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| Music | 3>
Written by Freddie Mercury, "We Are the Champions" was built on audience response, with Brian May stating; 'We wanted to get the crowds waving and singing. It’s very unifying and positive'.[8]
Musically, it is based around Mercury's piano part, with Roger Taylor and John Deacon providing a drums and bass guitar backing. May overdubbed some guitar sections, initially subtle, but building to a 'solo' played simultaneously with the last chorus. Mercury employed many jazz chords (major and minor 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th harmonies), and the choruses featured these voiced as 4 and 5-part vocal harmonies. The lead vocal is very demanding and strident (highest point is a C5 both belted and in falsetto), with one of Mercury's most notable performances taking place at the Live Aid concert, at Wembley Stadium, London in 1985.[9]
The single featured "We Will Rock You" as a B-side, and followed the song on the album. The two songs were often played consecutively at the close of Queen concerts, and are customarily played together on radio broadcasts (in album order).[2] Keeping with tradition, it was also used to close the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert with all the show's acts joining in behind the lead vocal of Liza Minnelli.[2]
[edit] | Tags:News Of The World,B-side,We Will Rock You,7,Cd Single,Genre,Rock,Label,Emi,Elektra,Writer(s),Freddie Mercury,Producer,Queen,Long Away,Spread Your Wings,Power Ballad,Uk Singles Chart,Grammy Hall Of Fame,Sony Ericsson,Anthem,1994 Fifa World Cup,Edit,Brian May,Roger Taylor,John Deacon,Live Aid,Wembley Stadium,Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert,Liza Minnelli,Billboard,Ireland,Netherlands,Norway,Germany,Austria,Sweden,1998 Fifa World Cup,Sales/shipments,Snep,Bpi,Riaa,Hank Marvin,Scatman John,J.b.o.,Champignons,Robbie Williams,May,Taylor,A Knight's Tale,Florent Pagny,David Hallyday,2,Das Oath,William Hung,Hung For The Holidays,Gavin Degraw,Killer Queen: A Tribute To Queen,Crazy Frog,Rick Rubin,Hollywood Records,Avenue Q,We Are The Champions,Muppets' Bohemian Rhapsody,Katie Waissel,The X Factor (uk Series 6),Mayday Parade,Punk Goes Classic Rock,The Voice,Cee Lo Green,Green Day,Live 8,The Bad Plus,Singer-songwriter,Angela Aki,Jonas Brothers,Adam Lambert,Kris Allen,Season 8,American Idol,Dame Dash,Kanye West,Young Chris,Beanie Sigel,Cam'ron,Twista,Christina Aguilera,Adam Levine,Blake Shelton,The Voice (u.s.),Formula One,Fernando Alonso,Jenson Button,Election,National Hockey League,Stanley Cup,Premier League,Pro Evolution Soccer 2,Taiko No Tatsujin,The Matrix: Path Of Neo,Lego Rock Band,High Fidelity,D2: The Mighty Ducks,What Happens In Vegas,Kicking & Screaming,Chicken Little,You Again,Happy Feet Two,Revenge Of The Nerds,South Park,The Mighty Ducks,The Simpsons,The War Of The Simpsons,Wild Barts Can't Be Broken,She Used To Be My Girl,The Sopranos,Drawn Together,Malcolm In The Middle,Hal,Stanley's Cup,So You Think You Can Dance,The Big Bang Theory,Angel,Robot Chicken,Glee,Nationals,The Graduation Album,Super Bowl Xli,Miami, Florida,New York Yankees,2009 World Series,Mariano Rivera,Downloadable Content,Guitar Hero World Tour,Guitar Hero 5,Rock Band 3,1981 World Series,Jay Johnstone,Jerry Reuss,Steve Yeager,Rick Monday,Los Angeles Dodgers,Solid Gold,Mickey Mouse,Donald Duck,Goofy,Disney,The X Factor,Delhi Commonwealth Games,The Million Dollar Kick,Un'estate Italiana,Edoardo Bennato, Chart performances | 3>
In 1977-1978, "We Are the Champions" was released as a single in many countries, reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.[3] number 4 on Billboard in the US.,[4] the top 10 in Ireland, Netherlands, and Norway, and top 15 in Germany, Austria and Sweden.[10][11]
In 1992, 1993 and 1998, the single was re-released in France, totalling 45 weeks on the chart and peaking respectively at #19, #14, and #10 during the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[11]
[edit] | Tags: Personnel | 3>
