"Can You Hear Me" is the official song of
UEFA Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
held in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It is performed by
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...
, who wrote the song with Steve Morales and Frankie Storm.
The song was produced by Big Ben Diehl and Carlos Paucar, and recorded at Circle House Studios in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
The song received generally negative reviews, but achieved success in many European countries where it was a top ten hit.
The song served as Iglesias' third UK single from his ''
Greatest Hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
'' album in June 2009 but failed to enter the UK Top 200.
Background
The choice of this song was announced by
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
on 20 May, and Iglesias was described as the perfect person for the job. "He is an international star who is passionate about
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and who has
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an roots", said commercial director Philippe Margraff.
The artist himself was happy to be chosen; "I'm really pleased to be able to contribute to the football festival in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and it is an honour for me to perform at the final", said Iglesias.
The song was performed at the closing game in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
on 29 June.
The single was released on 26 May, and the
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
—featuring
football tricks and dancing, intercut with Iglesias performing—was directed by Paul Minor.
"Can You Hear Me" will also feature on a re-issue of Iglesias' ''
Insomniac'' album in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, Switzerland, Austria, and
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
There is also a special UEFA Euro 2008 Remix to the song, which contains a part from the UEFA Euro 2008 Official Theme song in the beginning of the song.
Reception
Media reaction to the song has largely been negative, most finding it inappropriate for the venue. Darryl Broadfoot, of the
Scottish newspaper ''
The Herald'', called it a "cheesy, synth-driven melody". The
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
newspaper ''
Dagbladet
''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...
'', in reviewing the song, found that it lacked purpose and motivation, and that it had little to do with football. The reviewers called the song a rejected
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
, and gave it one out of six points. Nick Amies, of ''
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...
'', called "Can You Hear Me" an "insipid and un-footie-inspiring, corporate sell-out single". He also reported that spectators preferred the song "
Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, ''Elephant'' (2003). V2 Records released the song to American alternative radio on February 17, 2003, as the lead single f ...
" by
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...
as an alternative, unofficial anthem.
Track listings
; CD1
# "Can You Hear Me" (Main version) — 3:44
# "Can You Hear Me" (UEFA remix) — 5:54
; CD2
# "Can You Hear Me" (Main version) — 3:44
# "Can You Hear Me" (Moto Blanco radio mix) — 3:30
# "Can You Hear Me" (Moto Blanco club mix) — 8:30
# "Can You Hear Me" (Moto Blanco dub) — 8:00
; Europe
# "Can You Hear Me" (Main version) — 3:44
# "Can You Hear Me" (Moto Blanco radio mix) — 3:30
# "Can You Hear Me" (Moto Blanco club mix) — 8:30
# "Can You Hear Me" (UEFA remix) — 5:54
; France
# "Can You Hear Me" (Main Version) - 3:44
# "Can You Hear Me" (Glam As You Full Club Mix by Guena LG) - 6:57
# "Can You Hear Me" (Moto Blanco Club Mix) - 8:30
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
See also
*
Dutch Top 40 number-one hits of 2008
This is a list of the Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2008.
Number-one artists
See also
*2008 in music
{{Dutch Top 40
2008 in the Netherlands
2008 record charts, Netherlands
Lists of number-one songs in the Netherlands, 2008 ...
References
External links
Media releasefrom
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Can You Hear Me (Enrique Iglesias Song)
2008 singles
Enrique Iglesias songs
Football songs and chants
Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
Songs written by Enrique Iglesias
2008 songs
Interscope Records singles
Songs written by Steve Morales
UEFA Euro 2008
UEFA European Championship official songs and anthems