"I Believe" is the debut single of ''American Idol'' season three winner

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

. The song was co-written by Louis Biancaniello,

Sam Watters Samuel Joshua Watters (born July 23, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I ...

, and former ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' contestant

Tamyra Gray Tamyra Monica Gray (born July 26, 1979) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, who finished fourth place on the first season of the musical reality competition ''American Idol'' in 2002. Post ''American Idol'', Gray has begun acting on B ...

. Released in the United States on June 15, 2004, "I Believe" debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 142,000 copies during its first week and winning three ''

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 ...

'' awards. The song also reached number one on the

Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart was a chart compiled by the American-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan, which began publication in November 1996. It was published every Wednesday and also published on Thursday by '' Jam!''/Canoe. I ...

and number four on Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. It was included on Fantasia's debut album, '' Free Yourself'', released on November 23, 2004.

Background

sang "I Believe" on the third-season finale of ''

'' as her last performance within the competition. Diana DeGarmo, the runner up of ''American Idol'' season three, sang the song first, also on the finale, for her first performance of the night. The judges unanimously acclaimed Fantasia the winner of season three, a prediction that came true when she was crowned American Idol the following evening. An ecstatic and tearful Fantasia performed her new single "I Believe" minutes after the announcement. DeGarmo's performance was also well received by the judges.

Release and commercial performance

"I Believe" was released in the United States on June 15, 2004, as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

and

7-inch single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

. The song debuted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number one, staying there for one week. During its debut week, the single sold 142,000 copies, making it the second debut solo single by a female artist to commence its chart run at number one, following Lauryn Hill's "

Doo Wop (That Thing) "Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as the lead single from ''Th ...

". It has sold 527,000 copies in the United States as of 2009. "I Believe" was the winner of two ''Billboard'' Music Awards and one ''Billboard'' American Urban Radio Networks award. In Canada, the song remained atop the

for 10 weeks and was certified double platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), shipping more than 80,000 units. Outside North America, "I Believe" charted in Australia, New Zealand, and Romania. In Australia, the song was issued as a CD single on July 19, 2004. The following week, it debuted at its peak of number four on the

. By doing so, Fantasia became the second ''American Idol'' winner to chart in Australia, after

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

debuted on the ARIA chart with " Miss Independent" in 2003. "I Believe" stayed in the top 50 for 11 weeks, ending 2004 as Australia's 85th-best-selling single and earning a gold

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

from the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...

(ARIA) for shipping over 35,000 copies. In New Zealand, the song charted on the RIANZ Singles Chart for five weeks, peaking at number 20 for two weeks in August 2004. On the Romanian Top 100, the single charted for one week, appearing at number 93 on July 19, 2004.

Awards

Track listings

US, Canadian, and Australian CD single # "I Believe" # " Chain of Fools" # " Summertime" US 7-inch single :A. "I Believe" :B. "Summertime"

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the US CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at

NRG Studios NRG Recording Studios is a recording facility located in North Hollywood, California, that was created by producer and mixer Jay Baumgardner in 1992. Facilities The facility consists of three studio consoles: *Studio A console: custom vintage N ...

( North Hollywood, California), Homesite 13 ( Novato, California), and the

Record Plant The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blon ...

(Hollywood, California) * Mixed at Homesite 13 (Novato, California) Writing and production *

– writing, background vocals *

– writing, background vocals, production, arrangement * Louis Biancaniello – writing, keyboards, programming, production, arrangement, mixing * Steve Churchyard – string session engineering * Mark Kiczula – assistant string engineering * Ross Hogarth – choir session engineering * Brian Scheuble – choir session engineering * Jun Ishizeki – assistant choir engineering Vocals * Fantasia – vocals * Maxi Anderson – choir * Eric Butler – choir *

Debra Byrd Debra Byrd (born 19 July 1951, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio) is an Americans, American Singing, vocalist who has worked with Barry Manilow in and after Lady Flash and Bob Dylan, appeared on Broadway theatre, Broadway, and serves as the head vo ...

– choir * Nick Cooper – choir * Kevin Dorsey – choir * Angela Fisher – choir * Sybil Harris – choir *

Darlene Koldenhoven Darlene Koldenhoven (born October 9, 1950) is an American musician. Darlene won a Grammy Award for her singing. Career Grammy recipient and is a three-time Grammy nominee for the lead soprano in Clare Fischer's 2+2. She was the featured sopra ...

– choir * Byron Motley – choir * Bobbi Page – choir * Deborah Sharpe-Taylor – choir * Melanie Taylor – choir * Tony Wilkins – choir * Terry Wood – choir * Yvonne Williams – choir Orchestra * David Campbell – string arrangement, conducting * Joel Derouin – violin * Darius Campo – violin * Mario DeLeon – violin * Berj Garabedian – violin * Armen Garabedian – violin * Larry Greenfield – violin * Julian Hallmark – violin * Natalie Leggett – violin * Alyssa Park – violin * Sara Parkins – violin * Bob Peterson – violin * John Wittenberg – violin * Evan Wilson – viola * Matt Funes – viola * Larry Corbett – cello * Dan Smith – cello

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 19 Recordings singles 2004 debut singles 2004 songs American Idol songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles Fantasia Barrino songs J Records singles Song recordings produced by Sam Watters Songs written by Louis Biancaniello Songs written by Sam Watters Syco Music singles