Freddie Mercury: lead vocals, piano, backing vocals
Brian May: electric guitar, backing vocals
John Deacon: bass guitar, backing vocals
Roger Taylor: drums, backing vocals
[edit] | Tags: Track listings | 3>
7" single (1977 release)
"We Are the Champions" — 3:00
"We Will Rock You" — 2:00
3" CD single (1988 release)
"We Are the Champions" — 3:02
"We Will Rock You" — 2:02
"Fat Bottomed Girls" — 3:23
CD single (1992 release)
"We Are the Champions" — 2:59
"We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions" — 5:00
[edit] | Tags: Charts and certifications | 3>
Chart (1977-78)
Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[11]
12
Dutch Top 40
2
German Singles Chart[11]
13
Irish Singles Chart[10]
3
Norwegian Singles Chart[11]
6
Swedish Singles Chart[11]
14
UK Singles Chart[3]
2
US Billboard Hot 100[4]
4
Chart (1993/94)
Peak
position
Dutch Mega Top 100[11]
27
French Singles Chart[11]
14
Chart (1998)
Peak
position
French Singles Chart[11]
10
Chart (2006)
Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Digital Songs[4]
61
End of year chart (1978)
Position
Austrian Singles Chart[12]
25
End of year chart (1998)
Position
French Singles Chart[13]
72
[edit] | Tags: Sales and certifications | 3>
Region
Certification
Sales/shipments
France (SNEP)[14]
Gold+Silver
789,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[15]
Gold
500,000^
United States (RIAA)[16]
Platinum
3,243,000[17]
Total sales:
4,532,000
*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone
[edit] | Tags: Cover versions and samplings | 2>
1992: Guitarist Hank Marvin performed an instrumental of "We Are the Champions" as a duet with Queen guitarist Brian May on Hank's 1992 album Into the Light.
1996: Musician Scatman John performed "We Are the Champions" along with other artists for the compilation Queen Dance Traxxx.[18]
1997: German band J.B.O. did a parody of the song, called "Wir sind die Champignons" (We are the champignons).[19]
2001: Robbie Williams on vocals with Queen (May/Taylor) for the soundtrack of the 2001 film A Knight's Tale.[20]
2001: Florent Pagny as duet with David Hallyday on his album 2.
2003: New York-based thrashcore band Das Oath covered the song for the album Über Alles.[21]
2003: Jean-Sébastien Lavoie, a contestant of French TV show Nouvelle Star, in 2003 (#38 in France and #53 in Switzerland),[22]
2004: William Hung for his album Hung for the Holidays.
2005: Gavin DeGraw the 2005 album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen.[23]
A cover version by Crazy Frog – "We Are the Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)" featuring Queen vocals was released in 2006 in time for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was popular (reaching #1 in France and being certified gold).[24]
The song was also sampled or parodied by producer Rick Rubin, who remixed the song for Hollywood Records.[25]
2010: The cast of the Off-Broadway musical Avenue Q performed covers of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" in a video spoof of the Muppets' "Bohemian Rhapsody".[26]
2010 Katie Waissel sang it on The X Factor (UK Series 6) for her audtion.
2010: Mayday Parade on the album Punk Goes Classic Rock.
2012 Tony Vincent performed We Are The Champions on The Voice (Season 2). Cee Lo Green was so impressed with Vincent's rendition that he snatched him up for his Team (TeamCeeLo) and commented that Freddie Mercury would have been proud.
[edit] | Tags: Live performances | 2>
Green Day at Live 8 in 2005.[27]
The Bad Plus (jazz cover in Blunt Object: Live in Tokyo, 2005)
Japanese singer-songwriter Angela Aki in her 2006 concert,
The Jonas Brothers, and the entire tour crew at their final concert for the When You Look Me in the Eyes tour.
Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, in the season 8 finale of American Idol, on 20 May 2009.[28]
German parody rock band J.B.O. for "Wir sind die Champignons" (Ger: "We Are the Mushrooms"), in 1997.
The song was sampled by Dame Dash, Kanye West, Young Chris, Beanie Sigel, Cam'ron and Twista for their song, "Champions".
In 2011 Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine & Blake Shelton covered this song at The Voice (U.S.).[29]
[edit] | Tags: Uses in popular culture | 2>
The song has been regularly played to celebrate sports victories. Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button have both sung the song after crossing the finish line to become world drivers champions. Various politicians around the world have played this as a victory song after winning an election. In the National Hockey League when a team wins the Stanley Cup, as well as the Premier League when a team wins the league, the song is always played.
The song can be heard in many music video games (Guitar Hero: On Tour series, Pro Evolution Soccer 2, Taiko no Tatsujin series, The Matrix: Path of Neo and Lego Rock Band), films (including High Fidelity, D2: The Mighty Ducks, What Happens in Vegas, A Knight's Tale, Kicking & Screaming, Chicken Little, You Again, Happy Feet Two and Revenge of the Nerds), and TV series (including South Park, The Mighty Ducks trilogy, three episodes of The Simpsons (in "The War of the Simpsons", "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken" and "She Used to Be My Girl"), Season 5 of The Sopranos, Drawn Together, Malcolm in the Middle where Hal shows his skating abilities, South Park episode "Stanley's Cup", So You Think You Can Dance in 2007, The Big Bang Theory, Angel, and a Robot Chicken episode called "Unionizing Our Labor"). In May 2012, the song was performed on Glee in the episode Nationals, and features in The Graduation Album.[30]
The song was also used as the introductory music prior to Prince's halftime TV performance at Super Bowl XLI on 4 February 2007 in Miami, Florida. When the New York Yankees won the 2009 World Series, the song played as soon as Mariano Rivera got the last out. The song also features as downloadable content on the multiplatform music video games, Guitar Hero World Tour, Guitar Hero 5, & re-issued in a RB3 Version for Rock Band 3. After the 1981 World Series, Jay Johnstone, Jerry Reuss, Steve Yeager, and Rick Monday of the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers released a cover version of "We Are the Champions", which they later performed on Solid Gold, the syndicated music television program.
This song, along with "We Will Rock You", was part of a two song medley sung by Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy on Disney's album Mickey Sports Songs.[31]
The song was covered by Katie Waissel during the first live show of the 2010 UK The X Factor. The song was also performed as part of the Closing Ceremony of the Delhi Commonwealth Games. The song was featured in the novel The Million Dollar Kick when Whisper makes the million-dollar goal.
[edit] | Tags: Catchiest song ever | 2>
In 2011, a team of scientific researchers concluded that the song was the catchiest song in the history of pop music. Dr. Daniel Mullensiefen said of the study, "Every musical hit is reliant on maths, science, engineering and technology; from the physics and frequencies of sound that determine pitch and harmony, to the hi-tech digital processors and synthesisers which can add effects to make a song more catchy. We’ve discovered that there’s a science behind the sing-along and a special combination of neuroscience, maths and cognitive psychology can produce the elusive elixir of the perfect sing-along song."[7]
[edit] | Tags: See also | 2>
"We Are the Winners"
Preceded by
"Un'estate italiana"
by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini
FIFA World Cup theme song
with
Gloryland by Daryl Hall
1994
Succeeded by
"The Cup of Life" by Ricky Martin
and
"Together Now"
by Jean Michel Jarre and Tetsuya Komuro
[edit] | Tags: References | 2>
^ BRITs 25 Song Award: We Are The Champions - Queen BBC Retrieved 21 January 2011
^ a b c d We Are the Champions: Song Review All Music Retrieved 21 January 2011
^ a b c UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
^ a b c d Billboard allmusic.com (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
^ Grammy Hall of Fame Award Grammy.org Retrieved 21 April 2011
^ Haines, Lester (29 September 2005) 'We Are The Champions' voted world's fave song (Sony Ericsson world music poll) Retrieved 21 April 2011
^ a b We Are The Champions voted catchiest pop song of all time... by scientists, The Daily Mail, September 29, 2011
^ For the first time ever...Queen: Ten great hits from the sensational rock band Mail Online Retrieved 21 January 2011
^ Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury BBC News Retrieved 22 January 2011
^ a b Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
^ a b c d e f g h i "We Are the Champions", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
^ 1978 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
^ 1998 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
^ "Les Certifications depuis 1973" (in French). Infodisc.fr. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 29 March 2012id=To access, user must select "Queen" in the search bar and click "OK"..
