Usuário:PedR/My immortal

"My Immortal" é uma canção da banda de rock americana Evanescence. Foi lançada em 8 de dezembro de 2003 como o terceiro single do álbum de estúdio Fallen. A canção foi inteiramente escrita pelo ex-guitarrista Ben Moody, com a exceção da ponte, a qual foi depois adicionada por Amy Lee e foi produzida por Dave Fortman. "My Immortal" foi incluído no seu extended play, lançando Evanescence e Mystary e no demo tape, Origin. A versão colocada em Origin, mais tarde foi incluída em seu primeiro álbum de estúdio, Fallen. A versão single da canção foi chamada de "versão da banda" por causa da banda adicional que realizou a ponte e o refrão final da canção.

"My Immortal" é uma balada de piano rock escrita em ritmo lento e livre com 80 batimentos por minuto. Ben Moody usou como inspiração uma história antiga que aconteceu com ele. Liricamente, a canção fala sobre "um espírito permanecer com você após a sua morte e te assombrando até que você realmente deseje que o espirito tivesse ido embora porque ele não iria deixá-lo sozinho". Moody, posteriormente, revelou que a canção foi escrita por seu avô, Bill Holcomb. A recepção crítica em relação a música foram positivas, com os críticos elogiando a melodia do piano. A canção se tornou a segunda mais vendida da banda, ficando no ranking das dez mais vendidas em alguns países. Ele liderou as paradas no Canadá, Grécia e na Billboard Adult Pop Songs. O single recebeu a certificação ouro pela Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) e platina pela Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

O videoclipe de acompanhamento, dirigido por David Mould, foi totalmente filmado em preto-e-branco no El Gòtic, em Barcelona, no dia ​​10 de outubro de 2003. O vídeo mostra a Amy Lee sentada e cantando em vários lugares, mas nunca tocando no chão. Imagens de Moody também são mostradas, mas ele nunca está junto com sua banda ou com a Amy. O vídeo foi indicado na categoria de Melhor Vídeo de Rock na MTV Video Music Awards 2004. Em 2005, a banda foi nomeada na categoria de Melhor Performance Pop por um Duo ou Grupo com Vocais no Grammy Awards 2005 para "My Immortal". A canção foi executada pela banda durante a turnê Fallen e a turnê The Open Door. Também foi executada ao vivo durante algumas de suas aparições na televisão e nas cerimônias de premiação, como o Billboard Music Awards.

Antecedentes

"Essa é a diferença entre nós, Ben [Moody] tende a escrever como um contador de histórias, e não é, necessariamente, de qualquer tipo de experiência pessoal. Eu não consigo escrever sobre qualquer coisa que eu não entendo completamente. Para mim, escrever é sempre sobre algo específico que aconteceu, por isso às vezes me sinto um pouco distanciada cantando a música, mas eu amo isso."

-Amy Lee falando sobre "My Immortal" com a MTV News

A canção foi escrita por Ben Moody e produzida por Dave Fortman; foi a quarta canção a ser escrita por Evanescence. Amy Lee's vocals and the piano parts of the song were recorded in NRG Recording Studios, California. "My Immortal" was mixed at Conway Recording Studios in North Hollywood while it was mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound in New York City. The orchestral parts in the song were arranged by the composer Graeme Revell.

The first recording of "My Immortal" was done in 1997 for the band's self-titled EP, which solely featured 15-year old Lee's vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar and a piano, and slightly different lyrics. In 2000, the song was re-recorded for the band's demo album, Origin, which contains a rearranged piano melody and lyrics, including the bridge added by Lee. It was again recorded for the band's debut full-length album, Fallen where the vocals of the demo version (that were recorded by Lee at 18 years old) were accompanied by slightly different instrumentation. It is also featured on the band's 2003 EP, Mystary, which is much similar to the band version. Wind-up Records preferred the Origin version, which is why the exact vocals recorded from 2000 are again included in the song's album version. The version that was recorded and released as a single is moderately alternative to that of the album version, and is often referred to as the "band version," because of the additional band performing the bridge and final chorus of the song. The later pressings of Fallen contain the single version (or "band version") of "My Immortal" as a hidden track.

Similar to several other songs written by Moody, the lyrics are based on a short story he had previously written. According to Lee, the song was "Ben [Moody]'s song." Moody said that the song talks about "a spirit staying with you after its death and haunting you until you actually wish that the spirit were gone because it won't leave you alone." He also stated in the Fallen booklet that he dedicated the song to his grandfather, Bill Holcomb. Lee expressed some dissatisfaction with the early versions of it saying, "It's not even a real piano. And the sound quality is bad because we had to break into the studio to record it late at night when no one was around because we couldn't afford a real session."

