charts 2010" (in Dutch). Ultratop. December 26, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  63. ↑ "Ultratop Annual Charts 2010" (in French). Ultratop. December 26, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  64. ↑ "Canadian Hot 100: 2010 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  65. ↑ "European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014. (subscription required (help)).
  66. ↑ "VIVA Single Jahrescharts 2010 – 2010". VIVA Germany. Archived from the original on January 10, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  67. ↑ "Best of 2010". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  68. ↑ "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Ricerche e dati di mercato". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  69. ↑ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  70. ↑ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2010" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  71. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2010" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  72. ↑ "RIANZ Annual Chart (see 2010)". RIANZ. January 9, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  73. ↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2010" (in German). Swiss Hitparade. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  74. ↑ "2010 UK Singles Chart" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  75. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs: 2010 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  76. ↑ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Adult Contemporary (Year end) for Owl City. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  77. ↑ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Adult Top 40 (Year end) for Owl City. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  78. ↑ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Pop Songs (Year end) for Lorde. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  79. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  80. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2010". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  81. ↑ "Certificeringer marts – maj 2010". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  82. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 1, 2012. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Owl City in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  83. ↑ "New Zealand single certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  84. ↑ "Owl City - Fireflies" (in Swedish). Grammofon Leverantörernas Förening. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
  85. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Owl City; 'Fireflies')". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  86. ↑ "British single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 1, 2012. Enter Fireflies in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  87. ↑ "American single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 1, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  88. ↑ Album Detail – Fireflies – Owl City www.owlcitymusic.com. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
  89. ↑ Owl City – Fireflies australian-charts.com
  90. ↑ "Owl City – Fireflies". Hmv.com. December 15, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  91. ↑ "Owl City – Fireflies". Hmv.com. December 15, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  92. ↑ "Owl City – Fireflies". Chart-track.co.uk. January 22, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2011.

External links

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