"Heartbeat" is the first single from

the Fray The Fray is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, formed in 2002 by schoolmates Isaac Slade and Joe King. Their debut album, ''How to Save a Life'' released in 2005, was certified double platinum by the RIAA and platinum in Australia, ...

's third album ''

Scars & Stories ''Scars & Stories'' is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. It was released on February 7, 2012. Background ''Scars & Stories'' was recorded beginning in March 2011, and concluded in July 2011. Unlike their debut alb ...

''. The band premiered the song while opening for U2 on their

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band playing "in the round" ...

in May 2011. The song was released for airplay on October 8, 2011, and was released for download in the United States on iTunes on October 11, 2011.

Meaning

Isaac Slade Isaac Edward Slade (born May 26, 1981) is an American singer and musician; the former lead vocalist, main songwriter, pianist and co-founder of Colorado-based rock band The Fray. Early life Slade was born in Boulder, Colorado, and raised in t ...

mentioned that song was inspired by his experiences traveling abroad; it is essentially about "a woman escaping a horrible situation in the middle of the night and coming back to life."

"That song came out of a period of my life when I was trying hard to be open to whatever came my way. I traveled through South Africa and Rwanda with a buddy, and at first it was really hard to stay open in the face of so much pain and heartache. But then I ended up meeting so many cool and inspiring people, and all these ideas for lyrics and melodies just started rushing in.”

The chorus of the song reflects a particular moment when a woman was sharing a deeply moving story about the genocides in Rwanda, and held Isaac's hand.

:''Oh, I'm feeling your heartbeat'' :''And oh, you're comin' around, comin' around, comin' around'' :''If you can love somebody, love them all the same.'' :''You gotta love somebody, love them all the same.'' :''I'm singing, oh, I feel your heartbeat.''

On the Fray's official website, Slade explained:

The inspiration specifically came from a chance meeting with an expatriate woman. Speaking of the miracle of the capital city overcoming such remarkable odds, the two held hands and Slade reveals ''I felt so connected to her. I couldn’t tell if it was her pulse or mine.''

Music video

Joe King first announced that the

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for the video was taking place on October 14, 2011 via

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, and has since then concluded. The "beach themed" music video was shot on Sycamore Cove State Beach in

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

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and was directed by Justin Francis. The video was made available on iTunes on November 15, 2011 and was released via

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

on November 17. The song is also played in the trailer for "

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen ''Salmon Fishing in the Yemen'' is a 2011 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Kristin Scott Thomas and Amr Waked. Based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Paul Torday, an ...

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 43 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, with digital sales of 50,000 for its opening week and has climbed to number 10 on the US

Adult Pop Songs The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen B ...

since its debut. As of June 21, 2012, the single has sold 500,000 copies worldwide.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

Official website

Official UK website
{{Authority control 2011 singles 2011 songs Epic Records singles The Fray songs Music videos directed by Justin Francis Songs written by Isaac Slade Songs written by Joe King (guitarist)