Composition

"My Immortal" is a Piano rock and gothic rock ballad written in the key of A major. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Music Publishing on the website Musicnotes.com, the song is set in common time and performed in slow and free tempo of 80 beats per minute. Lee's vocal range for the song runs from the musical note of A₃ to [[C♯ (musical note)|CPredefinição:Music5]]. The lyrics of the song refer to a spirit that haunts the memory of a grieving loved one. In "My Immortal", Lee expresses her feelings through the line, "Though you're still with me / I've been alone all along." The song was described as a "goth-meets pop" song along with "Bring Me to Life" and "Going Under". A writer for IGN said that "'My Immortal' is a song of pain and despair caused by the loss of a family member or very close friend and how it drove her [Lee] to the edge of insanity." A writer of IGN compared "Good Enough", a song by the band's second studio album The Open Door with "My Immortal". The composition of Katy Perry's song "Not Like the Movies" (2010) has also been compared to "My Immortal" and Britney Spears' "Everytime" (2003). Talking about the composition and the meaning of the song, Tom Reynolds of The Guardian said, ["My Immortal" is] A whimpering post-breakup tune in which lead singer Amy Lee pitifully mourns the end of a relationship over a piano accompaniment that sounds like Pachelbel after the Prozac wore off. My Immortal closely follows the "quantum tragedy paradigm": the shorter the time two people spent together as a couple, the more overwrought the song is that describes their break-up. Judging by the lorry-load of anguish Lee spews out, she split from someone she dated for about an hour (if her lyrics are to be believed, the guy was a real freak, too).

Reception

Critical reception

Critics praised Amy Lee's voice accompanied by the piano.

In his review on Evanescence's second studio album, The Open Door, Alex Nunn of musicOMH criticized the songs from it, stating that the new songs showed how much the band "has fallen" since the song "My Immortal" from Fallen. He also showed incredulity that the "angelic-vocalled woman who wrote the moving/emotive/whatever My Immortal" could "churn out such dross as Call Me When You're Sober." Colette Claire of The Gauntlet compared "Lithium" (2007) with "My Immortal", saying that the former had the same fashion as the latter, just in a crazier, Tori Amos way. Kirk Miller of Rolling Stone said that "'My Immortal' lets Lee wail about her personal demons over simple piano and some symphonic dressings — it's a power ballad that P.O.D. and Tori Amos fans could both appreciate." Chris Harris of the same publication found it to be a "song that's become something of an Alanis Morissette-like battle hymn for her goth disciples over the last few years."

Adrien Begrand of PopMatters concluded that in "My Immortal", Lee is "doing her McLachlan/Tori Amos schtick". Richard Harrington of The Washington Post called "My Immortal" a "majestic [song]" that helped the band win a Grammy Award. Blair R. Fischer from MTV News said that the song is a "delicate, heartfelt ballad" and further described it as the "most memorable track". He also compared the song with those by Irish singer Enya. IGN's Ed Thompson concluded that "My Immortal" became one of the "best songs Evanescence ever wrote" while Jordan Reimer, a writer of The Daily Princetonian found a "haunting beauty" in it. Bill Lamb of About.com put the song at number 61 on his list of "Top 100 Pop Songs of 2004". Tom Reynolds of The Guardian put the song at number 24 on his list "Sad songs say so much". In 2005 the band was nominated in the category for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 47th Grammy Awards for the song.

Chart performance

The song is considered the band's second most successful single of all time, generally peaking within the top 20 of more than 10 countries internationally. On the chart issue dated April 10, 2004, "My Immortal" peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, while on the Pop Songs chart it peaked at number 2 on March 27, 2004. It has peaked at number 19 on the Adult Contemporary chart as well. Later on February 17, 2009, "My Immortal" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than 500,000 copies in the United States. The song managed to top the charts of Canada, Greece and Billboard's Adult Pop Songs in the United States. It also helped Fallen to move from number 9 to number 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling another 69.000 copies. On Billboard's Radio Songs the song peaked at number 7 on April 10, 2004. Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems placed the song at number six on the list of most played radio songs in 2004 with 317,577 spins.

On the Australian Singles Chart, "My Immortal" debuted at number 4 on January 25, 2004 which later became its peak position. The next eleven weeks, it remained in the top ten of the chart, and it was seen on the chart at number 44 on the week ending June 13, 2004. Later, the single received Platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). On December 20, 2003, "My Immortal" debuted at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart which later became its peak position. However, on February 14, 2004 the song dropped out of the chart, before reentering at number 84 on July 18, 2008. After spending several weeks on different positions on the UK Rock Chart, on August 27, 2011, it peaked at number one. The next week, "My Immortal" moved to number two being replaced by the band's single "What You Want" (2011), and one week later it returned at number one on the chart. That achievement helped the song to reenter on the UK Singles Chart at number 81 on August 27, 2011 and at number 89 on October 22, 2011.

