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Lithium (Evanescence song)

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"Lithium"
Song

"Lithium" is the second single from Evanescence's sophomore studio album The Open Door.

Originally to be released in the UK on December 4, 2006,[1] new dates were later set, with a release in the UK on January 8, 2007,[2] and in Australia on January 15.[3] No U.S. date has yet been made available.

Evanescence's song is not a cover of the Nirvana song Lithium.

Story Behind the Song

In an interview with MTV Italy Amy Lee says:

It's not literal, it's not literal about the drug for me, I've never taken lithium before. It's sort of a metaphor about numbness and happiness and sort of like, it's me looking at happiness in a negative way because I've always been, you know, kind of afraid to be happy. Like with the band and the art and everything else, it's always like I'm never letting myself break through into the happiness it seems like, because it's not cool or something. And describing happiness is lithium, it's like saying 'that's numbness, I won't be able to be an artist anymore if I'm happy', which is hilarious because that's just not true, I'm happy. So it's like this fight within the song of like 'do I do this and get out of here and get happy or do I wallow in it like I always do?' and it's cool because at the end of the song I say 'I'm going to let it go', like I am going to be happy.

— Amy Lee, MTV Italy[4]

Lee also previously stated in an interview with VH1 that she wrote the chorus on the guitar when she was about 16, later filling in the verses while writing The Open Door.[5]

File:Lithiumlight.jpg
Lee in white representing happiness.

Music Video

The music video for "Lithium" was directed by Paul Fedor, and shot between October 31 and November 1, 2006. The video is set in a snowy forest and features two versions of Amy Lee representing the emotions of sorrow and happiness. Lee revisits Bring Me to Life and Going Under in the scenes where she lies down and sings underwater, respectively.

In reference to the video, Lee has been quoted saying:

There's the me in all white and it's really wintry, and then there's the all-in-black Amy under the surface of the water of this lake in the forest. So it's the happiness and the sorrow and we're almost singing to each other, trying to figure out how both of us can work.

— Amy Lee, MTV News[6]

After its release on MuchMusic.com exclusively to Canadian audiences on November 24, 2006, the video was ripped and placed on several other sites, such as YouTube and MySpace. The video was subsequently removed from MuchMusic.com, but later restored on December 4. Wind-up Records officially released the video on Evanescence's website on November 27,[7] and was released on iTunes December 19.

The video clip debuted on the Greek Music Video Channel MAD TV in number 2 in early December staying there for almost a month, as it's still in that position (week 1/1-7/1). It also debuted in number 26 of the Canadian MuchMusic Top 30.

Track listing

  • Single (Part 1)
  1. "Lithium"
  2. "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"
  • Maxi (Part 2)
  1. "Lithium"
  2. "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"
  3. "All That I'm Living For" (Acoustic version)
  4. "Lithium" (Video/Acoustic version)
  • 7" Vinyl Picture Disc
  1. "Lithium"
  2. "The Last Song I'm Wasting On You"

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
Poland Singles Chart 19
Spanish Los 40 Principales [8] 20
Sweden Singles Top 60 Chart 23
U.K. Singles Top 75 32
Swiss Singles Top 100 Chart 40
Austria Singles Top 75 45
Germany Singles Top 100 Chart 45
Greece Singles Top 50 Chart [9] 16

References

  1. ^ "New single details!". EvanescenceUK.co.uk. 2006-11-01. Retrieved 2006-11-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Singles: Lithium (2007)". HMV.co.uk. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  3. ^ "Lithium (Enhanced)". Herald Sun HiT. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  4. ^ "Tutto su Evanescence". MTV.it. 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2006-10-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Bottomley, C. (2006-09-18). "Evanescence: Amy Lee Explains the New Songs". VH1.com. Retrieved 2006-11-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Moss, Corey (2006-11-02). "After Facing Big Bad Wolf, Amy Lee Faces Herself In Evanescence Clip". MTV News via VH1.com. Retrieved 2006-11-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "New "Lithium" Video". Evanescence.com. 2006-11-27. Retrieved 2006-11-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Los 40 Listas". Los40.com. Retrieved 2007-01-14.
  9. ^ "Greek Top 50". IFPI Greece. Retrieved 2007-01-11.


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