"Wherever You Will Go" is the debut single of American band the Calling. The song was released on May 22, 2001, as the first single from their debut studio album, ''

Camino Palmero ''Camino Palmero'' is the debut studio album recorded by American alternative band the Calling. It was released by RCA Records on July 10, 2001 (see 2001 in music). It contains their hit single "Wherever You Will Go". The title of the album come ...

'' (2001). It remains their most renowned and their most successful hit, peaking at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping the

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 Systems ...

for 23 weeks, the second-longest-running number one in the chart's history, behind "

Smooth Smooth may refer to: Mathematics * Smooth function, a function that is infinitely differentiable; used in calculus and topology * Smooth manifold, a differentiable manifold for which all the transition maps are smooth functions * Smooth algebrai ...

" by

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

and Rob Thomas. Outside the United States, the song experienced similar success, peaking atop the music charts of Italy, New Zealand, and Poland, reaching number three in the United Kingdom, number five in Australia, and becoming a top-ten hit in several European countries.

Background and writing

Songwriter Aaron Kamin talked about the song in a radio interview. He said, "At the time my grandmother's best friend had passed away and she left behind a husband of 50 or more years and I was at the funeral and afterwards I just started thinking of what it would be like to be him and have your whole life change so dramatically and not for the best in a matter of moments. Somebody that you live and grow with and are one with, just to be gone, is crazy and I figured all he ever thinks about probably is finding a way to get back to her or be with her or make sure she’s alright or something like that. That was the sentiment behind that.."

Music video

Two videos were shot for this song. The first was set in Mexico. The other version, which is more popular, was directed by

Gregory Dark Gregory Dark (born Gregory Hippolyte Brown on July 12, 1957, in Los Angeles) is an American film director, film producer, music video director, and screenwriter. Dark is an adult filmmaker who transitioned into directing Hollywood movies. He ...

, and has the band performing in the concrete channel of the

Los Angeles River , name_etymology = , image = File:Los Angeles River from Fletcher Drive Bridge 2019.jpg , image_caption = L.A. River from Fletcher Drive Bridge , image_size = 300 , map = LARmap.jpg , map_size ...

, while a teenage

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

plays in the foreground. A teenage girl gets her boyfriend's name tattooed on her shoulder, but when she finds him cheating with another girl, she flies into a rage, destroying most of his belongings. At the end of the video, she is seen with a new boyfriend (male model and then-fledgling actor

Drew Fuller Andrew Alan "Drew" Fuller (born May 19, 1980) is an American actor and former model. He is best known for his portrayal of Chris Halliwell in the television series ''Charmed'' and for playing soldier Trevor LeBlanc on Lifetime's ''Army Wives' ...

) with a flower tattoo covering the name, as her jealous ex watches her from his car. The group's lead singer,

Alex Band Alexander Max Band (born June 8, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and actor. He is best known for being the vocalist of Los Angeles rock band the Calling, having performed on their hit song "Wherever You Will ...

, can also be seen in some scenes singing in the foreground of some of the storyline, such as when the girl is seen destroying the belongings.

Track listings

US 7-inch single :A. "Wherever You Will Go" – 3:28 :B. "

Adrienne Adrienne is the French feminine form of the male name Adrien. Its meaning is literally "from the city Hadria." * Adrienne Albert (born 1941), composer * Adrienne Ames (1907–1947), American actress * Adrienne Armstrong (born 1969), wife of Gr ...

" – 4:30 UK CD single # "Wherever You Will Go" (radio edit) – 3:28 # "Lost" – 3:48 # "Wherever You Will Go" (acoustic) – 3:24 # "Wherever You Will Go" (director's cut video) – 3:26 UK cassette single # "Wherever You Will Go" – 3:28 # "Lost" – 3:48 # "Wherever You Will Go" (acoustic) – 3:24 European CD single # "Wherever You Will Go" (radio edit) – 3:28 # "Lost" – 3:48 European limited-edition maxi-CD single # "Wherever You Will Go" – 3:28 # "Nothing's Changed" – 4:04 # "Lost" – 3:48 # "Wherever You Will Go" (video) – 3:26 Australian CD single # "Wherever You Will Go" – 3:28 # "Nothing's Changed" – 4:04 # "Lost" – 3:48

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the UK CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at

Cherokee Studios Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band The Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, The Cars, Foreign ...