Music video

The music video for "My Immortal" was filmed in Barri Gòtic, Barcelona.

A music video directed by David Mould was filmed entirely in black-and-white in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gòtic) of Barcelona on October 10, 2003. Lee described the place of the filming during an interview with MTV News: "We did it in a cool, old area of town.[...] We shot some of it at this scenic point, and there was a rooftop where you could see Barcelona below. It was really neat." The band version of the song is played throughout the video. Lee said that Evanescence initially wanted to film a video for the band version of the song, but "the label was stuck on the demo and wouldn't let us use the version we really wanted.[...] We fought back and forth about it and finally we gave in, but we were all so angry about it." The video was filmed two weeks before Ben Moody's departure from the band. Amy Lee admitted that the visuals in the video were "striking in retrospect", but added that the similarities between what was filmed and Moody's departure were coincidental: "We shot it in Barcelona about a week before Ben left the band unexpectedly. I think none of us knew, including him, that he was going anywhere. And when we got the video back and watched it, it was right after he had left. And it's bizarre how much the video is about that. We all sat there with goose bumps, like, 'Holy crap. We've got to watch that again.'" In an interview with the British magazine Rock Sound, Lee further explained the concept which was related with his departure:

"You know what? When you see the video it's really amazing. Obviously we filmed it before this [Ben Moody's departure] happened and it's amazing irony, how much it makes sense. We're all separated and wandering the streets looking like it's the day after a funeral, with Ben in a suit and bare feet, and I'm never touching the ground. I'm sitting on a phone booth or lying on a car, to hint that I'm dead, that I'm singing from the dead. It's all about separation. It's almost like the director knew what was going to happen, but he can't have known. It's just one of those fate things."

The music video for "My Immortal" begins with Lee next to a fountain. Her legs and arms are covered with bandage, and she puts them in the water. She's wearing a long white dress. While she walks around the fountain, behind her are shown children jumping on a skipping rope and playing soccer. Shots of Moody follow, who appears to be sullen and withdrawn. He is wearing a suit and his feet are bare. His shoulders sag and his head slumps forward as he delicately plays piano, and later he picks up his jacket as if he's about to leave. When the bridge starts, the band is shot performing in one room while Moody is in another, with only his piano. Throughout the video, Lee is never filmed on ground level. She walks along the ledge of a fountain, sits in a tree and sings lying on top of a building. She also lies atop scaffolding and on the hood of a car surrounded with leaves. The video for the song was nominated in the category for Best Rock Video at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards. According to Jon Wiederhorn from MTV News, the shots of the video are "evocative and artistic, resembling a cross between a foreign film and a Chanel advertisement." Joe D'Angelo of MTV News said that Lee's disconnection in the video shows a "distressed and emotionally wrought heroine." Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised the video saying that Lee looked like a "teen-misery titan" and that she "tiptoed through a marble castle of pain". He also concluded that she could have borrowed the dress from Stevie Nicks. During an interview with Spin in 2011 Lee said that it was weird for her to watch the old videos of the band including the one for "My Immortal". She explaind, "Just watching our oldest videos, it's weird. I definitely remember watching 'My Immortal,' like, 'That was not some dream where it was really somebody else.' I've totally had a couple of those moments. It's cool."

Live performances

Evanescence performed the song at the 2004 Billboard Music Awards on December 8, 2004. The band was joined by an eight-piece string section during the performance and a stage backdrop of knotted, decaying trees were placed on stage to showcase the "powerful vocals" by Amy Lee. They additionally performed the song at Late Show with David Letterman. The band performed "My Immortal" on August 13, 2003 in Chicago during the Nintendo Fusion Tour. Evanescence also performed the song at the Webster Hall in Manhattan, New York City in September, 2003. "My Immortal" was the closing song of the concert, and Lee performed it after asking the fans "Just promise not to fall asleep." During the performance, she wore an Alice in Wonderland dress covered with scrawled words, including the words "dirty, useless, psycho and slut." She explained that there was a story behind the dress. The last time she had come to New York, she had met a D.J. from the radio station K-Rock, who had made what she described as horrible comments about exactly how much pleasure he had derived from the picture of her face on the Fallen album cover. She had felt too ashamed to say anything, she went on, so she decided to respond through the dress, which represented something innocent that's been tainted. "My Immortal" was performed during their concert in Wantagh, New York on July 23, 2004. During the performance the crowd started singing the song with Lee and waving their mobiles and cigarette lighters.

