Fireflies (Owl City song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Fireflies"
Owlcity fireflies cover.jpg
Single by Owl City
from the album Ocean Eyes
B-side"Hot Air Balloon"
ReleasedJuly 14, 2009 (2009-07-14)
GenreSynth-pop[1]
Length3:48
LabelUniversal Republic
Songwriter(s)Adam Young
Producer(s)
Owl City singles chronology
"Fireflies"
(2009) 		"Vanilla Twilight"
(2010)
Music video
"Fireflies" on YouTube

"Fireflies" is the debut single from American electronica project Owl City's album Ocean Eyes. Frontman Adam Young wrote How he enjoyed the fireflies in his hometown of Owatonna, Minnesota and the rest of the track about seeing fireflies while he was awake with insomnia, with Matt Thiessen also producing and providing guest vocals and is from Minnesota. The song is built around a "bleepy" synthline and includes lyrics about insomnia, fireflies and summer.

The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two non-consecutive weeks. Outside of the United States, the song also topped the charts in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. "Fireflies" was Owl City's only top 40 hit on Billboard Hot 100 until three years later when "Good Time", a duet with Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen, peaked at No. 8 on the chart.[3] It has been covered by Christina Grimmie, Cheryl Cole and others.

"Fireflies" is featured in the video game Disney Sing It: Party Hits, and was used in the promotional video for EyePet.[4] It is available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and Rock Band 3.[5][6]

Composition[]

Adam Young wrote "Fireflies" which was inspired by a camping trip I took up to a "totally rustic and kind of remote lake in northern Minnesota"; he tried to emulate the experience of seeing a meteor shower that gave him "a cool idea of shooting stars being fireflies."[7]

Chart performance[]

"Fireflies", when featured as iTunes' "Single of the Week," garnered 650,000 downloads, influencing Universal Republic to move Ocean Eyes' release date from September 1, 2009, to July 28.[8] The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in early-September at No. 97.

The song reached No. 1 in its tenth week, becoming Owl City's first No. 1 single.[9][10] The song stayed at No. 1 for two non-consecutive weeks, in the top ten for fifteen weeks and on the Hot 100 for 31 weeks.[11] "Fireflies" contributed to sales of the album Ocean Eyes, and was credited as being responsible for its entry to the top ten on the U.S. Billboard 200.[12] On the Billboard Hot 100 2009 year-end chart, it was ranked sixtieth.[13] On the Billboard Hot 100 2010 year-end chart, it was ranked thirtieth.[14] The RIAA certified "Fireflies" 3× Platinum in June 2010.

The song attained success worldwide. In the United Kingdom, the song entered at No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart due to early download sales from a fake version that was leaked onto iTunes. The song would go on to make a 48-place jump to number two the following week, beaten only to the top by "Replay" by Iyaz. The following week, it rose to number one and topped the chart for three consecutive weeks. On January 2, 2011, it was revealed that "Fireflies" was the 20th most downloaded song of all time in the UK.[15] As of September 2017, the song has sold over 844,000 copies in the UK.[16]

In Australia, the song entered at No. 38 and on the week of January 10, 2010, it topped the chart.[17][18] In Japan, the song peaked at No. 3 and was ranked sixteenth on the 2010 year-end chart, the highest ranking for an international song for 2010.[citation needed] It reached No. 1 in Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (for 10 weeks) and the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Poland, Finland, Germany[19], New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland. The song was ranked 89th on VH1's 'Top 100 songs of the new millennium'.[citation needed]

Music video[]

The music video for "Fireflies" was directed by Steve Hoover.[20] It features Adam Young playing the song on a Lowrey spinet organ in a toy-filled bedroom, where most of the toys (including an astronaut, a Tyrannosaurus rex, a Speak & Spell, toy cars including one based on Brum, and a blimp) come to life. Most of the toys are older model toys, with most of them from the 1970s and 1980s (the exceptions being a Robosapien and a Roboraptor). There are also vintage household devices such as a black and white television and a record player. As Young plays the organ, he activates a "magic" button on his organ and the aforementioned toys come to life. As the song progresses towards the end toys return to normal one by one until he turns off the magic button. The video ends with him turning off his organ as the camera cuts to black.

