Gravity (Sara Bareilles song)

"Gravity"
Single by Sara Bareilles
from the album Little Voice
Released February 3, 2009 (U.S.)
Format Music video, digital download
Recorded 2007
Genre Pop, soul
Length 3:52
Label Epic Records
Writer(s) Sara Bareilles
Producer(s) Eric Rosse
Sara Bareilles singles chronology
"Winter Song"
(2008)		 "Gravity"
(2009)		 "King of Anything"
(2010)

"Gravity" is a song performed by Sara Bareilles, released the third single from her major-label debut album Little Voice (2007). Written by Bareilles, the track was produced by Eric Rosse. Its music video was released on February 3, 2009. Bareilles said she wrote the song after her "first real heartbreak", and was hoping the ballad would help others in similar situations. The song was originally on her first album Careful Confessions, but was later included on Little Voice.

Critical analysis

"Gravity" was generally commended by music critics. Chris Klimek of The Washington Post calls the song "haunting" and states that "Gravity is strong evidence that Bareilles's songcraft may yet warrant the stardom she's attained."[1] Shirley Brinkley writes for The Virginian-Pilot that this is her favorite song, and that "It speaks to the paradoxes and complexity of relationships".[2] Michael Menachem of Billboard writes, "[T]his melodic, introspective ballad is Bareilles' finest moment."[3] The Hollywood Reporter mentioned the song in their review of one her concerts, stating it was the "night's bravest and most powerful performance" when "she brilliantly sang fan favorite Gravity".[4] Mark Savage for BBC News has called it a "tearjerking ballad" and characterized it as Bareilles' calling card.[5]

Music video

As a promotional project to support her single "Gravity", Bareilles released a music video for the track. A homage to the short film Powers of Ten, the video features a single, unbroken take of the singer strolling in the middle of a street while people are walking behind her bringing lights, balloons, and globes of other planets representing a journey through the solar system and into deep space.[6][7]

Cover versions

British singer Louise Dearman covered the song on her second album Here Comes The Sun.

The song was played by Jeremy Rosado on the semi-finals of the eleventh season of American Idol.[8]

Kelly Clarkson covered the song in Durham, North Carolina during her Stronger World Tour, in which she praised Bareilles's voice and lyrics. Bareilles responding the following day by tweeting: “Holy pipes, Batman! Kelly Clarkson sang Gravity. Whoah. Gurrrl. Can. Sang. So Cool!” [9]

Mary Joyner performed this song for her audition on the seventh season of America's Got Talent.

Brittany Cairns performed this song for her blind audition on the first season of The Voice - Australia. Cairns' version peaked at number 58 on the ARIA chart in April 2012.[10]

Duo Alex & Sierra performed "Gravity" on the third season of The X Factor (U.S.), during the December 11, 2013 semi-final show.

Contestant Kerrianne Covell also covered this song for her '6 Chair Challenge' on the eleventh season of The X Factor

Jessie Pitts performed the song on seventh season of the hit-American television show The Voice, as her last chance performance. Despite her being elimination, she released a recording of the song, and a music video. Also, India Carney performed this song on The Voice (U.S. season 8) [11]

The Gardiner Sisters uploaded a cover of this song with 100K views.

Former Korean girl group Girl's Generation member Jessica Jung sang a cover of this song.

Produce 101 contestant Jung Eunwoo from Pledis Entertainment trainee group Pledis Girlz sang a cover of this song.

In popular culture

The song is frequently used in fan YouTube videos with romantic couples from TV shows or movies.

A shipping video featuring a clip montage of the characters Annie and Jeff set to "Gravity" was made by a Community fan in November 2009, halfway through the first season of the show.[12] The video inspired show creator Dan Harmon[13] and he included a similar sequence of clips of the two characters in the second season episode "Paradigms of Human Memory". Dan Harmon paid for the rights to the song himself. The clips of Annie and Jeff were immediately followed by clips of the characters Pierce and Abed again set to "Gravity", as a parody to show how easy it is make any set of characters appear romantically interested in one another.

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
South Korea International Singles (Gaon)[14] 44
Chart (2013) Peak
position
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 27
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[16] 76

References

  1. ↑ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-16407518.html The Washington Post May 1, 2008
  2. ↑ The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)November 11, 2010
  3. ↑ Menachem, Michael (March 7, 2009). "Gravity: Sara Bareilles", Billboard 121 (9): 38. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  4. ↑ "Sara Bareilles - Concert Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 2010-10-14. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  5. ↑ Savage, Mark (2008-06-17). "Entertainment | Sara Bareilles' fairytale success". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  6. ↑ "Sara Bareilles - Gravity". YouTube.
  7. ↑ "Motion Theory - Gravity". Musiconline.com.br. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
  8. ↑ Thursday March 1, 2012 9:12 AM By Glenn Gamboa (2012-03-01). "'American Idol' 11: Top 13 guys power rankings". Newsday.com. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  9. ↑ http://www.lovelyish.com/2012/02/01/kelly-clarkson-covers-gravity-gets-endorsed-by-sara-bareilles/
  10. ↑ "The ARIA Report Week Commencing ~ 30 April 2012 ~ Issue #1157" (PDF). pandora.nla.gov.au. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  11. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-2bxqvR-ZE
  12. ↑ "Gravity (Jeff/Annie)". YouTube. VeritasProductions. Nov 14, 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  13. ↑ https://twitter.com/danharmon/status/5744853878. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ "South Korea Gaon International Chart (Week: February 12, 2012 to February 18, 2012)". Gaon Chart. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Sara Bareilles – Gravity". Top 40 Singles.
  16. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2016-09-09". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved September 10, 2016.

External links

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