"No Air" is a song by American singers

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks-Thomas (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debu ...

and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

. The song was written by

James Fauntleroy II James Edward Fauntleroy II (born May 16, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from Inglewood, California. He is best known for writing credits on tracks by high-profile artists such as Travis Scott, Frank Ocean, Kendrick ...

Harvey Mason Jr. Harvey Jay Mason Jr. (born June 3, 1968) is an American record producer, songwriter, movie producer and current CEO of The Recording Academy. He has written and produced songs for artists including Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Deniece Wil ...

, Steve Russell, Erik Griggs and Damon Thomas. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2008, and serves as the second single from Sparks' self-titled debut album. "No Air" received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The song reached number one in New Zealand, number three in the United States, and number one in Australia. Also in the U.S, the song has sold 3,596,000 copies, making Sparks first ''

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 ...

'' alumnus to reach the three million mark. Also in New Zealand, the song was the most commercially successful song of 2008. The single is

certified 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 ...

Platinum or higher in eight countries. "No Air" won "Favorite Combined Forces" at the 35th People's Choice Awards, where it was also nominated for "Favorite Pop Song". The song also earned Sparks her first Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the

51st Grammy Awards The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 8, 2009, honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the b ...

. Its accompanying music video directed by Chris Robinson won "Best Heartbreak Video" at the 2008 BET Pre-Awards and was also nominated for "Best Female Video" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. "No Air" was covered by American band,

Boyce Avenue Boyce Avenue is an American cover band formed in Sarasota, Florida, by brothers Alejandro Luis Manzano, Daniel Enrique Manzano, and Fabian Rafael Manzano. The brothers attended Pine View School in Osprey, Florida. The band is named after a co ...

and country singer

Rissi Palmer Rissi Palmer (born August 19, 1981) is an American country music artist. Palmer debuted in 2007 with the single "Country Girl", which made her the first African-American woman to chart a country song since Dona Mason in 1987. ...

in 2008 and also on the television show ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' in 2009.

Composition and critical reception

"No Air" is a

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of string section, strings, horn section, horns, piano, and voca ...

and R&B song written by James Fauntleroy II, Steven Russell, Erik “Blu2th” Griggs,

, and Damon Thomas. The song was originally written for a male singer, but after Jordin Sparks heard the song and expressed interest in the song, Mason agreed to give it to Sparks on the condition that they make it an event duet record, and suggested Chris Brown as a singing partner. Having the chord progression of F-E-Gm-B, the song is written in the key of F

Mixolydian Mixolydian mode may refer to one of three things: the name applied to one of the ancient Greek ''harmoniai'' or ''tonoi'', based on a particular octave species or scale; one of the medieval church modes; or a modern musical mode or diatonic scal ...

. Its

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

is of common time. Both Sparks' and Brown's vocals range from the note of F₃ to the note of F₅. Nick Levine of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

called the song "an R&B power ballad" and said it makes "full use of her impressive set of pipes." Bill Lamb of

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

wrote "from the kickoff of Jordin's echoey vocals it sounds like "No Air" is so light and weepy it needs special effects and production tricks to cover up the fact that there really is not much of a song here. Steve Perkins of

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

awarded the song five stars and said "by the time No Air"hits the final stretch, the title actually seems rather prophetic, since Jordin and Chris are yodelling away at the tops of their voices to the extent that you wonder how they're concealing their need to gasp for big lung bucketfuls of precious oxygen every thirty seconds." The song was nominated at the 2008

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...

, in the categories of "Choice Love Song" and "Choice Hook-Up", winning the second award. More nominations included Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the

, a nomination for the "Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration Award" at the 40th NAACP Image Awards and a nomination for "Best Collaboration" at the 2009

MTV Australia Awards The MTV Australia Awards (previously known as the MTV Australia Video Music Awards or AVMA's) started in 2005 and were Australia's first awards show to celebrate both local and international acts. The last edition happened in 2009. History The M ...

. It also garnered two nominations at the 35th People's Choice Awards for "Favorite Pop Song" and "Favorite Combined Forces", winning the second award. In 2008, ''

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 ...

'' ranked the song twenty-seventh on a special The 40 Biggest Duets of All Time listing.

Chart performance

In the United States, "No Air" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number ninety-five on the week dated January 19, 2008. After weeks of climbing the chart, the song reached a peak of number three, becoming Sparks' highest-charting single to date. It also became her first single to enter the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, where it peaked at number four. "No Air" peaked the highest on the

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

airplay chart, where it reached number two. The song was certified platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), making Sparks the first ''American Idol'' contestant to reach the three million mark. It also became Brown's first single to reach three million. It has sold 3,596,000 copies in the US as of April 2014. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number fifty-eight on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on April 20, 2008 – for the week ending date April 26, 2008 – before dropping twenty-seven places to number eighty-five the next week. In its sixth week on the chart, "No Air" reached its peak position of number three on the chart. It also reached number three 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 ...

