Fly (Hilary Duff song)

"Fly"
Single by Hilary Duff
from the album Hilary Duff and Most Wanted
B-side	"Metamorphosis"
Released	August 10, 2004
Format	CD single digital download
Recorded	May, 2004 (after filming Raise Your Voice)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:42
Label	Hollywood
Writer(s)	Kara DioGuardi John Shanks
Producer(s)	John Shanks
Hilary Duff singles chronology
"Our Lips Are Sealed" (2004) "Fly" (2004) "Someone's Watching Over Me" (2005)
European single cover

"Fly" is a song recorded by American singer Hilary Duff for her 2004 self-titled third studio album. The song was written by Kara DioGuardi and John Shanks, who also produced the song. The song was first released in the United States on August 10, 2004 by Hollywood Records, as the lead single from Hilary Duff. It was released again by Angel Records on March 13, 2006 in the United Kingdom as the fourth and final single from Duff's first compilation album, Most Wanted (2005).

Composition

The song's protagonist encourages listeners to "let go of your yesterday" and "reach for something when there's nothing left". Duff has described it as "an uplifting song in the face of all the negativity going around these days. It's about how people are scared to open up and show who they are inside because they're afraid of what others are going to say".^[1]

Critical reception

Stylus magazine said the song was very similar to Duff's previous single, "Come Clean" (2004), but called it "an easily excusable offense, as it improves on the template ... [it] rightfully leads off the album."^[2] Blender magazine said the song is "Urgent and theatrical" and "sounds like Evanescence—but the inspirational lyrics are pure Duff."^[3] John Shanks received a 2005 Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical for his work on "Fly" and recordings by Ashlee Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Robbie Robertson and Alanis Morissette.^[4]

Chart performance

"Fly" failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 29 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. As of July 27, 2014, the song had sold 284,000 copies in the United States.^[5]

Music video

The single's music video, directed by Chris Applebaum, combines black-and-white backstage footage with colorized shots of Duff performing the song live. The video was filmed in Worcester, Massachusetts during rehearsals for her Most Wanted Tour. The video premiered on MTV's Total Request Live on August 26, 2004, debuted on the show's countdown on August 30 and reached number one on the countdown for one day. It spent twenty-eight days on the countdown, until October 27.^[6] There was about 100 or more fans there who won a contest to watch her perform and be in the video as a crowd. The making of the video and her tour in Worcester is on the 2004 DVD Learning to Fly. It is also featured on the Raise Your Voice DVD under bonus features.

Live performances

Duff performed "Fly" on the 2004 World Music Awards.^[7][8]

Track listings

Australian CD single[9]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fly"	3:45
2.	"Fly" (Remix by Dan Chase)	3:27

UK CD single[10]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fly"	3:43
2.	"Fly" (Live AOL Session)	3:44

UK maxi single[11]
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fly"	3:43
2.	"Metamorphosis"	3:28
3.	"Fly" (Remix)	3:44
4.	"Fly" (Video)	3:43

Charts

Chart (2004) Peak position scope="row" Australia (ARIA)[12] 21 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[13] 8 scope="row" Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[14] 11 scope="row" Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] 32 scope="row" New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 24 scope="row" US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[17] 29

Chart (2006) Peak position scope="row" Ireland (IRMA)[18] 11 scope="row" Italy (FIMI)[19] 13 scope="row" UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20] 20

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United States	August 10, 2004	Hot AC radio[21]	Hollywood
		Mainstream radio[22]
United States[23]	October 19, 2004	Digital download
Australia[24]	November 8, 2004	CD single	Festival Mushroom
United Kingdom[25][26]	March 13, 2006		Angel
Canada[27]	May 9, 2006	Digital download	EMI

References

1. Sony Music. "Hilary Duff - Hilary Duff". The Star. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
2. Burns, Todd. "Hilary Duff". Stylus. September 24, 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
3. "Editors' Picks: October 2004". Blender. September 24, 2004. Retrieved February 23, 2007. Archived February 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
4. "47th Annual Grammy Awards - Winners: Production". VH1.com. Retrieved October 27, 2006.
5. "Ask Billboard: How Has Enrique Iglesias' 'Bailando' Become Such A Big Hit?". Billboard. July 27, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
6. "The TRL Archive - August 2004", "The TRL Archive - September 2004", "The TRL Archive - October 2004". popfusion.net. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
7. World Music Awards 2004 (TV 2004) - IMDb
9. Fly (Australian CD single liner notes). Hilary Duff. Festival Mushroom Records. 2004. 021972.
10. Fly (UK CD single liner notes). Hilary Duff. Angel Records. 2006. 0094635643022.
11. Fly (UK maxi single liner notes). Hilary Duff. Angel Records. 2006. 0094635643107.
12. "Australian-charts.com – Hilary Duff – Fly". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
13. "Ultratop.be – Hilary Duff – Fly" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
14. "Ultratop.be – Hilary Duff – Fly" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
15. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Hilary Duff search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
16. "Charts.org.nz – Hilary Duff – Fly". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
17. "Hilary Duff – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Hilary Duff. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
18. "Chart Track: Week 13, 2006". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
19. "Italiancharts.com – Hilary Duff – Fly". Top Digital Download. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
20. "Archive Chart: 25/03/2006" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
21. "®R&R :: Going For Adds™ :: Hot AC". Gfa.radioandrecords.com. August 10, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
22. "®R&R :: Going For Adds™ :: CHR/Top 40". Gfa.radioandrecords.com. August 10, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
23. :. "Fly (2004) | Hilary Duff | MP3 Downloads 7digital United States". Us.7digital.com. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
24. "Hilary Duff.com.au — the official Australian website for all things Hilary Duff!". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on December 5, 2004. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
25. "Fly: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
26. "Fly [Cd2]: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
27. https://ca.7digital.com/artist/hilary-duff/release/fly-1-1

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics