I'm like a Bird

"I'm like a Bird"
Single by Nelly Furtado
from the album Whoa, Nelly!
B-side	"I Feel You" "Party (Reprise)" "My Love Grows Deeper"
Released	October 24, 2000 (2000-10-24) (See release history)
Format	CD single, digital download, maxi single, 12" single
Recorded	1999
Genre	Soft rock, pop
Length	4:03
Label	DreamWorks
Writer(s)	Nelly Furtado
Producer	Gerald Eaton, Brian West
Certification	2x platinum ARIA [1]
Nelly Furtado singles chronology
"Party's Just Begun (Again)" (2000) "I'm like a Bird" (2000) "Turn Off the Light" (2001)
Audio sample file info · help

"I'm like a Bird" is a song written by Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado, and produced by Gerald Eaton and Brian West, as the first single from her first album Whoa, Nelly! (2000). It was one of the year's critically acclaimed songs and widely considered as Furtado's signature song. Furtado said that "I'm like a Bird" is her favourite song: "There's a simplicity about it that I love", she explained. "It's my freedom song."

It was one of the most successful singles of 2001, reaching number one in Canada, number two in Australia and New Zealand, number five in the UK, and number nine in the United States. It peaked at 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and won both a 2001 Juno Award for "Single of Year" and a 2002 Grammy for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance." It was further nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Lyrics.

The song was covered by the band Element 101, whose version appears on the compilation album Punk Goes Pop (2002). Furtado said of the song, "I've heard it sung at karaoke or by cover bands and it was awesome — I was like, wow, I've got one of those songs. Somebody once called it a "hairbrush song", one that girls and guys sing in front of the mirror with their hairbrush. I just think I'm lucky I have it — it's paying the bills!".^[2]

Music and structure

"I'm like a Bird" is composed in common time in the key of B♭ major.^[3] The song moves at 90 beats per minute, and Furtado's voice spans around an octave and a half, from F₃ to B♭₄.^[3] It is written in verse-chorus form, with a bridge before the second chorus.^[3]

Music video

The music video for "I'm Like a Bird" was directed by Francis Lawrence.^[4]

The video begins in the sky where the camera slowly pans down onto Furtado, who is lying in the grass. It then shows her singing on the tree stem in mid-air. In the chorus she gets up and she starts singing to the camera while birds are flying around her. The second verse shows her sitting in mid-air in a forest, while singing to the camera. The chorus consists of flashes of Furtado singing in mid-air, again, while leaning on the tree stem. At the bridge she is singing to a bug while her eyes are changing colour. The conclusion of the video shows her on a branch and she falls backwards into a mosh-pit of people as she sings the lines of the song.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "I'm like a Bird."

Remixes

• I'm Like a Bird (Junior Vasquez Club Anthem Remix) (10:21)
• I'm Like a Bird (Junior Vasquez Club Anthem Padapella) (9:12)
• I'm Like a Bird (Junior Vasquez Earth Anthem Radio Mix) (6:30)
• I'm Like a Bird (Gavo's Martini Bar Mix) (6:56)
• I'm Like a Bird (Moon Mix) (4:27)
• I'm Like a Bird (Tara Remix)
• I'm Like a Bird (F Man Remix)
• I'm Like a Bird (Vadco Martini Mix)
• I'm Like a Bird (Bubbling Reggae Remix)
• I'm Like a Bird (Digital Cutup Lounge Remix, vs. Asha Bhonsle) (5:33)
• I'm Like a Bird (Live Remix Version in the Get Loose Tour) (5:51)

Other versions

• I'm Like a Bird (Radio Promo) (4:02)
• I'm Like a Bird (LP Version) (4:04)
• I'm Like a Bird (Acoustic Version) (4:29)
• I'm Like a Bird (Piano Version)
• I'm Like a Bird (Karaoke Version)
• I'm Like a Bird (Instrumental Version)
• I'm Like a Bird (Element Punk Goes Cover)

Release history

Charts

References

External links

• "I'm like a Bird" music video at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)