^ "British certifications – Queen – We Are the Champions". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 29 March 2012. Enter We Are the Champions in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Click Go
^ "American certifications – Queen – We Are the Champions". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22We+Are+the+Champions%22. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ Grein, Paul (2010-09-24). "Chart Watch Extra: Songs From The Last Century". Nielsen Business Media. Yahoo! Music. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/66353/chart-watch-extra-songs-from-the-last-century/. Retrieved 2012-03-29.
^ Steffen Hung. "Queen Dance Traxxx" germancharts.com.
^ J.B.O - Laut! Musik Sammler.de
^ "Soundtrack for "A Knight's Tale". Internet Movie Database.
^ Das Oath - Uber Alles Terminal Nation.
^ "We Are the Champions" by Jean-Sébastien Lavoie, French and Swiss singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 29 July 2008)
^ Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen Allmusic. Retrieved 11 July 2011
^ "We Are the Champions (Ding a Dang Dong)", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved 16 December 2007)
^ The Rick Rubin Remixes Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 July 2011
^
Avenue Q responds to Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody Chicago now.com
^ Live 8 accounts: Berlin BBC. Retrieved 11 July 2011
^ Kaufman, Gil (20 May 2009). "Kris Allen, Adam Lambert Tear Up Queen's 'We Are The Champions' – News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1611896/20090520/queen.jhtml. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
^ 'The Voice': Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green Perform Queen Medley The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 March 2012
^ "Glee: The Music, The Graduation Album". Official Music for Glee. Columbia Records. Retrieved 18 May 2012
^ Mickey Sports Songs Allmusic. Retrieved 11 July 2011
v
t
e
Queen singles discography
Queen
"Keep Yourself Alive"
"Liar"
Queen II
"Seven Seas of Rhye"
Sheer Heart Attack
"Killer Queen"/"Flick of the Wrist"
"Now I'm Here"
"Lily of the Valley"
A Night at the Opera
"Bohemian Rhapsody"
"You're My Best Friend"
"Love of My Life"
A Day at the Races
"Somebody to Love"
"Tie Your Mother Down"
"Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)"
"Long Away"
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"
News of the World
"We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You"
"Spread Your Wings"
"It's Late"
Jazz
"Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls"
"Don't Stop Me Now"
"Jealousy"
"Mustapha"
The Game
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
"Save Me"
"Play the Game"
"Another One Bites the Dust"
"Need Your Loving Tonight"
Flash Gordon
"Flash"
Hot Space
"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie)
"Back Chat"
"Las Palabras de Amor"
"Calling All Girls"
"Staying Power"
"Body Language"
The Works
"Radio Ga Ga"
"I Want to Break Free"
"It's a Hard Life"
"Hammer to Fall"
A Kind of Magic
"One Vision"
"A Kind of Magic"
"Princes of the Universe"
"Friends Will Be Friends"
"Pain Is So Close to Pleasure"
"Who Wants to Live Forever"
"One Year of Love"
The Miracle
"I Want It All"
"Breakthru"
"The Invisible Man"
"Scandal"
"The Miracle"
Innuendo
"Innuendo"
"I'm Going Slightly Mad"
"Headlong"
"I Can't Live With You"
"The Show Must Go On"
"These Are the Days of Our Lives"
Made in Heaven
"Heaven for Everyone"
"A Winter's Tale"
"I Was Born to Love You"
"Too Much Love Will Kill You"
"Let Me Live"
"You Don't Fool Me"
Queen Rocks
"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
Greatest Hits III
"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"
Non-album singles
"Thank God It's Christmas"
"Another One Bites the Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)"
"We Will Rock You" (with Five)
"We Are the Champions" (with Robbie Williams)
"Flash (Vanguard Mix)"
"Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes)"
"Bohemian Rhapsody" (with the Muppets)
Queen + Paul Rodgers
"Reaching Out/Tie Your Mother Down (Live at Sheffield)"
"We Will Rock You (Live at Hyde Park)"
"Say It's Not True"
"C-lebrity"
"We Believe"
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Categories: Queen (band) songs1977 singles1978 singlesGrammy Hall of Fame Award recipientsPatriotic songsRock balladsSongs written by Freddie MercuryHidden categories: Use British English from September 2011Use dmy dates from September 2011Certification Table Entry usages for FranceCertification Table Entry usages for United KingdomCertification Table Entry usages for United States
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| Tags: News Of The World,B-side,Websites related to: Crazy Frog |