Major General James G. Blunt

"High" is the debut single of British singer James Blunt and Ricky Ross for Blunt's debut album, Back to Bedlam. The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth. It was released in October 2004 and failed to make an impact on the UK Singles Chart, peaking outside the top 75. Following the success of Blunt's second single, "You're Beautiful", "High" was re-released in late 2005 and became a top-20 hit worldwide, charting at number three in Italy and at number 16 in the UK.

Release

The single was released initially on two physical formats. CD1 includes an exclusive non-album recording titled "Sugar Coated", which was written by Blunt and Sacha Skarbek. CD2 also includes two exclusive non-album recordings, entitled "This Twilight Garden" and "Play", as well as two remixes of "High". The re-issue of the single was released on three physical formats. CD1 includes a live recording of "In a Little While", a popular song by U2. The recording was made on 5 August 2005 at the BBC Radio 1 Unleashed Music Festival in Cornwall. CD2 includes an exclusive US radio session of "You're Beautiful", plus the video and making-of footage for "High". The 7" Vinyl includes an exclusive track entitled "Butterfly".[1]

Chart performance

On 18 October 2004, "High" was released in the United Kingdom. The song failed to make an impact on the singles chart, peaking at a low 148. It was re-released in the UK on 3 October 2005. The song became Blunt's third top-20 single when it peaked at number 16 on the singles chart, and spent a total of 12 weeks in the top 75. The re-release appeared on the singles chart a week before the physical release was released, backed by the strength of its digital download sales, charting at number 74. The following week it climbed 58 places on the chart, rising to number 16. Outside of the UK, the song was also successful. It reached number three in Italy and became Blunt's first top ten single. "High" also went top ten 20 in Austria, Ireland and Switzerland. In the United States, the song debuted at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Blunt's third single to chart within the top 100. In Canada, "High" reached number 66 on the BDS Airplay chart.

Music videos

Blunt has made two music videos for "High". The first video, which is associated with the first release as a single, shows him buried in a desert and then chasing an illusional girl while drunk^[a] . In the video for the re-release of "High", Blunt is sitting on a plastic chair in a warehouse-like room, playing the guitar and singing the song; these scenes are intercut with scenes where Blunt is running in a forest.[2]

Track listings

2004 release

  1. "High" – 4:03
  2. "Sugar Coated" – 3:56

2005–2006 release

Personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Italy — 30,000[23]
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "High [3trx]: James Blunt: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  2. ^ "James Blunt - High (Official Music Video)".
  3. ^ "James Blunt – High". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  4. ^ "James Blunt – High" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  5. ^ "James Blunt Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. ^ "James Blunt Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  7. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200622 into search. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  8. ^ "James Blunt – High" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  9. ^ "Nielsen Music Control Airplay – Germany Top 5". Nielsen Music Control on behalf of BVMI. Archived from the original on 7 February 2006. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  10. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – James Blunt". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  11. ^ "James Blunt – High". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  13. ^ "James Blunt – High". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  15. ^ "James Blunt Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  16. ^ "James Blunt Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  17. ^ "James Blunt Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  18. ^ "James Blunt Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Pop 100". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 24. 17 June 2006. p. 72.
  20. ^ "Classifiche annuali 2005 FIMI Nielsen, dominano gli artisti italiani" (in Italian). FIMI. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2021. Click on Scarica l'allegato.
  21. ^ "Brazilian Top 100 Year-End 2006". Crowley Broadcast Analysis. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Le cifre di vendita" (PDF). Musica e dischi. January 2006. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  24. ^ "British single certifications – James Blunt – High". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_(James_Blunt_song)