Heaven (Emeli Sandé Song)
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"Heaven" is the debut solo single from Scottish recording artist
Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé ( ; previously Gouraguine; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a British singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Sandé rose t ...
. It was released by
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
after she signed a record deal with the label after the success of single "
Never Be Your Woman "Never Be Your Woman" is a song by British rapper Wiley featuring British singer and songwriter Emeli Sandé and produced by Naughty Boy. It was released on 28 February 2010 by Relentless Records (Virgin Records) and samples White Town's 1997 n ...
" which Sandé was featured as a guest artist. It was also the first release from Sandé's debut album, ''
Our Version of Events ''Our Version of Events'' is the debut studio album by Scottish singer Emeli Sandé. The album was released on 13 February 2012 by Virgin Records, following Sandé's winning of the Critics' Choice Award at the BRIT Awards 2012. Though ''Our Ver ...
'', on 14 August 2011. The single was added to
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
's playlist in June 2011. The song was also crowned record of the week by the station’s daytime DJ,
Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...
. The single is written by Sandé, Naughty Boy, Craze, Zeus Charalambous & Hoax, with producer
Mike Spencer Michael Spencer is an English record producer and recording engineer. He has worked with various pop acts, including Newton Faulkner, Jamiroquai, John Newman, Ellie Goulding, Alex Clare, and Emeli Sandé, among others. Many of his productions ...
. ''
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 initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
'' said that the song is a mixture of pacey house beats, mellow strings (arranged by Cliff Masterson) and
Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album '' Back to Black'' (2006), as well as two for Record ...
-esque horn sections. The song was also compared to the work of
Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...
(whom Sandé has written tracks for) and
Yasmin Yasmin, Yasmine, or Yasmina may refer to: People * Yasmin (name), a feminine given name, and sometimes a surname * Yasmin (musician) (born 1993), English singer, songwriter, and DJ * Yasmine (pornographic actress), Yasmine Lafitte, French actress ...
. One critic said that the song was "ticking all the good boxes in modern urban music." Critics also said that the song "stunned" them when they heard the song. The single was released accompanied by a
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
, which was filmed in
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,
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which premiered on 22 August 2011 on Emeli Sandé's official
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account. Throughout the video the music has scenes of Sandé singing to the sky, and standing outside of a
Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
, there are also many shots where
Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
' statue is seen in the video. The single was released via digital download and
7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...
on 14 August and 15 August 2011, respectively. The single was made to pre-order several weeks before it was released on
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.


Background and composition

"Heaven" was confirmed to be the first released as Sandé's attempt as a solo artist and the first single from ''Our Version of Events''. She signed a joint record deal between
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
and
EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a British multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company EMI in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succes ...
. The deal came across after she featured on rapper
Wiley Wiley may refer to: Locations *Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town *Wiley, Georgia, an U.S. unincorporated community * Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S. * Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany People *Wiley (musician), ...
's single, "
Never Be Your Woman "Never Be Your Woman" is a song by British rapper Wiley featuring British singer and songwriter Emeli Sandé and produced by Naughty Boy. It was released on 28 February 2010 by Relentless Records (Virgin Records) and samples White Town's 1997 n ...
", released by Virgin Records and the single had chart-success charting at number-eight on the UK Singles Chart. Sandé had several meetings with record companies to secure a deal to release music. The song was written by Emeli Sandé herself, longtime collaborator Naughty Boy, and Craze and Hoax. She was a medical student and studied at
Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...
. She revealed that her education was the most important thing to her, as if her music career was to fail, she would have a career to drop back to. She revealed that her manager, Adrian Sykes waited since she was 16 to finally record a debut album. She later announced that she would begin recording her debut album once her education was completed (stating this when she was about to study her fourth year at university). After her fourth year, she passed her medical exams and she began recording her first album, with "Heaven" being picked as the lead single from the album. She announced that the single topped the Shazam charts for weeks, saying that people just want to know "what it is they are hearing, which is really exciting." In an interview with ''
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 initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
'' Sandé discussed the background of the song; "A lot of people when they first hear it immediately think early '90s, that kind of era, strings with the '
Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a song by James Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Its drum break, Musical improvisation, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampling (music), sampled music recordings. Recor ...
' underneath them, quite epic sounding I guess. The song was written after a very long conversation I had with roducerNaughty Boy. We got into a very deep conversation about religion and how to be good – what we all try to do in this day and age and how difficult it is. He said, 'I guess you just have to keep your heart clean' and that sparked the whole song. It was done really quickly and we knew it was a special one as soon as it was done."


