Cannonball is a single released by American singer and songwriter,
Skylar Grey. The song was written by Grey, Sam Harris, Noah Feldshuh, Casey Harris, Adam Levin and
Alex da Kid
Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British musician, record producer, songwriter, record executive and fashion designer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for p ...
, produced by the latter, and features the band
X Ambassadors
X Ambassadors (also stylized XA) are an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York. Its members currently include lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member that plays guitar and ...
.
"Cannonball" is on ''
FIFA 16
''FIFA 16'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Android and iOS.
The gam ...
'' soundtrack, and was announced by ''The Independent''. It received official digital release on September 25, 2015 "Cannonball" will support the US collaborative tour between Grey and X Ambassadors.
The song sold around 25,000 digital copies in the United States.
Background
Grey released her debut album under her new name in 2013, after almost 3 years of promotion. Between the end of the album promotion and the releasing of "Cannonball", Skylar worked with several artists as
David Guetta,
Nicki Minaj and
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
. She has also worked in many soundtracks since
Fifty Shades of Grey to
Furious 7. Now, former Holly Brook stated "Sam and I wrote Cannonball about the power of will and how it can be an underdog’s greatest advantage. It’s one of my most energetic songs off the new album, but I’m definitely weaving my folky roots into everything these days".
Critical reception
The song was well received by the music critics. Robbie Daw from ''Idolator'' described the song as a "moody little guitar-driven number", and called it an "appropriate fit" for the musician. Nick Walter from ''103.3 the App'', like many other sites, spotted some similarities to Ambassadors' own hit single
Renegades, which were mainly the harmonies and acoustic guitars brought by them, giving some kind of folkness to the song.
Ameristream site also stated that Grey's song is the "kissing cousin" of the band's, but in a good way.
Commercial performance
Since its release, the song has reached the top 50 on American iTunes, and No. 3 at alternative iTunes charts. "Cannonball" has also peaked at No. 5 on iTunes in Fiji and inside the top 90 of Canadian iTunes. The audio has over 1,543,000 plays on VEVO and over 4,232,000 on Spotify to date.
Music video
The accompanying music video was directed by Daniel Carberry, also responsible by
G.R.L.'s "
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
". It was released on October 5 on Vevo.
It shows Skylar Grey fighting against olympian medalist
Tony Jeffries
Tony David Jeffries (born 2 March 1985) is an English former professional boxer who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2012, an undefeated Jeffries was forced to retire due to hand injuries.
Life and career
Jeffries was bor ...
. As of June 19, the video reached over 1,634,000 views.
Track listing
*Digital download
# "Cannonball" – 3:53
*CD Single
# "Cannonball"
# "Closer"
Charts
References
{{X Ambassadors
2015 singles
Songs written by Alex da Kid
Songs written by Skylar Grey
Skylar Grey songs
X Ambassadors songs
Songs written by Adam Levine