The video premiered on Myspace, but was leaked onto Dailymotion sometime before and YouTube soon after. As of December 10, 2020, the video has received over 420 million views.[21]

Legacy[]

American electronic producer James Ferraro, commonly credited with pioneering the electronic genre vaporwave, called "Fireflies" the best song of the 21st century, interpreting it on Twitter as having themes of mass surveillance and "circadian rhythm disorder from ever present [sic] devices".[22]

Internet meme[]

In May 2017, the song was repurposed as an Internet meme, usually involving the song being played at an extremely loud volume or being remixed to fit a certain theme.[23][24] Another variant of the meme involved writing a pun for the line "You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies".[25] The song received further notability in June when Owl City was asked to interpret the lyric "I get a thousand hugs from 10,000 lightning bugs."[23][26]

Track listings[]

Europe CD single

  1. "Fireflies" – 3:48
  2. "Hot Air Balloon" – 3:35

US CD promo

  1. "Fireflies" – 3:48

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[89] 7× Platinum 490,000^
Belgium (BEA)[90] Gold 15,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[91] Platinum 30,000^
Germany (BVMI)[92] Platinum 300,000double-dagger
Italy (FIMI)[93] Gold 15,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[94] Platinum 15,000*
Sweden (GLF)[95] 2× Platinum 40,000double-dagger
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[96] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[97] 2× Platinum 844,895[16]
United States (RIAA)[98] 7× Platinum 7,000,000double-dagger

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Region Date Label Format
  • United States
  • Canada[99]
 July 14, 2009 Universal Republic Digital download
Australia[100] November 9, 2009 CD single
United Kingdom[101][102] January 8, 2010 Digital download
February 22, 2010 CD single
Ireland[103] January 14, 2010 Digital download
Poland January 16, 2010 CD single
Germany January 22, 2010 CD single

