Grace Kelly (song)

"Grace Kelly"
Single by Mika
from the album Life in Cartoon Motion
B-side	"Over My Shoulder", "Satellite"
Released	January 8, 2007 (UK) February 12, 2007 (Europe)
Format	Digital download, CD single, 12" single, 7" single
Recorded	2006
Genre	Glam rock
Length	3:05
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Mika (Mica Penniman), Jodi Marr, John Merchant, Dan Warner
Producer	Greg Wells
Certification	Platinum (ARIA) Silver (BPI)
Mika singles chronology
"Relax, Take It Easy" (2006) "Grace Kelly" (2007) "Love Today" (2007)

"Grace Kelly" is a song by the English singer Mika, released for download on January 9, 2007. It also appears on Mika's 2007 album Life in Cartoon Motion. Produced and mixed by Greg Wells, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number three (#3) and the UK Official Download Chart at number one (#1). One week later, it jumped to the top of the UK Singles Chart, despite still being available on downloads only. The track was number one in the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, and ended 2007 as the year's third biggest-selling single in that country.^[1] In the U.S., "Grace Kelly" was made available for digital download on January 16, 2007. This song was also #89 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.^[2] It was designed to be a mocking satire of musicians who try to reinvent themselves to be popular. It is titled after Grace Kelly, an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress, and Princess of Monaco. The bit of dialogue used in the song is from the film The Country Girl. Mika claims the song was inspired after a bad experience with a record company executive, in which he was told to be more like Craig David.^[3] The lyric "So I try a little Freddie" is a reference to Queen's Freddie Mercury, to whose singing voice Mika's has been compared.^[4] On at least one occasion, Mika confirmed that he used the main melody from Figaro's famous aria Largo al factotum in the opera The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini.^[5] Mika performed the song at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 in Munich and during the 2008 BRIT Awards at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London. The song has sold 540,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official UK Charts company.

Other appearances

• Rory Bremner recorded a parody version to illustrate the problems of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
• The song was featured in a season two episode of The Hills.
• It was used in one episode of Ugly Betty's first season.
• It was used in a Turkish Coca-Cola advertisement and in an Israeli advertisement of "Misdar Zihoi".
• The chorus of the song is used on the Disney Cinemagic channel during a trailer. Different clips from various Disney films being aired on the channel that month are shown, with each clip reflecting a similar emotion to that being described in the chorus of the song.
• The song is also used in cinematic trailers for the movies I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and The Ugly Truth.
• An instrumental version of the song has been used in the United Kingdom to promote the move of Australian soap, Neighbours, from BBC One to Five.
• Top 50 contestant of American Idol, Josiah Leming performed a rendition of the song in Hollywood for the judges, which received great praise.
• "Grace Kelly" is also featured as the opening song in What Happens in Vegas....
• A version by Mika appears on the 2007 compilation album, The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show.
• The song is used during the first episode of the British horror series Dead Set, as contestants in the Big Brother house party to it, oblivious to the zombie massacre occurring throughout the rest of the studio and eviction crowd.
• The song is used in Doctor Who: The Pirate Loop at the end when the pirate badgers and the other surviving crew are having a party.
• The song is used in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode The Mark of the Berserker.
• It was used in a series of Celebrity Big Brother UK when Cleo Rocos was shown her 'best bits'.
• It was used in the TV advertisement for Confessions of a Shopaholic.
• The chorus was used as the closing theme to the Spanish show Corazón de Otoño during Fall 2007 on TVE.
• The Whiffenpoofs performed the song on The Sing-Off on December 6, 2010.
• The song appears in the European DS version of Band Hero.
• The song was used in the first season trailer of the Series "Weeds" on German television
• Scott Mills impersonated Mika and sang lyrics of the song in a prank call to a real estate agency.
• Mika performed this song on series 4 episode 3 of the Friday Night Project on 19 January 2007. James Nesbitt was the host that night.

Music video

The music video for the song "Grace Kelly" was directed by Sophie Muller and starred Mika and Holly Muller. The video was filmed in early November 2006 and has been nominated for numerous worldwide awards. The instrumental introduction in the video is an extract of the acoustic version of the song found on certain releases of the album.

