"Fly Away" is a song by American singer Lenny Kravitz. It was released as the fourth single from his fifth studio album, '' 5'' (1998). Released on November 9, 1998, "Fly Away" peaked at number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Fly Away" topped the charts in Iceland and the United Kingdom and peaked within the top ten of the charts in several countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland. The song won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Best Male Rock Performance in 1999.

Background

"Fly Away" emerged from Kravitz testing an

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that was brought to the studio. After plugging in the available guitar, Kravitz started playing the song, stating, "I was listening to the way different chords were ringing, just moving between A, C, G and D, and the next thing I knew I was telling the engineer to hook up the mics and record." By the time he wrote "Fly Away", Kravitz had already turned in the completed album to Virgin Records, and he considered releasing the song as a b-side. However, after playing the song for a friend, they responded, "If you don’t put it on the album, I’m gonna be so pissed off at you." After Kravitz contacted his label about the inclusion of the song, they were reluctant, but he sent them the song anyway. Upon hearing the track, they added it to the album.

Critical reception

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'' commented, "If you watch TV you'll already be familiar with this - it's the song from the Peugeot TV ad which seems to have rarely been off the screen during the past few weeks. It's about time Kravitz returned to the big time - remember when he sold out the NEC in `91? - and this could see him back in the chart big time."

Chart performance

"Fly Away" reached number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped both the

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

and Modern Rock Tracks charts. On Canada's ''

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'' Top Singles chart, "Fly Away" reached number three and stayed in the top 20 for six weeks. Outside North America, the song reached number one in Iceland and on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

; its success in the UK is attributed to its appearance in a television advertisement for the

Peugeot 206 The Peugeot 206 is a supermini car ( B-segment) designed and produced by the French car manufacturer Peugeot since May 1998 as a replacement to the Peugeot 205. Developed under the codename ''T1'', it was released in September 1998 in hatchback ...

Supermini car. In Australia and New Zealand, "Fly Away" peaked at number eight and was certified Gold in both countries. The song helped to expand the success of his fifth studio album, ''5'', in Europe and earned Kravitz a

in 1999 for Best Male Rock Performance, his first of four consecutive wins in this category.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

for the single was directed by American director

Paul Hunter Paul Alan Hunter (14 October 1978 – 9 October 2006) was an English professional snooker player. He was a three-time Masters champion, winning the event in 2001, 2002, and 2004, recovering from a deficit in the final to win 10–9 on a ...

. It features Kravitz and his band playing in a club, surrounded by a crowd dancing to the song, with some of them having fun and others making out. Special effects were added to the video to make it look beat up and grainy. A girl in the crowd is briefly shown topless several times during the video. The video is featured on the DVD for Kravitz's ''

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 tour edition. Kravitz also appears in a 2010 video in which he joined the Voice of Praise Choir from the First Baptist Church of Lewisville, Texas, as they performed "Fly Away" on a street in New Orleans.

Track listings

US promo CD # "Fly Away" (LP version) – 3:41 # Call out hook – 0:10 International CD and cassette single # "Fly Away" – 3:41 # "Fly Away" (live acoustic) – 4:03 # " Believe" (live acoustic) – 5:14 European CD single # "Fly Away" # "Believe" (live acoustic) French CD single # "Fly Away" – 3:41 # "Fly Away" (live acoustic) – 4:03

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

"Fly Away" was featured in the film '' Coyote Ugly'' and is the theme song for the Canadian

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

series ''

Ice Pilots NWT ''Ice Pilots NWT'' (known in the UK and the US as ''Ice Pilots''''Ice Pilots''
at Quest TV) is ...

''. In 2018, it is used in the Comic Con Trailer for ''Star Trek: Discovery'' Season 2. After the

1999 NBA Finals The 1999 NBA Finals was the championship round of the shortened 1998–99 NBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs took on the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks for ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

used "Fly Away" for their montage. This song was used in a Renault Duster advertisement and several Nissan commercials. Internet personality Neil Cicierega made a lyric video of the song with the vocal tracks heavily altered, which received coverage from several websites. The song has been used in a tourism campaign for

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

, featuring Kravitz who is of Bahamian descent.

References

{{Authority control 1998 singles 1998 songs Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Lenny Kravitz songs Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Number-one singles in Iceland Song recordings produced by Lenny Kravitz Songs written by Lenny Kravitz UK Singles Chart number-one singles