Other performances of the song included those in Hartford on April 4, 2007; at the Pacific Coliseum on January 18, 2007 and in Saltair on October 25. The band also played the song live at their secret New York gig which took place on November 4, 2009. They also performed the song during the 2011 Rock in Rio festival on October 2, 2011. The song was later added on the set list of their third worldwide tour in support of their self-titled album Evanescence. A live version of the song from Le Zénith, Paris is featured on their first live album, Anywhere but Home (2004). Johnny Loftus of Allmusic praised the live version saying that Lee takes a "softer approach" while performing "My Immortal" and added that it "becomes a singalong moment for 5,000 souls."

Covers and usage in media

"My Immortal" was heavily used during the promotion of season 10 of Friends on NBC, and in promos for the last episode of the series.{{carece de fontes}} It also featured on the soundtrack Daredevil: The Album from the movie Daredevil (2003) along with "Bring Me to Life". The song was also used in the first episode "No Such Thing as Vampires" of the American series Moonlight. "My Immortal" was played at the funeral of Rifleman Peter Aldridge, the 250th British soldier to die in Afghanistan, on January 20, 2010. Lucy Walsh, a contestant of the show Rock the Cradle covered the song during the 105th episode, "Judge's Picks".

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Fallen liner notes.

Evanescence

• Ben Moody - writing, guitars, percussion
• Amy Lee - writing, piano, keyboards, vocals
• Francesco DiCosmo - bass guitar
• David Hodges - piano, keyboards, string arrangements

Production

• Dave Fortman - production
• Ben Moody - production
• David Campbell - additional string arrangements
• Graeme Revell - string arrangements, orchestral conduction

Track listing

• CD Single (Released December 8, 2003)

1. "My Immortal" (Band Version) - 4:33
2. "My Immortal" (Album Version) - 4:24

• CD Maxi Single (Released December 8, 2003)

1. "My Immortal" (Band Version) - 4:33
2. "My Immortal" (Album Version) - 4:24
3. "Haunted" (Live from Sessions @ Aol) - 3:08
4. "My Immortal" (Live from Cologne) - 4:15

• Promo - CD Maxi Single (2003)

1. "My Immortal" (Band Version / No Strings) - 4:33
2. "My Immortal" (Band Version / Guitars Down) - 4:33
3. "My Immortal" (Album Version) - 4:24

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Áustria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)	11
Bélgica (Ultratop 50 de Flandres)	5
Bélgica (Ultratop 50 da Valônia)	9
Países Baixos (Single Top 100)	5
O campo songid é OBRIGATÓRIO PARA PARADA ALEMÃ	5
Irlanda (IRMA)	20
Suíça (Schweizer Hitparade)	7
Reino Unido (UK Singles Chart)	7
Chart (2004)	Peak position
Austrália (ARIA)	4
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Dinamarca (Hitlisten)	7
Finlândia (Suomen virallinen lista)	9
França (SNEP)	11
Greece (IFPI Greece)	1
Itália (FIMI)	3
Nova Zelândia (Recorded Music NZ)	2
Noruega (VG-lista)	2
Suécia (Sverigetopplistan)	9
Estados Unidos (Billboard Hot 100)	7
Estados Unidos (Billboard Mainstream Top 40)	2
Estados Unidos (Billboard Adult Top 40)	1
Estados Unidos (Billboard Adult Contemporary)	19
Chart (2006–2011)	Peak position
UK Rock Chart (The Official Charts Company)	1
Reino Unido (UK Singles Chart)	81
Estados Unidos (Billboard Digital Song Sales)	43

Year-end charts

Chart (2003)	Position
Dutch Top 40	218
UK Singles Chart	185
Chart (2004)	Position
Austrian Singles Chart	44
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	23
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	42
Dutch Top 40	26
Dutch Single Top 100	38
Italian Singles Chart	23
New Zealand Singles Chart	36
Swedish Singles Chart	65
Swiss Singles Chart	30
US Billboard Hot 100	19
US Hot Adult Top 40	6
US Hot Adult Contemporary	29

Decade-end charts

Chart (2000–2009)	Position
US Adult Pop Songs	48

Certifications

Region (provider)	Certifications (sales thresholds)
Australia (ARIA)	Platinum
United States (RIAA)	Gold

See also

• List of Canadian number-one singles of 2001–07
• Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks number-one hits of 2004
• List of UK Rock Chart number-one singles of 2011

External links

• Official website
• [(Youtube) Official music video] at YouTube