Tracklisting

Australian CD Single

1. "Grace Kelly" – 3:08
2. "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Radio Edit) – 3:20
3. "Over My Shoulder" – 4:44
4. "Grace Kelly" (Video)

UK CD Single

1. "Grace Kelly" – 3:08
2. "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Radio Edit) – 3:20
3. "Over My Shoulder" – 4:44

Limited Edition 7" Vinyl

1. "Grace Kelly" – 3:07
2. "Satellite" – 4:15

UK 12" Vinyl

1. "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Full Vocal Remix) – 6:46
2. "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Dub Remix) – 6:40
3. "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Full Vocal Remix) – 6:48
4. "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Dub Remix) – 7:08

Official versions

• "Grace Kelly" – 3:07
• "Grace Kelly" (Acoustic Version) – 3:07
• "Grace Kelly" (Bimbo Jones Remix Edit) – 3:00
• "Grace Kelly" (Bimbo Jones Remix) - 6:26
• "Grace Kelly" (Les Grandes Gueules Version) - 3:07
• "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Radio Edit) – 3:20
• "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Full Vocal Remix) – 6:46
• "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Dub Remix) – 6:40
• "Grace Kelly" (Pull Tiger Tail Remix) – 4:26
• "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Full Vocal Remix) – 6:48
• "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Dub Remix) – 7:08

Charts and certifications

It reached number one in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. In the U.S. market, it peaked at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Chart (2007) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[6] 2 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[7] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 2 Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[9] 1 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 12 Czech Republic (IFPI)[11] 4 Denmark (Tracklisten)[12] 1 European Hot 100 Singles[13] 2 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[14] 5 France (SNEP)[15] 82 Germany (Media Control AG)[16] 4 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[17] 3 Ireland (IRMA)[18] 1 Italy (FIMI)[19] 1 Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[20] 4 New Zealand (RIANZ)[21] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[22] 1 Slovakia (IFPI)[23] 4 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 9 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 2 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[26] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[27] 57 US Pop Songs (Billboard)[28] 13

Year-end and decade-end charts Chart (2007) Rank German Singles Chart [29] 21 Chart (2000–2009) Position UK Top 100 Songs of the Decade 64[30] Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Germany [31] Gold 2007 150,000 +

See also

• List of number-one hits in Denmark
• List of number-one singles of 2007 (Ireland)
• List of number-one hits of 2007 (Italy)
• List of number-one hits in Norway
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)

References

1. ^ BBC Music. "Top 40 Singles of the Year 2007 ". Retrieved 2007-12-27
2. ^ MTV Asia. "Top 100 Hits List". Retrieved 2007-12-27
3. ^ Times UK - "Oh, Mika, you're so fine". Retrieved 2009-5-15
4. ^ BBC News – "Sound of 2007: Mika"
5. ^ Mika in "Taratata" TV Show (part 2)
6. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Mika – Grace Kelly". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
7. ^ "Mika – Grace Kelly – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
8. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mika – Grace Kelly" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
9. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mika – Grace Kelly" (in French). Ultratop 40. Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
10. ^ "Mika Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Mika. Prometheus Global Media.
11. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200735 into search.
12. ^ "Mika – Grace Kelly Hitlisten.nu" (in Danish). Tracklisten. IFPI Danmark & Nielsen Music Control.
13. ^ "Mika Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Mika. Prometheus Global Media.
14. ^ "Finnishcharts.com – Mika – Grace Kelly". Suomen virallinen lista. Hung Medien.
15. ^ "Lescharts.com – Mika – Grace Kelly" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien.
16. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
17. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ – Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
18. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
19. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Mika – Grace Kelly". Top Digital Download. Hung Medien.
20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mika – Grace Kelly" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
21. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Mika – Grace Kelly". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
22. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Mika – Grace Kelly". VG-lista. Hung Medien.
23. ^ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200718 into search.
24. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Mika – Grace Kelly". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
25. ^ "Mika – Grace Kelly – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
26. ^ "Chart Stats – Mika – Grace Kelly" UK Singles Chart. Chart Stats.
27. ^ "Mika Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Mika. Prometheus Global Media.
28. ^ "Mika Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Pop Songs for Mika. Prometheus Global Media.
29. ^ http://www.mtv.de/charts/Single_Jahrescharts_2007
30. ^ Radio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday 29th December 2009, presented by Nihal
31. ^ AT LEAST ONE OF artist or title MUST BE PROVIDED for GERMAN CERTIFICATION.

External links

• Soundfires.com Review of "Grace Kelly"