"Hero" is the first single of the 2009 album ''

Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...

'' by the American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Ch ...

band

Skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...

and is the first track on the album. The song talks about mankind's need for a hero with the hero being

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

. It is the fourth single by Skillet to be released to physical media. The single sold 12,000 copies in its first week.

Promotion

It was used in a promo on

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 ...

for the 2009 NFL Kickoff game between the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

and the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

, as well as the Week 17 Sunday Night Football game between the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

and the NFL Wild Card Saturday games, featuring the rematch between the Bengals and the Jets, as well as the rematch from Week 17 between the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

and the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. "Hero" was included on the '' WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010'' video game, and was used in the trailers of the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

film '' Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief''.

Credits

* John Cooper – lead vocals, bass *Korey Cooper – rhythm guitar, keyboards *Ben Kasica – lead guitar *

Jen Ledger Jennifer Carole Ledger (born 8 December 1989) is an English singer, drummer and co-vocalist for the American Christian rock band Skillet. At the age of 18, she became Skillet's drummer when Lori Peters retired. Ledger released a solo EP in 2018 ...

– drums, vocals

Charts

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Hero" was directed by the Erwin Brothers. Coming out shortly after the "Monster" video, which was shot by the Erwins at roughly the same time, "Hero" is the album's second music video. Although the site was for fan club members only, pictures of the video shoot could've be viewed on panheads.com.

Awards

The song was nominated for both "Rock Recorded Song of the Year" and "Short Form Video of the Year" at the

41st GMA Dove Awards The 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 21, 2010 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2009. The show was held at The Opry Entertainment Complex in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Bart Millard. Nomin ...

.41st Annual GMA Dove Awards nominees announced
on

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

(February 18, 2010)

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hero (Skillet Song) 2009 singles Skillet (band) songs Songs written by John Cooper (musician) Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Korey Cooper Song recordings produced by Howard Benson 2009 songs Lava Records singles Ardent Records singles Songs about Jesus