Reception


Critical reception

''
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 initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
'' said that the song is a mixture of pacey house beats, mellow strings and Ronson-esque horn sections. The song was also crowned "Record of the Week" by
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
playlist daytime DJ,
Fearne Cotton Fearne Cotton (born 3 September 1981) is an English broadcaster and author. She began her career in the late 1990s as a children’s television presenter for GMTV, CITV and CBBC. She went on to present various television shows, including ''To ...
. ''This Must be Pop'' said the single has the vocals of
Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...
and
Yasmin Yasmin, Yasmine, or Yasmina may refer to: People * Yasmin (name), a feminine given name, and sometimes a surname * Yasmin (musician) (born 1993), English singer, songwriter, and DJ * Yasmine (pornographic actress), Yasmine Lafitte, French actress ...
's beat. They went on to say; "The track starts quite pleasantly but gets better as it goes on and gradually gets more dramatic. It's a good example of a style that's currently in vogue, but I don't see it doing any better than her competitors." ''Robot Pigeon'' said that the song "stunned" them when heard the song. Saying; "drum'n'bass meets gospel (Friday nights meet Sunday mornings) pop giant. It's a spine tingling track that showcases an enormous vocal talent while at the same time ticking all the good boxes in modern urban music." Robert Copsey 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 initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
gave the song a positive review stating: "Judging by 'Heaven', it's a crime that she didn't put her solo career into action years ago. "Oh heaven, I wake with good intentions/ But the day it always lasts too long," she preaches over a familiar trip-hop beat with a seasoned vocal that a
Robin S Robin Jackson Maynard (''née'' Stone; born April 27, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1992 debut single " Show Me Love", which peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as its follow-up, " ...
or
Ultra Naté Ultra Naté (born March 20, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter who has achieved success on the pop charts with songs such as "Free (Ultra Naté song), Free", "If You Could Read My Mind" (as part of Stars o ...
wouldn't cock a snook at. The result sounds like a lost club classic from the '90s, though by the time the euphoric, string-laden chorus kicks in, you'll be too busy with your fists in the air to notice."


Chart performance

The song first appeared to be having chart success after thousands pre-ordering the single on iTunes. The song debuted 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 ...
at number forty. However, despite a low chart position in Ireland, "Heaven" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart with sales of 63,659. This song went on to chart at number twenty-nine in Ireland weeks later. The song also appeared at the top of the chart on the
UK Dance Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the electronic dance music, dance music genre (e.g. house music, house, trance music, trance, ...
, as well as charting at number-three on the
Scottish Singles Chart The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
. After Sandé's early January 2012 appearance on the Italian ''
X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' final, where she sang the song with the runner-up group I Moderni, "Heaven" cracked into the top ten at number ten from number fifty on the official
FIMI The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) or the Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when ...
chart. In Denmark, the song achieved similar success after being performed by contestants in the two singing competitions ''
X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' and '' The Voice of Denmark''. It subsequently debuted at peaked at number three on 17 February 2012.


Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Heaven" was first released onto
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
on 22 July 2011 at a total length of four minutes and fifteen seconds. It was confirmed that
Jake Nava Jake Nava is a British director, mostly known for his work in music videos for Beyoncé, Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Britney Spears and The Rolling Stones. He also directs TV commercials, notably for Guinness and Levi Strauss & Co. Early life and ed ...
directed the music video for the song. Nava has previously worked with
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
,
Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...
,
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
and
Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...
. The music video was filmed in
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The beginning of the music video shows Sandé sitting at a window in a house, the scene later changes a number of times to different people; the people who are looking upset. As she starts singing the chorus, singing "oh heaven" it shows Sandé singing and a view of the clouds in the sky. Throughout the music video there are various shots of Sandé around different towns and places in London. There are often shots of people saying prayers, and carrying a statue of
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
and a Cross resembling heaven and God; there are also shots of Sandé standing and singing outside a
cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...
.


Live performances

Sandé is one of dozens of acts playing the two-day Belladrum festival, a sold out show with a capacity of 12,000. She also performed the song on Jools Holland. The song was also featured during the London 2012 opening ceremony at the end of the Digital Age section after the recognition of
Tim Berners-Lee Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (born 8 June 1955), also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, the HTML markup language, the URL system, and HTTP. He is a professorial research fellow a ...
.


Track listing

;Digital single # "Heaven" – 4:12 # "Heaven" (Instrumental) – 4:13 # "Heaven" (Live From Angel Studios) – 3:17 # "Easier in Bed" (Acoustic Version) (Written by Sandé & Chris Loco) – 3:14 # "Kill the Boy" (Live From Angel Studios) (Written by Sandé) – 4:00 ;Digital Remixes EP # "Heaven" (Nu:Tone Remix) – 6:09 # "Heaven" (We Don't Belong in Pacha Remix) – 6:25 # "Heaven" (Mojam Remix) – 4:05 # "Heaven" (Stripped) – 3:42 ;7" vinyl # "Heaven" – 4:14 # "Easier in Bed" (Acoustic Version) – 3:16


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* List of UK Dance Chart number-one singles of 2011 * List of UK top 10 singles in 2011


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heaven (Emeli Sande Song) 2011 debut singles 2011 songs Emeli Sandé songs Gospel songs Music videos shot in London Songs written by Emeli Sandé Songs written by Naughty Boy Virgin Records singles Songs written by Mike Spencer Song recordings produced by Mike Spencer