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"She's So High" is a
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
song written and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Tal Bachman. It was released as a single to North American radio on February 13, 1999, from his self-titled debut album (1999). The song peaked at number three in Canada, topped the US ''
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 advertis ...
''
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
chart, and reached number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also became a top-10 hit in Australia and New Zealand and peaked at number 30 in the United Kingdom. American media group
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
named it an "album pick". The song won a BMI award and a
Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...
for Best Producer.


Background and writing

Tal Bachman wrote the song about an experience that he had in high school when he was trying to get a girl to date his stepbrother. "I attempted to bribe the hottest girl in our high school to go out on a date with y stepbrother" Bachman told
MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...
. "So as the conversation between me and what I thought was this godly, exalted woman progressed, I began to feel more and more uncomfortable and awkward, and so I just remember that feeling... I don't want to say fear, but just kind of being in awe of her." The song was produced by
Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, recording engineer and musician. In 1976, Rock joined Little Mountain Sound Studios, starting out as a recording engineer and sound mixer. During his time there, he coll ...
and was recorded in
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
. Bachman stated he played both his father's '62
Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporati ...
and a 12-string electric on the song. He also said that he drew some inspiration in writing it from
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...
's song "
If It Makes You Happy "If It Makes You Happy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, released as the lead single from her 1996 Sheryl Crow (album), eponymous album in September 1996. The song peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' ...
".


Chart performance

The song debuted on Canada's ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
'' 100 Hit Tracks chart on April 19, 1999, at number 18, the highest new entry of the week. For the next few weeks, the song descended the chart, but it began to gain popularity and eventually reached its peak of number three on June 28. It stayed there for another week before beginning its slow descent off the chart, last appearing at number 100 on July 24, 2000, over a year after its first appearance. It was the eighth-best-selling single of 1999 in Canada. On other ''RPM'' charts, "She's So High" reached number three on the Rock Report and number 30 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In the United States, the song reached number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in August 1999, spending 28 weeks in the top 100, and peaked atop the ''
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 advertis ...
''
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
chart in September for three weeks. It finished 1999 as the United States' 51st-most-successful song. The song also found success in
Australasia Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
. It first appeared at number 44 on Australia's
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 ...
on the week of August 15, 1999. For the next four weeks, the song rose and fell in the top 30, then jumped to number 13 on September 19. It reached its peak of number eight the following week, then spent nine more nonconsecutive weeks in the top 50, ending the year as Australia's 54th-best-selling single. In New Zealand, "She's So High" debuted at number 46 on the
RIANZ Singles Chart 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 ...
on October 3, 1999, then rose 37 positions to number nine—its peak position—the next week. It dropped to number 14 for two weeks, then to number 20 for another two weeks, then spent an additional four weeks in the top 50, logging 10 weeks on the chart altogether. Despite its short charting period, it came in at number 50 on New Zealand's year-end chart. In the United Kingdom, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 30 on October 24, fell to number 51 the following week, then left the top 100 the week after. Elsewhere in Europe, the song peaked at number 29 in Iceland, number 71 in Germany, and number 93 in the Netherlands.


Music video

The official music video features
Yvonne Sciò Yvonne Brulatour Sciò (born 25 July 1969) is an Italian model and actress. Biography Born in Rome, Sciò was educated at St. George’s British International School. She started her career as a runway model in the late 1980s. Following her acti ...
dressed in angel's wings and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
-era headgear, specifically a leather pilot cap with aviator's goggles. After stealing balloons from a clown on the street, she gives them to a little girl in exchange for a glass of water, and the girl is then lifted off the ground. Afterwards, Sciò places the glass on the street and attempts a highwire act above it between two buildings, to the curiosity of a crowd of onlookers. She concludes the act by diving into the glass, which is greeted with applause from the soaked crowd. The storyline is interspersed with shots of Bachman playing the song with his band.


Track listings and formats

* Australian, European, and Japanese maxi-CD single # "She's So High" – 3:44 # "Angeline" – 3:43 # "Superstar" – 2:53 # "Guilty" – 3:31 * European CD single # "She's So High" – 3:44 # "Angeline" – 3:43 * UK cassette single # "She's So High" – 3:44 # "Guilty" – 3:31 * UK CD single # "She's So High" – 3:44 # "Angeline" – 3:43 # "Paint a Pretty Picture" – 3:51


Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the '' Tal Bachman'' album booklet. Studios * Recorded and mixed at Plantation Mixing and Recording (
Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...
, Hawaii) * Additional recording at the Shed (Vancouver, British Columbia) * Mastered at
Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...
(New York City) Musicians * Tal Bachman – writing, lead and background vocals, lead guitar,
lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...
,
rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...
, piano, production, mixing *
Buck Johnson Alphonso "Buck" Johnson Jr. (born January 3, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. Johnson, a 6'7" small forward, played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and Washington Bu ...
– background vocals,
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
, B3, Moog * Chris Wyse – bass * Lance Porter – drums Technical *
Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, recording engineer and musician. In 1976, Rock joined Little Mountain Sound Studios, starting out as a recording engineer and sound mixer. During his time there, he coll ...
– production, mixing * Patrick Glover – additional recording engineer * Brian Joseph Dobbs – engineering * Mike Gillies – additional engineering *
George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...
– mastering


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Use in media

Twenty years after its original North American release, the song was featured in a television advertisement for the
Peloton In a road Cycle sport, bicycle race, the peloton (, originally meaning ) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting (racing), drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The ...
stationary bicycle, broadly televised in late November 2019.


Kurt Nilsen version

Four years after Bachman's hit, Norwegian singer
Kurt Nilsen Kurt Erik Nilsen () (born 29 September 1978) is a Norwegian pop/country singer. He won the first season of the Norwegian reality show ''Idol'', which aired on TV 2 in May 2003. He then won a one-off international version of ''Pop Idol'' called ...
's cover version of the song reached number one in Norway and was Norway's best-selling single ever, selling over 80,000 copies to earn an octuple (8×) platinum certification. It became an international hit a year later, achieving its best success in
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
and the Netherlands, reaching the top 10 in these regions.


Track listings

* Norway: RCA, BMG / 82876528502 (2003) * Europe: RCA / 82876 61088 2 (2004) * Europe: BMG / 82876 597 612 (2004) * Europe: RCA / 82876 59828 2 (2004)


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:She's So High 19 Recordings singles 1998 songs 1999 debut singles 2003 debut singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles Columbia Records singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Poland Power pop songs RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Rock