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Keep Holding On

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"Keep Holding On"
Song

"Keep Holding On" is a power ballad recorded by Avril Lavigne and is the theme song for the film Eragon (2006). It also appears as the last track on Lavigne's third album, The Best Damn Thing,[6][7] which was released on April 17, 2007. Lavigne has described the rest of the album as being upbeat and heavy in comparison to "Keep Holding On". Originally, an alternate version was to be included, but the original version made it instead.

The song was written by Lavigne and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald; Luke also produced the single. It was the first single from the soundtrack and premiered on radio stations across North America in November 2006 (see 2006 in music).[8] "Keep Holding On" was one of the songs short-listed for the "Best Original Song" category at the 79th Academy Awards, but it was not among the final nominees. The song was also ranked on the iTunes Australia top 500 at 403. [2]

Background and composition

"Keep Holding On" was written by Lavigne and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald. Dr. Luke also produced the song. The strings were arranged by Patrick Doyle, who composed the Eragon soundtrack. The song was recorded on 2006.[9] According to the sheetmusic published at musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is composed in the key of G major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 56 beats per minute. Lavigne vocal range spans from F#3 to D5.[10]

Reception

Commercial

"Keep Holding On" reached number two for four weeks on the Canadian BDS Airplay Chart, being kept off the top spot by Nelly Furtado's "Say It Right". It became her highest-peaking airplay single there since "Complicated" which peaked at #1 for 1 week in 2002. It peaked within the top 20 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart, peaking at #17, and the top 10 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks format chart. This feat is particularly impressive considering no official music video was made to promote it. It was not released in most of Europe, although it got to #9 in Slovakia, #27 in the Czech Republic and #32 in Latvia. The single was one of the first to be issued as a digital-only release in Australia, where it charted at #5 on the Top 40 Digital Tracks chart. It was also certified Gold by the RIAA on February 22, 2007 and Platinum on January 31, 2008.[11] As of July 2013, "Keep Holding On" had sold 1,505,000 digital copies in the USA.[12]

Critical

The song has been well received by music critics, with Billboard describing it as a "gorgeous song" in which Lavigne seems to be "set to remain for the long term".[13] Darryl Sterdan of JAM! described the song as "A strummed guitar, lush strings and a soaring vocal about love and loyalty". He went on to compare it to "a sweeping Alanis-like ballad". Despite this, Sterdan advises the reader to skip the track.[14] Sal Cinquemani of Slant magazine described the song as "sullen".[15] Entertainment Weekly was negative: "And: I will only have like 3 slow songs on the record. Yay!! Yay, indeed, given how little heart she's invested in that trio of limpid ballads, including Keep Holding On, a.k.a. the love theme from Eragon."[16] Stylus described "“Keep Holding On” ends the album for the same reason graduation ends high school: because after all that, Hallmark means something."[17] Dave Donnely praised the picking: "‘Keep Holding On’ is a stay-over from the Lord of the Eragons soundtrack, a pop ballad which demonstrates his gift for spotting and isolating great melodies."[3] PopMatters stated that this song tries to match "I'm With You" but it fails.[18]

In an AOL Radio listener's poll, "Keep Holding On" was voted Lavigne's fifth best song.[19]

Cover versions and samples

The song was used in the season 2 finale of the American television series Ghost Whisperer.[20] An arrangement of it was sung by the cast of Glee in the episode "Throwdown" in October 2009.[21] This song was also covered by Spectacular! & Victorious's Victoria Justice. The song is also sung by eliminated cast members of the show The Glee Project at the end of each episode. For Children in Need 2011, this song was sung by choirs all over the UK in unison to raise money. This led the song to re-enter the UK top 200 chart at no.141. Allen Jane Sta Maria performed this song on the X Factor Philippines Boyce Avenue

Track listing

Australia and Europe CD promo
No.TitleLength
1."Keep Holding On"3:59
Japan CD promo
No.TitleLength
1."Keep Holding On"3:59
2."Keep Holding On" (instrumental)4:03
United States CD promo
No.TitleLength
1."Keep Holding On"3:59
2."Keep Holding On" (callout hook)0:10

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Digital Singles Chart[22] 5
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[23] 14
Czech IFPI Chart[24] 27
Romanian Top 100[25] 51
Slovakian Singles Chart 9
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 17
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[27] 18
US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[28] 3
Chart (2007) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 175
Chart (2011) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 141

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[29] Platinum 40,000*
United States (RIAA)[30] Platinum 0*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards

Year Awards ceremony Award Results
2008 Socan Awards[19] Best Pop Song Won

References

  1. ^ http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=69239#2006
  2. ^ http://www.pianofacile.com/partie-pratique/avril-lavigne-keep-holding-on/
  3. ^ a b http://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/11736/Avril-Lavigne-The-Best-Damn-Thing/
  4. ^ Canadian Recording Industry Association (February, 2007). "Gold & Platinum Certifications CRIA Digital Download". cria.ca. Retrieved December 19, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Music Remedy (February 24, 2007). "Avril Lavigne: Keep Holding On / Music Video / MP3 Song". Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  6. ^ Luciana Maria Sanches (January 31, 2007). "Disco novo de Avril Lavigne já tem data; cantora comenta". Omelete. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  7. ^ Starpulse Entertainment News Blog (January 30, 2007). "Avril Lavigne Announces Release of Third Album". Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  8. ^ http://www.mmr247.com/mmrweb/allaccess
  9. ^ The Best Damn Thing liner notes. Arista Records (2007)
  10. ^ "Avril Lavigne Keep Holding On – Digital Sheet Music". Music Notes. Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
  11. ^ Recording Industry Association of America (February 22, 2007). "Keep Holding On - Certifications". Retrieved December 18, 2010.
  12. ^ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/1569263/ask-billboard-why-do-some-songs-fade-out-and-others-end-cold?page=0%2C3
  13. ^ Billboard Magazine (February 22, 2007). "Keep Holding On - Billboard Review". Retrieved 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ Darryl Sterdan (14 April 2007). "Jam! Review". Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  15. ^ Sal Cinquemani (April 15, 2007). "Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 11, 2010.
  16. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20034631,00.html
  17. ^ http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/avril-lavigne/the-best-damn-thing.htm
  18. ^ http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/avril-lavigne-the-best-damn-thing/
  19. ^ a b Cheung, Nadine. "Top 10 Avril Lavigne Songs". AOL Radio. Archived from the original on 15 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
  20. ^ Heard On TV (May 17, 2007). "Music from Ghost Whisperer - The Gathering". Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  21. ^ Tim Stack (October 9, 2009). "'Glee' Exclusive: Watch the cast cover Avril Lavigne's 'Keep Holding On'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  22. ^ [1] ARIA Report 884. Retrieved 2012-12-1
  23. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  24. ^ Czech Republic Airplay (May, 2006). "Keep Holding On Runs on Czech IFPI Chart". ifpicr.cz. Retrieved December 19, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Romanian Top 100 (September 2007). "Keep Holding On Runs on Romanian Top 100". Retrieved December 19, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  27. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  28. ^ "Avril Lavigne Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-02-26.
  29. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Keep Holding On". Music Canada.
  30. ^ "American single certifications – Avril Lavigne – Keep Holding On". Recording Industry Association of America.
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