"Learn to Fly" is a song originally recorded by British boyband A1, due to be released as the fourth single from the group's third studio album, '' Make It Good''. Written by band member Christian Ingebrigtsen, along with Peter Gordeno, Chris Porter and Rick Mitra, a single release was cancelled when the group decided to split in late 2002. The track was later released by Australian singer

Shannon Noll Shannon Noll (born 16 September 1975) is an Australian singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as runner-up of the first season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2003, which led to him being signed to Sony BMG. He has released five top ten albu ...

Shannon Noll version

The song was covered in 2004 by Noll, a runner-up of '' Australian Idol''. It was released as the third single from his debut album, ''

That's What I'm Talking About ''That's What I'm Talking About'' is the debut studio album by Australian singer Shannon Noll, released on 9 February 2004 (see 2004 in music) and debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts. The album includes his number one, 4× platinum debut sin ...

''. The single was promoted as a strictly limited edition release of 40,000 copies, all of which were sold during its 13-week chart run. In July 2004, it debuted at number one on the Australia ARIA singles chart and is certified Gold by

ARIA In music, an aria ( Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompa ...

with sales of over 35,000. Noll often mentioned that "Learn to Fly" was his favourite track from his debut album, and dedicated the performance of the track to his late father during the ''Up Close with Shannon Noll'' television special. The single release includes two previously unreleased B-sides, one being a cover of the

Southern Sons Southern Sons was an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 1989 by members of The State along with lead vocalist and guitarist Irwin Thomas, who was then using the stage name Jack Jones. They are best known for their Australia ...

1991 hit " Hold Me in Your Arms" (the song with which Noll auditioned for ''Australian Idol'') and the other being a cover of the

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

hit "

Gone Too Soon "Gone Too Soon" is a ballad recorded and popularized by American musician Michael Jackson. It was written and composed by Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan. Dionne Warwick first performed (but never recorded) the song in February 1983 on a TV sp ...

". Noll performed "Gone Too Soon" to a tearful audience during the broadcast of the 2004

Allan Border Medal Awarded during the Australian Cricket Awards, the Allan Border Medal is considered to be the most prestigious individual prize in Australian men's cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian men's captain Allan Bor ...

as a tribute to Australian cricketer

David Hookes David William Hookes (3 May 1955 – 19 January 2004) grew up in Torrensville and was a South Australian and Australian cricketer, broadcaster and coach of the Victorian cricket team. An aggressive left-handed batsman, Hookes usually batted in ...

, who was killed during an altercation at a Melbourne bar several months earlier.

Music video

The video, directed by Ryan Renshaw, was the fourth music video from Shannon Noll. The video contains scenes from a live performance Noll undertook at the venue "

Seagulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

" in Tweed Heads. The non-performance sequences of the video were filmed over a two-night period in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

, Australia. The video begins with Shannon leaving a venue after finishing a live performance. As he leaves the venue out the back entrance, he is set upon by a group of paparazzi which he evades and he runs to catch a taxi to the train station to travel back home. The video was popular with fans as it was the first video in which Shannon plays a character, rather than only performing the track for the camera.

Track listing

Australian CD single # "Learn to Fly" – 4:11 # "

" – 3:41 # " Hold Me in Your Arms" – 4:03

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Learn To Fly (A1 Song) 2002 singles 2002 songs 2004 singles A1 (band) songs English-language Norwegian songs Number-one singles in Australia Shannon Noll songs Song recordings produced by Mike Hedges Songs written by Christian Ingebrigtsen Songs written by Peter Gordeno (musician) Sony BMG singles