"Human" is a song by British singer and songwriter

Rag'n'Bone Man Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), better known as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer and songwriter. He is known for his deep baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his debut album of the same nam ...

, co-written by Jamie Hartman, and produced by Two Inch Punch. It was released as a digital download on 21 July 2016, through

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

and Columbia Records. The song is included on his debut studio album of the same name, released in February 2017. It was later used as a theme song for the American

web television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air ae ...

series '' Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan'', which was released in 2018.

Composition

The song is written in the key of

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes need ...

(tuned 1/4 step flat, most probably using the scientific pitch where A is set to 432Hz instead of standard pitch of 440Hz) with a

common time 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 val ...

tempo of 75

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. The vocals span from A₂ to B₄ in the song.

Critical reception

Cameron Adams of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' compared the song to " Take Me to Church" by Hozier for both having an "instant impact, honest lyrics and throwback to ‘real’ music in a time of corporate pop." In 2018, the song won a

Brit Award for British Single of the Year The Brit Award for Song of the Year is an award given by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), an organisation which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebra ...

Live performances

Rag'n'Bone Man performed "Human" on '' Later... with Jools Holland'' on 20 September 2016. He also performed the song on Australian talk show '' The Morning Show'' on 28 October 2016. Another live performance of "Human" took place on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' on 10 February 2017. He appeared on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' on 16 February 2017.

Chart performance

On 23 December 2016, the song reached number two 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 ...

, scoring the Christmas number two of 2016. Still, the song was the most downloaded and top-selling single throughout the week, with the lack of streams influencing the overall chart position to be lower, denying the song the coveted Christmas number one. The song was certified Platinum on 17 February 2017 and 2× Platinum 21 July 2017 by the BPI. It has sold 1,269,000 combined units in the UK as of September 2017, which comprises 522,000 copies in actual sales and 75 million in streams. In the United States, the song reached at number one on the ''Billboard'' Alternative Songs Chart and number two on Rock Airplay. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on 7 July 2017, and has sold 324,000 copies in the US as of September 2017. It is also Rag'n'Bone Man's only entry in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, as of 2022, and reached number 74 on a chart dated 27 May 2017. The song had widespread chart success internationally, with it reaching the #1 spot on charts in more than 15 countries. As of March 2022, the music video has received 1.5 billion

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

views.

Formats and track listings

*Digital download #"Human" – 3:19 *Digital download (Rudimental remix) #"Human" – 4:21

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Tom Thum featuring Ruel cover

In December 2017, Australians hip hop

beat box Beatboxing (also beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (typically a TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.

er Tom Thum and vocalist Ruel released a cover version with the backing track constructed exclusively from layers of Tom's vocal technique and Ruel singing over top. The video was filmed as part of YouTube Australia's Pop-Up Space in Sydney's AFTRS studios.

Track listing

One-track single # "Human" – 3:30

References

External links