Earth Intruders

"Earth Intruders" is a song written and recorded by Icelandic singer Björk. The song was released as the first single from her sixth full-length studio album, Volta. The single was released digitally in the USA on April 9 and April 21 2007 and in Europe on April 28 2007.^[1]^[2]^[3] It is co-produced by R&B record producer Timbaland and his protégé Danja.^[4]

Beginnings

The first mention of "Earth Intruders" as a song title was made on allaccess.com on March 10, 2007,^[5] and was later confirmed as the lead single through an article in The Guardian on March 11, 2007.^[6] On March 26, 2007, a distorted sample of the song was uploaded to the YouTube video sharing website as part of the viral marketing campaign for the Volta album.^[7]^[8] A fifteen second sample of the track then appeared on the Rhino Records online ringtone website on April 1, 2007.^[9]^[10] The purchased ringtone featured a different clip (with different lyrics) to the one used in the online preview on the site; both audio samples were subsequently spread across music forums.^[11] On April 3, 2007 it was reported that the Björk section of the Rhino Records online ringtone store had been removed.^[12] After a broadcast of the song on the internet radio station WOXY on April 6, 2007 the song was made widely available across file-sharing networks.^[13]

On April 7, 2007, the "Mark Stent Extended Edit" was released on the Australian iTunes Store; most other iTunes Stores made the single available on April 9, the official release date of the digital single.^[14] The album version of Earth Intruders (which differs from the iTunes Store version both in terms of mixing and track length) was leaked to the internet on April 24, 2007 due to the full album being made available accidentally on the UK iTunes Store on April 23, 2007 for a total of six hours, two weeks before the album's official release date.^[15]

Background

In an interview on mtv.com Björk talked about the background of the song.^[16]

“

The song "Earth Intruders," in particular, was sculpted soon after Björk awoke from a dream she had during a cross-Atlantic flight to New York. In the dream, the singer said a "tsunami of millions and millions of poverty-stricken people" swelled high above the airplane she was a passenger on. Eventually, the wave overtook the plane, hit land and razed the White House into oblivion. "It's a quite chaotic song," she said of Volta's first single. "Lyrically, it's a collection of all of these images" burned into her memory, from her trip to Indonesia as well as her vivid, in-flight reverie."

”

Club Mixes EP

A digital-only "Earth Intruders - Club Mixes" EP was released on the iTunes Store in the US/UK on May 21, 2007. The European iTunes release contained only three of the original five tracks. ^[17] It is the second time (first was Play Dead) an instrumental of a Björk track has been officially released. With this release, it was determined that Earth Intruders would have no physical release in any territory worldwide. Also, the Mark Stent mix was initially labelled as an "Extended Edit", but on May 23, 2007, was retitled to "Radio Edit"; the "xxxChange Mix" was retitled from the previous non-descriptive title "Earth Intruders Remix".^[18]

Mark Stent Radio Edit 4:26
Spank Rock xxxChange Mix 4:38
Lexx Remix 6:40
Lexx Edit 4:05
Mark Stent Radio Edit Instrumental 4:29

The European iTunes Store release omitted the tracks "Mark Stent Radio Edit" and "Lexx Edit".^[17]

Performances

On April 21, 2007, a barefooted Björk appeared as musical guest on an episode of the U.S. comedy-variety show Saturday Night Live in promotion of the album. She performed the songs "Earth Intruders" and "Wanderlust".^[19]^[20] On June 8, 2007 (recorded on June 5, 2007), Björk performed, along with her tour musicians, on the UK television show Later With Jools Holland for the fifth time in her solo career. She performed "Earth Intruders", "The Anchor Song", and "Declare Independence". Björk has also performed the song on the worldwide Volta tour. Björk's set at Glastonbury Festival was broadcast on BBC Four on June 22, 2007, with "Earth Intruders" being the first song of the concert.

Music video

Screenshot from "Earth Intruders".

The video for Earth Intruders was directed by Michel Ocelot. It features Björk's face floating in the background, first upside down, then upright, singing with her eyes closed. In the foreground, a large group of silhouetted tribal warriors dance in time to the music. The video features psychedelic colours and patterns imposed on an earthy backdrop. The video ends with Björk's face slowly fading into the middle of a glade, her eyes being opened just as she sings the last lyric.

A preview was shown during the "Le Grand Journal" show on French [[Canal+]] on April 17, 2007. The video was made available in the iTunes Store on April 24, 2007.^[21]. It is also fully viewable on Björk's official MySpace page.

It was nominated for the 2007 Q Award for Best Video.

Charts

"Earth Intruders" reached number 67 on the UK Official Download Chart, and number 78 on the main UK Singles Chart, while the remix EP later released charted on its own at #150. In the United States, the song debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 84 in the issue dated April 28, 2007.^[22] This is Björk's highest position on the U.S. Hot 100, the previous being "Big Time Sensuality" in 1993, which peaked at number 88. The single's success on the U.S. charts has been mainly attributed to internet downloads; the single sold 16,000 downloads on the week of its release, propelling it to number 65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks.^[23] The song also peaked at number 75 on the U.S. Billboard Pop 100.^[24]

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Belgium (Wallonia)	49
Belgium (Flanders)	51
Indonesia Singles Chart ^[25]	25
Japan Singles Chart ^[26]	7
French Download Chart	22
Polish Singles Chart	37
United World Chart ^[27]	41
UK Singles Chart	78
UK Official Download Chart	67
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	84
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	75
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks	65