. In Australia, the song reached number one in its fifth week on the chart. It held the position for a total of four weeks before losing the position to

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

's "

I Kissed a Girl "I Kissed a Girl" is the debut single of American singer Katy Perry from her second studio album, ''One of the Boys'' (2008). It was released on April 28, 2008, by Capitol Records as the lead single from the record. Perry co-wrote the song with ...

". The song has since been certified platinum by 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 shipments of 70,000 units. In New Zealand, "No Air" entered the

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

chart at number six on the week dated March 10, 2008. The following week the song peaked at number one on the week dated March 17, 2008, becoming Sparks' first number one single in that country and stayed atop the chart for seven consecutive weeks. the single was certified platinum on the week dated April 14, 2008, after only 6 weeks on the chart. The single spent 19 weeks on the chart and has since been certified double platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

(RIANZ), for shipments of 30,000 units.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Chris Robinson and shot in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The video leaked online on February 20, 2008. It begins with Sparks playing the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

in her home. Suddenly, she stops playing and makes a phone call on her cell phone, which directs her to an answering machine. The camera cuts to the phone she is presumably calling, which has been left on a counter in a steamy room. Sparks leaves a message, asking Brown to call her when he can. Her silhouetted profile is then seen on the left side against a gray background, as the song begins to play. Sparks then appears at her window drawing a heart shape on the foggy glass window, as she begins to sing the song. Brown then appears in the video wiping a foggy mirror in his bathroom, as he begins to sing his first verse. Brown's silhouetted profile is then seen entering on the right side of the gray background scene, and both their silhouetted profiles face each other. The video then cuts to Brown, who is shown putting on his jacket leaving his home, as he walks through New York City. Sparks then appears standing near the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...

. She gets into her car and begins driving through the city. Meanwhile, Brown still in the daytime, arrives at Sparks' home. In a climactic sequence Brown confronts Sparks by her piano and the two passionately sing the final chorus to each other. Brown then leaves, and the video ends with their two silhouettes against the gray background, pulling away from each other. The video is also intercut with scenes of Brown singing alone in a recording studio with

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, and a piano, of which he plays and at the very end when the song's over Sparks is seen sitting on the floor in her house and kneeling her head down in sadness. At the 2008 BET Pre-Awards, "No Air" won the award for "Best Heartbreak Video". It was also nominated for "Best Female Video" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.

Promotion and covers

Sparks performed "No Air" with

during the ''

'' top 8 live results show on April 10, 2008. In September 2008, Sparks traveled to Australia and performed the song on ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program ''Pop Idol' ...

'' on September 15, 2008. After her performance, Sparks was handed her certification of platinum sales for "No Air". The song was also added to her

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

of opening

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

' As I Am Tour in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Sparks also performed the song during the

Jesse & Jordin LIVE Tour The Jesse & Jordin Live Tour was a co-headlining concert tour by Jesse McCartney and Jordin Sparks to support McCartney's third album '' Departure'' and Sparks' self-titled debut album ''Jordin Sparks''. The tour started on August 5, 2008 and en ...

in the United States. "No Air" was covered by American country singer

, for her self-titled album released on October 7, 2008. Released as the first single from the re-release of the album on May 27, 2008, Palmer's rendition of the song spent 15 weeks on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts, peaking at number 47.

Acoustic rock Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adven ...

band

also covered the song, for their ''Acoustic Sessions Vol. 2'' EP, released on September 16, 2008. Additionally, the song was covered on the

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

television show ''

'', in the episode " Throwdown". The single peaked at number fifty-two on both the

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 ...

and the

, number sixty-five on the

and the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and also at number twenty-nine on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. "No Air" was also covered by Serena Ryder & The Beauties as a bonus track on the "Is It OK?" Album (Deluxe version) The song also featured on the twenty-second series of ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first hoste ...

'', when host

Simon Amstell Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer and director. He wrote and directed the films '' Carnage'' (2017) and ''Benjamin'' (2018). His work on television has included presenting '' Popworld'' and '' Never Mind th ...

and

Phill Jupitus Phillip Christopher Jupitus (, ''né'' Swan; born 25 June 1962) is an English stand-up and improv comedian, actor, performance poet, cartoonist and podcaster. Jupitus was a team captain on all but one BBC Two-broadcast episode of music quiz ''N ...

lip-synched the track, with a montage of

Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...

in the background. Bailey was on tour during recording.

Track listing

;US digital download #"No Air" (with Chris Brown) – 4:23 #"Tattoo" (Acoustic) – 3:47 ;Germany digital download #"No Air" (with Chris Brown) – 4:23 #"Save Me" – 3:38 ;Australia digital EP #"No Air" (with Chris Brown) – 4:23 #"Save Me" – 3:38 #"No Air" with Chris Brown (Tiesto Remix) – 7:40

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2000s ballads 2007 songs 2008 singles Jordin Sparks songs Chris Brown songs Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in New Zealand Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Rissi Palmer songs Male–female vocal duets Songs written by James Fauntleroy Song recordings produced by the Underdogs (production team) Songs written by Damon Thomas (record producer) Songs written by Harvey Mason Jr. Sony Music singles 19 Recordings singles Jive Records singles