"New Soul" is a song by the French-Israeli R&B/ soul singer
Yael Naïm
Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song pea ...
, from her self-titled second album. The song gained popularity in the United States following its use by Apple in an advertisement for their MacBook Air laptop. In the song Naïm sings of being a new soul who has come into the world to learn "a bit 'bout how to give and take". However, she finds that things are harder than they seem. The song, also featured in the films '' The House Bunny'' and '' Wild Target'', features a prominent "la la la la" section as its hook. It remains Naïm's biggest hit single in the US to date, and her only one to reach the top 40 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
"New Soul" was mixed and mastered by
S. Husky Höskulds
S. Husky Höskulds (born in Iceland) is an audio engineer based in Los Angeles, California.
Biography
Husky Höskulds moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to study audio engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career wo ...
The sheet music for "New Soul" published in the key of
C major
C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
The video shows Naïm moving into an empty apartment. She covers the walls in wallpaper depicting a lake surrounded by forest. She then begins unpacking several other things, including furniture, a piano, a goldfish in a bowl and a number of photographs of people, which she hangs on the wall. As she hangs the photographs, the people in the pictures are shown in real life, in the setting depicted in the pictures. Naïm then begins painting on the photographs, and whatever she paints appears with the people in real life. She removes one of the pictures to discover a hole in the wall, revealing the actual forest setting shown in the wallpaper. She pushes on the wall, and it falls away into the lake. The remaining walls fall onto the water leaving the floor of the apartment like a raft floating on the lake, together with her furniture. The people from her pictures reach her by boat. They climb onto the makeshift raft with her, as they all celebrate, dancing and playing instruments, whilst she empties the goldfish bowl into the lake.
In 2008, the video received strong airplay on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
.
Chart performance
In the issue dated 16 February 2008, "New Soul" debuted on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 9, giving Naïm her first single ever to enter any US chart. It reached number 7 on the Hot 100 before falling to number 42 the following week. It later rebounded due to being featured on the AppleMacBook Air commercials, but nonetheless the song spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart. It debuted at number 44 on the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
, and jumped to number 7 on the chart the following week. In her birth country of France, the single hit number 1 on the French Singles Chart. In February 2008, it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 42 and reached a peak of number 30 one month later.
Personnel
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Yael Naim
Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song p ...
Japan Hot 100
The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thur ...