"In God's Hands" is a song by Canadian singer

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado ( , ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 45 million records, including 35 million in album sales worldwide, making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. Critics have noted ...

from her third studio album, ''

Loose Loose may refer to: Places * Loose, Germany * Loose, Kent, a parish and village in southeast England People * Loose (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Loose'' (B'z album), a 1995 album by B'z * ''Loose'' (Crazy Horse album ...

'' (2006). It was written and produced by Furtado and

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. (born March 16, 1954) is an American songwriter and record producer. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists,duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

with Australian-American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

the following year, which was released in North America in April 2008. "In God's Hands" achieved only moderate success, becoming her lowest-charting single from ''Loose'' in every European country in which it was promoted. Following the song's North American re-release in 2008, however, "In God's Hands" reached its peak at number 11 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

, earning Furtado her second highest-charting single to date since the chart's inception in 2007, and also peaked at a career-high position of 15 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart.

Content

"In God's Hands" is inspired by Furtado's 2005 breakup with DJ Jasper Gahunia, the father of her daughter.Intini, John. "Nelly Furtado: 'I'm not Mother Teresa'". ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

''. 25 August 2006. According to Furtado, the song was, at the time of its recording, "as far as hewas willing to go in terms of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

right now". Lyrically, the song is about moving on and starting anew, with Furtado declaring in the chorus, "Our love's floating up in the sky in heaven/ Where it began, back in God's hands." Her vocal style on the song has been described as "pretty." Furtado also recorded a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

version, titled "En las manos de Dios", which appears in a Spanish limited edition of ''

''.

Re-recording

In early 2008, Furtado re-recorded "In God's Hands" as a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

featuring Australian-American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

, who was reportedly Furtado's "first choice." On her rationale behind the selection, Furtado said, "I love country music. Keith Urban's voice is plaintive and sweet; he's a pure songsmith, with an extremely humble tone to his voice... He's right on the border of country, roots and pop. He really defies description, and those are my favorite kinds of artists."

Critical reception

Sean Fennessey of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' criticized the songwriting on the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

and wrote that, "If "

Promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...

" is one of the fiercest songs of lust in recent memory, "In God's Hands" is one of the limpest." Jonathan Keefe of '' Slant'' was more ambivalent, praising Furtado's vocals but maligning the song's inclusion on ''Loose''. "While "In God's Hands" is one of the first times in her career that Furtado's voice could... be described as pretty," writes Keefe, "the song itself... simply doesn't fit with the first two-thirds of the album."

Commercial performance

"In God's Hands" debuted and peaked at number 116 on the UK Singles Chart dated 11 August 2007. It was the first single of Furtado's career (that was promoted to the United Kingdom) to miss the top 100. Elsewhere in Europe, the song performed moderately well. It reached a peak position at number 53 in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, number 33 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, number 20 in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, number 33 in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, and number 58 in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. "In God's Hands" also reached number 9 and number 22, respectively, on the Flanders and Wallonian

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiza ...

Bubbling Under charts. The 2008 duet version of the song debuted at number 11 on the

chart dated 3 May 2008 and was the week's highest debut. This tied it with "

Say It Right "Say It Right" is a song by Canadian singer Nelly Furtado from her third studio album, ''Loose'' (2006). It was written by Furtado, Tim "Timbaland" Mosley, and Nate "Danja" Hills, with Furtado crediting the Eurythmics' song " Here Comes the ...

" as Furtado's second highest-charting single to date in her native country since the creation of the Canadian Hot 100 chart in 2007. "In God's Hands" also reached number seven on the

Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking ...

component chart dated 3 May 2008. The song spent a total of 16 weeks on the Canadian Hot 100. In the United States, "In God's Hands" entered the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart dated 26 April 2008 at number 25 and was the week's highest debut. On the chart dated 21 June 2008, the song rose to number 18, breaking out of a tie with "Say It Right" for Furtado's highest-charting adult contemporary single to date. It reached its peak at number 15 on the chart dated 26 July 2008.

Music video

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 ...

for the song was shot on 9 May 2007 between 5 and 7 a.m. in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California and directed by

Jesse Dylan Jesse Byron Dylan (born January 6, 1966) is an American film director and production executive. He is the founder of the media production company Wondros and Lybba, a non-profit organization. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relat ...

. It features Furtado on a beach during both daytime and nighttime, singing the song while sitting on a tree stump, lying on the sand and holding a white sheet, which she lies under. Furtado is also shown walking on the shore, weeping and looking onto the ocean. The video is shot entirely in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

. It was made available on Furtado's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

channel 12 February 2008.

Track listings

* European 2-track CD single and digital download # "In God's Hands" (album version) — 4:12 # "In God's Hands" (live in Toronto) — 4:46 * European CD maxi-single and digital EP # "In God's Hands" (album version) — 4:12 # "In God's Hands" (live in Toronto) — 4:46 # "

I'm Like a Bird "I'm Like a Bird" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado. It was written by Furtado and produced by Gerald Eaton and Brian West for her debut studio album, '' Whoa, Nelly!'' (2000). Released as the album's first single on Septem ...

" (live in Toronto) — 5:51 # "In God's Hands" (video) — 4:09 * UK digital download # "In God's Hands" (album version) — 4:12 # "In God's Hands" (video) — 4:10 * European digital EP # "In God's Hands" (album version) — 4:12 # "In God's Hands" (live in Toronto) — 4:46 # "I'm Like a Bird" (live in Toronto) — 5:51 * 2008 digital download # "In God's Hands" (remix) featuring

— 4:33

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

Notes

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2006 songs 2007 singles 2008 singles Black-and-white music videos Geffen Records singles Keith Urban songs Male–female vocal duets Mosley Music Group singles Music videos directed by Jesse Dylan Nelly Furtado songs Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Rick Nowels Songs written by Nelly Furtado Songs written by Rick Nowels