I'm Not Alone
| "I'm Not Alone" | |||||||
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| Single by Calvin Harris | |||||||
| from the album Ready for the Weekend | |||||||
| Released | 6 April 2009 | ||||||
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| Length | 3:31 | ||||||
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| Writer(s) | Calvin Harris | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Calvin Harris | ||||||
| Calvin Harris singles chronology | |||||||
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"I'm Not Alone" is a song by Scottish recording artist Calvin Harris, released as the lead single from his second studio album, Ready for the Weekend. The track was first played by Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 as his "essential new tune" on 23 January 2009 and has been described as a slice of euphoric dance.
On 12 April 2009, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, earning Harris his first solo number-one single on the chart and second overall following his 2008 collaboration with Dizzee Rascal and Chrome, "Dance wiv Me".
In 2010, Harris received a writing credit on Chris Brown's hit single "Yeah 3x", due to the perceived similarities between the two songs.
Background and writing
Harris said of this song: "The whole track's a light and shade thing, two styles put together. I find it quite hard to write a happy-happy lyric now, for some reason. I don't know why that is, to be honest with you. Maybe it's staying in a room for a huge amount of time on your own, and that's reflected in the lyrics!"[1] The song is written in the key of E minor, and follows a chord progression of Em/D/Am/C.
Chart performance
"I'm Not Alone" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 12 April 2009 ― for the week ending 18 April 2009 ― knocking Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" off the top of the chart. It remained at the top position for two weeks, until it was dethroned by Tinchy Stryder's "Number 1" featuring N-Dubz. On 3 January 2010, "I'm Not Alone" re-entered the chart at number ninety-nine.
In the Republic of Ireland, the single debuted at number fourteen on the Irish Singles Chart on 9 April 2009, peaking at number four by its third week.
Controversy
When Chris Brown's 2010 single "Yeah 3x" was released, Harris claimed that "Yeah 3x" plagiarised "I'm Not Alone". He tweeted, "Choked on my cornflakes when I heard [the] new Chris Brown single this morning. Do you know what I mean?"[2] After receiving many abusive messages from Brown's fans after posting the comment,[3] he later tweeted, "I don't care that you call me a nobody. Stealing is still stealing, doesn't matter who you are! ... Because Chris Brown is an international celebrity doesn't make it OK to rip off a guy from [the] UK not many people have heard of."[2]
When asked in an interview with Australia's Herald Sun if Brown knew him, Harris replied, "Well, he's never heard of me, that's the funniest thing. But the producer he's worked with, DJ Frank E, has definitely heard of me. He's a respected producer, he's worked with Tiësto on a few tracks, perhaps that's where the link is. It's all a bit of fun."[4] Brown later spoke with Harris and upon hearing the similarities between the two songs, had Harris' name added to the songwriting credits, with no legal action taken.[2][5] The two artists reportedly have no hard feelings toward each other since the controversy; Harris even called Brown his "best mate" and said that he enjoys listening to his work.[5]
Music video
The music video for "I'm Not Alone" was filmed in Oslo, Norway on 6 February 2009. It was directed by Christian Holm-Glad.[6] The clip begins with a small boy (potentially meant to represent a young Harris) found in thick snow wandering the woods dragging a sledge with a toy bear on top. He then sets up camp and lights a fire to keep warm whilst cuddling his toy bear. The bear is then found on the sledge again and is then dropped. The scene closes and cuts to a dungeon styled setting that showcases Harris portrayed as a Frankenstein-type character who is seen to perform experiments on numerous female captives, combining their essences to reanimate his "lost" teddy bear.
Track listings
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Personnel
- Calvin Harris – vocals, producer, instrumentation, arranger, engineering, mixing
- Brian Gardner – mastering
Official versions and remixes
- Actual Phantom Remix
- Aux Matters Remix
- Burns Rework
- Deadmau5 Remix
- Doorly Remix
- Extended Mix
- Instrumental
- Hervé's See You at the Festivals Remix
- Hervé's See You at the Dub Parade Remix
- MYNC Payback Mix
- Pendulum Remix (only ever performed live)
- Radio Edit
- S.A.S Remix (Mega & Mayhem) (from the Mega & Mayhem's Excellent Adventure mixtape)
- ☆Taku Takahashi Remix
- Tiësto Remix
Charts and certifications
Peak positions
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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Chart procession and succession
| Preceded by "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga |
UK Singles Chart number-one single 12 April 2009 – 25 April 2009 |
Succeeded by "Number 1" by Tinchy Stryder featuring N-Dubz |
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 6 April 2009 | Digital download | |
| 13 April 2009 | CD single | ||
| 22 April 2009 | 12" single |
References
- ↑ "I'm Not Alone by Calvin Harris". Songfacts. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- 1 2 3 Izundu, Chi Chi (October 4, 2010). "Calvin Harris says Chris Brown 'stole' his song". BBC Radio 1 (BBC). Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ↑ "Chris Brown rips off Calvin Harris? Twitter hosts the controversy". Dancing Astronaut.
- ↑ Adams, Cameron (November 25, 2010). "Q&A: singer Calvin Harris". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- 1 2 "Calvin Harris and Chris Brown make up after song row". BBC Radio 1. BBC. August 25, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ↑ http://kortfilmfestivalen.no/export/sites/kortfilmfestivalen/artikler/Katalogen09-2.pdf
- ↑ "I'm Not Alone – EP by Calvin Harris". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ↑ "I'm Not Alone – EP by Calvin Harris". iTunes Store UK. Apple Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ↑ "I'm Not Alone – EP by Calvin Harris". iTunes Store U.S. Apple Inc. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone" (in French). Ultratop 50.
- ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200946 into search.
- ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone". Tracklisten.
- ↑ "European Hot 100 – Week of April 25, 2009". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ↑ "Top 50 Singles, Week Ending 23 April 2009". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone". Top 40 Singles.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2009-04-19". Scottish Singles Top 40.
- ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200928 into search.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2009-04-19" UK Dance Chart.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2009-04-19" UK Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2009". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ↑ "Rapports Annuels 2009". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ↑ "UK Year-End Charts 2009" (PDF). The Official Charts Company. ChartsPlus. Retrieved 31 December 2010.
- ↑ "Danish single certifications – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone". IFPI Denmark. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
- ↑ "British single certifications – Calvin Harris – I'm Not Alone". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 January 2016. Enter I'm Not Alone 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