Hey Brother
2013 song by Avicii
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| Source | Rating |
| Digital Spy | |
"Hey Brother" is a dance song by Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii from his debut studio album, True (2013). American bluegrass singer Dan Tyminski provides vocals for the track. It was written by Avicii, Ash Pournouri, Salem Al Fakir, Vincent Pontare and Veronica Maggio. "Hey Brother" sees Avicii giving his brother advice.
The song, which was the album's third single, was released to Australian radio on 9 October 2013 and later released on 28 October in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In April 2014, a version of the track remixed by Avicii himself was released on his remix album True (Avicii by Avicii), this time featuring new vocals from singer Salem Al Fakir.
01Music composition
The song is set to a tempo of 125 beats per minute, and the time signature is irregular, changing from common time to 6/4 at certain intervals. As to the key signature, it is set to B flat major.
02Lyric video
On 1 November 2013, the lyric video for "Hey Brother" was released onto YouTube by AviciiOfficialVEVO. The video is an assortment of stock footage clips in slow motion that depict everyday moments such as popcorn popping, a woman having a snack, and people playing basketball, accompanied by an animated text representation of the lyrics.
03Music video
The official music video, directed by Jesse Sternbaum, was released on 9 December 2013. Loosely based on Ron Franscell's 1998 literary novel Angel Fire, it follows two brothers growing up in wartime middle America. There are pictures and clips of the Vietnam War interspersed in the video. In the end, it is uncovered that the older brother, who is implied to have died in Vietnam, was in fact actually the younger's father, as the boy thought of him as the brother that he didn't have. It features two boys, the older boy played by Zach Voss and the younger boy played by Jack Estes. The end of the video shows Avicii walking through the grass while fireflies are flying around.
A music video was also released for the Avicii by Avicii version on 9 April 2014 on Avicii's VEVO page. The video was directed by Nick Fung and Nate Olson and features clips from the Cartoon Hangover web-series Bravest Warriors. The video was released as part of "Channel 4", a project by Avicii which had several songs from his True (Avicii by Avicii) album made into music videos by various YouTube filmmakers and animators, which included Joe Penna, Keshen8, and YoMama, as well as Cartoon Hangover.
04Track listing
- CD single
- "Hey Brother" (radio edit), 4:14
- "Hey Brother" (instrumental), 4:14
- Digital download, remixes
- "Hey Brother" (Syn Cole remix), 5:00
- "Hey Brother" (extended version), 5:30
- True (Avicii by Avicii)
- "Hey Brother (Avicii by Avicii)", 6:09
05Commercial performance
In the United Kingdom, after climbing for several weeks, "Hey Brother" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 15 December 2013 ― for the week ending dated 21 December 2013 ― being held off the top spot by Lily Allen's cover of "Somewhere Only We Know". It eventually spent 22 weeks in the top 40 ― 10 of which were in the top 10. In addition, "Hey Brother" peaked at the top of the UK Dance Chart. Including previous releases "I Could Be the One", "Wake Me Up" and "You Make Me", Avicii therefore reached the summit of the UK Dance Chart four times in 2013 alone. The song spent a total of six weeks at the top spot on the UK Dance Chart, ended by "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit featuring Jess Glynne.
In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 77 in December 2013. It continued climbing and rose to number 16 in March 2014, and reached a million in total sales that week. After Clear Channel personnel noticed the song's success at pop and adult pop radio, they asked Island Def Jam to craft a remix that showcases the song's instruments more prominently. Support for this remix enabled "Hey Brother" to debut, and peak, at number 59 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart in March 2014. The song would become Avicii's final song to hit the top 40 before his death in 2018.
06Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
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07Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 8× Platinum | 560,000‡ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria) | Platinum | 30,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA) | Platinum | 30,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) | 4× Diamond | 1,000,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 40,000* |
| Germany (BVMI) | 2× Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI) | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Netherlands (NVPI) | 3× Platinum | 60,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | 4× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway) | 5× Platinum | 50,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP) | Gold | 10,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae) | 2× Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF) | 7× Platinum | 280,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) | Platinum | 30,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 3× Platinum | 1,800,000 |
| United States (RIAA) | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000 |
| Streaming | ||
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | 3× Platinum | 5,400,000† |
| Spain (Promusicae) | Platinum | 8,000,000† |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
08Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 9 October 2013 | Contemporary hit radio | Universal Island |
| Austria | 28 October 2013 | CD single |
|
| Germany | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| United States | 18 November 2013 | Triple A radio | Universal Island |
| 19 November 2013 | Contemporary hit radio | ||
| Italy | 29 November 2013 | Universal | |
| United States | 10 December 2013 | Alternative radio | Universal Island |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Hey Brother”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Avicii Hey Brother.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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