Awakening (song)

"Awakening"
Single by Switchfoot from the album Oh! Gravity.
Released	2007
Format	CD
Recorded	2006
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	4:08
Label	Columbia/Sony BMG
Writer	Jon Foreman
Producer	Steve Lillywhite
Switchfoot singles chronology
"Oh! Gravity." (2006) "Awakening" (2007) "Head Over Heels (In This Life)" (2007)

Awakening is the second single off Switchfoot's sixth studio album, Oh! Gravity.. The single was released to radio in March 2007. It hit Hot AC radio stations with an impact day of March 26, 2007. It was also slated for release to Top 40, Alternative, and Active Rock stations, [1] but saw virtually no play on any of those formats. About the song itself, singer/songwriter Jon Foreman said, "Perhaps to be truly reborn death is not optional. Here’s a firsthand story about new life, it always starts at the bottom."

Music Video

A music video for this song was filmed February 28, 2007 in Toronto, one of the stops on the band's Winter/Spring Tour.^[1] Brandon Dickerson (director of You Already Take Me There and New Way to Be Human videos^[2]) directed the Awakening music video. It was released Thursday, April 5 on the band's podcast account on Youtube. The official release date for the music video was Tuesday, April 10th. It premiered on the band's official website. The video is different from the band's previous videos because the video is not overtly related to the song or the meaning of the song. It is also different in the fact that the band funded the video out of their own pockets, without support from their record label. The Awakening music video mainly focuses on two men (Tony Hale and Adam Campbell), who first step out of an elevator and play a cardboard version of Guitar Hero in their rooms. As they play, they are lip-syncing the words to the song. Later on in the video, a woman (Jayma Mays) is seen playing Dance Dance Revolution. The only clips of the band playing the song in live action are shown early in the video as the guitars kick in (although Jon is seen playing Guitar Hero). The band members are shown on a cardboard television during the video as well, and are made to look like cardboard cut outs.

Promotion

Switchfoot's Columbia/Sony BMG label put out very little support for the single. The video was completely funded by the band, with no help from the label, and by all accounts, the radio single was not promoted to radio stations at all. Switchfoot and Sony parted ways shortly after the release of this single. In response to this lack of support, the band's fans took it upon themselves to help promote the video in a more grassroots way. The blogspot website We're Awakening was created to try to promote the song.

Public and critical response

• On Youtube, "Awakening" has reached as high as the 67th "most linked to" entertainment video of all time on the site, and was the 71st "most linked to" as of October 23rd, 2007.^[3]
• The official YouTube music video reached over 1,000,000 views in under three months,[2]. Despite its success, the record company (Sony BMG) failed to capitalize, leading to major disappointment among the band's fans and musical enthusiasts alike.
• "Awakening" Hit FUSE TV's No. 1 Countdown as the top "Guilty Pleasure," knocking out Evanescence's Sweet Sacrifice, and retaining the top spot for 4 months. It was retired September 18, 2007.
• The song peaked at #54 on Hot AC Radio.
• The song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart.
• The song was #37 on the Billboard Year-End Christian Songs Chart.

References

External links

• Music video
• "Making Awakening"
• Interview with Brandon Dickerson