(

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

) * Mixed at Image Recording (Hollywood, California) Personnel *

– writing, vocals * Aaron Kamin – writing, guitar,

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

, loops, percussion *

Matt Laug Matt Laug (born March 17, 1968) is an American drummer who has played with many bands/artists such as Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, Slash's Snakepit and Vasco Rossi. Matt moved to Los Angeles after graduating from South Florence High School ...

– drums, percussion *

Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

– bass *

Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American A&R executive, record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several ar ...

– synth strings * Satnam Ramgotra –

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, percussion *

Paul Mirkovich Paul Mirkovich (born March 20, 1963) is an American musician from Los Angeles. He has been the band leader, keyboardist and duet singing partner for Cher for the last 16 years. He has also been the band director for Janet Jackson and Anastacia an ...

– additional keys * Marc Tanner – production * David Thoener – recording * Marc Greene – recording * Tiago Becker – recording assistant * Valente Torres – recording assistant *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mixing * Matt Silva – mixing assistant

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

Charlene Soraia version

The song was covered by English singer-songwriter

Charlene Soraia Charlene Soraia Santaniello Jones, known as Charlene Soraia, is an English singer-songwriter. She first became known with a cover of The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go", which peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart. She released her debu ...

for use in a

Twinings Twinings () is a British marketer of tea and other beverages, including coffee, hot chocolate and malt drinks, based in Andover, Hampshire. The brand is owned by Associated British Foods. It holds the world's oldest continually used company log ...

advert in the United Kingdom. It was released in the UK as a digital download on September 30, 2011. On October 9, 2011, the song entered 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 ...

at number 20 and peaked at number three two weeks later. It served as the lead single from Soraia's debut studio album, '' Moonchild'' (2011).

Music video

A music video for the song was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on October 3, 2011, at a total length of three minutes and thirty-eight seconds. The video shows Soraia in the studio performing the song.

Track listing

Digital download # "Wherever You Will Go" – 3:17 # "Lightyears" – 3:03

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 2000 film '' Coyote Ugly'' in the scene where Violet first sees Kevin. The Calling performs the song live. In 2001, the

UPN The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...

network used the song to promote the debut of ''

Star Trek: Enterprise ''Star Trek: Enterprise'', titled simply ''Enterprise'' for its first two seasons, is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. It originally aired from September 26, 2001, to May 13, 2005 on Uni ...

''. The song was featured in the 2003 British comedy-drama film ''

Love Actually ''Love Actually'' is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television proje ...

'' during a scene in which Colin (

Kris Marshall Kristopher Marshall (born 11 April 1973) is an English actor, starring in films, television and on stage for more than 20 years. He has played Nick Harper in ''My Family'', Colin Frissell in the 2003 film ''Love Actually'', Gratiano in ''The Me ...

) participates in an orgy with a group of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

ite girls shortly after arriving in the United States. The song plays during the final scenes of the series finale of '' Saving Grace'', a TNT drama that aired from 2007 to 2010. The song plays on ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...

'' during the final scene of the episode "Metamorphosis" (Season 1 episode 2). The song was parodied on ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentie ...

'' by several of the cast playing the Calling, Scott Stapp of Creed, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, and Ray Charles, making fun of how all the singers' voices sound the same and they accuse each other of getting famous by imitating them. This song is also featured in the popular Korean drama

I'm Sorry, I Love You ''I'm Sorry, I Love You'' () is a 2004 South Korean television drama series starring So Ji-sub and Im Soo-jung. It aired on KBS2 from November 8 to December 28, 2004, on Mondays and Tuesdays for 16 episodes. Synopsis Cha Moo-hyuk is a part-t ...

, starring So Ji-sub &

Im Soo-jung Im Soo-jung (born July 11, 1979) is a South Korean actress. After modeling for teen magazines, Im made her acting breakthrough in Kim Jee-woon's horror film ''A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), followed by the popular television drama ''I'm Sorry, ...

and its soundtrack as well. In Strike (TV series), Series 4: "Lethal White", Episode 1, it is the song that Robin Ellicot and Matthew Cunliffe use for the first dance at their wedding reception.

References

{{Authority control 2000 songs 2001 debut singles 2011 debut singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles The Calling songs Charlene Soraia songs Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Poland Post-grunge songs RCA Records singles Songs about death Songs written by Aaron Kamin Songs written by Alex Band UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles Music videos directed by Gregory Dark