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "After 8 Years Owl City finally explains that weird lyric in 'Fireflies'". Mashable. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  2. ^ "LiveDaily Interview: Matt Thiessen of Relient K >> Tour dates at LIVE DAILY". Livedaily.com. May 5, 2010. Archived from the original on May 14, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  3. ^ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  4. ^ "Disney Sing It: Party Hits". Disney. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  5. ^ "Guitar Hero Song List". Guitarhero.com. June 21, 2012. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  6. ^ "Rock Band songs". Rockband.com. June 21, 2012. Archived from the original on July 9, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  7. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (October 30, 2009). "Owl City: 'Fireflies' singer on sounding like the Postal Service and having a No. 1 single". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  8. ^ Menze, Jill (August 4, 2009). "Electro-Pop Act Owl City Takes Off With 'Fireflies'". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  9. ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio (October 29, 2009). "Owl City's 'Fireflies' Lands At No. 1 On Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  10. ^ Pietroluongo, Silvio (November 12, 2009). "Rihanna's 'Roulette' Lands In Hot 100's Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2009.
  11. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies – Music Charts". αCharts. February 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  12. ^ Caulfield, Keith (October 28, 2009). "'New Moon' Rises To No. 1 on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 28, 2009.
  13. ^ "Best of 2009 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. December 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2010.
  14. ^ "Best of 2010 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. December 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "Radio 1 - Chart - Top 100 Downloads of All Time". BBC. January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  16. ^ a b Copsey, Rob (September 19, 2017). "The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  17. ^ Jason (March 25, 2013). "Top 200: Greatest Songs (of All-Time)". Life'd. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  18. ^ "OWL CITY - FIREFLIES (SONG)". australian-charts.com. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  19. ^ "Owl City - Fireflies". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  20. ^ "Owl City » Fireflies". MTV Music. Archived from the original on September 26, 2009. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  21. ^ "Owl City - Fireflies". YouTube. December 15, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  22. ^ "JAMES FERRARO on Twitter". November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Shamsian, Jacob (June 21, 2017). "Owl City finally explains one of the greatest mysteries of its hit song 'Fireflies'". Business Insider. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  24. ^ Vasquez, Vanna (June 29, 2017). "Owl City's emo standby 'Fireflies' is back—as a meme". The Daily Dot. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  25. ^ Krishna, Rachael (July 14, 2017). "You Would Not Believe Your Eyes, There's A New Meme About "Fireflies"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  26. ^ Grossman, Lena (June 21, 2017). "Owl City Answers Your Question About the Viral Hit 'Fireflies'". Time. Retrieved June 26, 2017.(subscription required)
  27. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  28. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  29. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  30. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  31. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  32. ^ "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on March 1, 2010. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  33. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201015 into search.
  34. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Tracklisten.
  35. ^ "Hits of the World: European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Vol. 122 no. 6. February 13, 2010. p. 51.
  36. ^ "Owl City: Fireflies" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  37. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in French). Les classement single.
  38. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  39. ^ "Airplay Charts Deutschland – Woche 03/2010". German Charts. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  40. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Fireflies". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  41. ^ "Media Forest Week 05, 2010". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  42. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Top Digital Download.
  43. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard.
  44. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Luxembourg Digital Song Sales)". Billboard.[dead link]
  45. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Owl City" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  46. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  47. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Top 40 Singles.
  48. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". VG-lista.
  49. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  50. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  51. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200950 into search.
  52. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies" Canciones Top 50.
  53. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Singles Top 100.
  54. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Swiss Singles Chart.
  55. ^ "Owl City: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  56. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  57. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  58. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  59. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Hot Christian Songs)". Billboard.
  60. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  61. ^ "Owl City Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  62. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association. January 1, 2010. Archived from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  63. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  64. ^ "Track 2009". Hitlisterne. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  65. ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2009" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  66. ^ "RIANZ Annual Chart (see 2009)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. January 9, 2010. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  67. ^ "Hot 100 Songs: 2009 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  68. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on December 5, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  69. ^ "Jahreshitparade 2010" (in German). Austrian Chart Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
  70. ^ "Ultratop Annual Charts 2010" (in Dutch). Ultratop. December 26, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  71. ^ "Ultratop Annual Charts 2010" (in French). Ultratop. December 26, 2010. Archived from the original on February 9, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  72. ^ "Canadian Hot 100: 2010 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  73. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  74. ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2010" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  75. ^ "VIVA Single Jahrescharts 2010 – 2010". VIVA Germany. Archived from the original on January 10, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  76. ^ "Best of 2010". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  77. ^ "FIMI – Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana – Ricerche e dati di mercato". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Archived from the original on January 21, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  78. ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. December 10, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  79. ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2010" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  80. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2010" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  81. ^ "RIANZ Annual Chart (see 2010)". RIANZ. January 9, 2010. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2011.
  82. ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 2010" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  83. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2010" (in German). Swiss Hitparade. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  84. ^ "2010 UK Singles Chart" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  85. ^ "Hot 100 Songs: 2010 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  86. ^ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Adult Contemporary (Year end) for Owl City. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  87. ^ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Adult Top 40 (Year end) for Owl City. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  88. ^ "Owl City Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Pop Songs (Year end) for Lorde. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  89. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2012 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  90. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2010". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  91. ^ "Certificeringer marts – maj 2010". IFPI Denmark. Archived from the original on April 14, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  92. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Owl City; 'Firefies')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  93. ^ "Italian single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 1, 2012. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Fireflies" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  94. ^ "New Zealand single certifications". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  95. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2010" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  96. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Owl City; 'Fireflies')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  97. ^ "British single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  98. ^ "American single certifications – Owl City – Fireflies". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  99. ^ Album Detail – Fireflies – Owl City Archived January 2, 2010, at the Wayback Machine www.owlcitymusic.com. Retrieved December 16, 2009.
  100. ^ Owl City – Fireflies australian-charts.com
  101. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Hmv.com. December 15, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  102. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Hmv.com. December 15, 2005. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  103. ^ "Owl City – Fireflies". Chart-track.co.uk. January 22, 2010. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
Retrieved from ""