Grace Kelly (song)

"Grace Kelly" is a song by English singer, Mika, released for download on January 9, 2007. It also appears on Mika's 2007 album Life in Cartoon Motion. Produced and mixed by Greg Wells, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number three (#3) and the UK Official Download Chart at number one (#1). One week later, it jumped to the top of the UK Singles Chart, despite still being available on downloads only. The track was number one in the UK Singles Chart for five weeks, and ended 2007 as the year's third biggest-selling single in that country. In the U.S., "Grace Kelly" was made available for digital download on January 16, 2007. This song was also #89 on MTV Asia 's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007. It was designed to be a mocking satire of musicians who try to reinvent themselves to be popular. It is titled after Grace Kelly, an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress, and Princess of Monaco. The bit of dialogue used in the song is from the film The Country Girl. Mika claims the song was inspired after a bad experience with a record company executive, in which he was told to be more like Craig David. The lyric "So I try a little Freddie" is a reference to Queen's Freddie Mercury, to whose singing voice Mika's has been compared. On at least one occasion, Mika confirmed that he used the main melody from Figaro's famous aria Largo al factotum in the opera The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini. Mika performed the song at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 in Munich and during the 2008 BRIT Awards at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London. The song has sold 540,000 copies in the UK as stated by the Official UK Charts company.

Other appearances
Rory Bremner recorded a parody version to illustrate the problems of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The song was featured in a season two episode of The Hills. It was also used in one episode of Ugly Betty's first season. It was used in a Turkish Coca-Cola advertisement and in an Israeli advertisement of "Misdar Zihoi". The chorus of the song is used on the Disney Cinemagic channel during a trailer. Different clips from various Disney films being aired on the channel that month are shown, with each clip reflecting a similar emotion to that being described in the chorus of the song.
 * The song is also used in cinematic trailers for the movies I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and The Ugly Truth. An instrumental version of the song has been used in the United Kingdom to promote the move of Australian soap, Neighbours, from BBC One to Five. Top 50 contestant of American Idol, Josiah Leming performed a rendition of the song in Hollywood for the judges, which received great praise. "Grace Kelly" is also featured as the opening song in What Happens in Vegas.... A version by Mika appears on the 2007 compilation album, The Saturday Sessions: The Dermot O'Leary Show. The song is used during the first episode of the British horror series Dead Set, as contestants in the Big Brother house party to it, oblivious to the zombie massacre occurring throughout the rest of the studio and eviction crowd. The song is used in Doctor Who: The Pirate Loop at the end when the pirate badgers and the other surviving crew are having a party. It was used in a series of Celebrity Big Brother UK when Cleo Rocos was shown her 'best bits'. It was used in the TV advertisement for Confessions of a Shopaholic. The chorus was used as the closing theme to the Spanish show Corazón de Otoño during Fall 2007 on TVE. The Whiffenpoofs performed the song on The Sing-Off on December 6, 2010. The song appears in the European DS version of Band Hero.

Music video
The music video for the song "Grace Kelly" was directed by Sophie Muller and starred Mika and Holly Muller. The video was filmed in early November 2006 and has been nominated for numerous worldwide awards. The instrumental introduction in the video is an extract of the acoustic version of the song found on certain releases of the album.

Tracklisting

 * Australian CD Single
 * 1) "Grace Kelly" – 3:08
 * 2) "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Radio Edit) – 3:20
 * 3) "Over My Shoulder" – 4:44
 * 4) "Grace Kelly" (Video)


 * UK CD Single
 * 1) "Grace Kelly" – 3:08
 * 2) "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Radio Edit) – 3:20
 * 3) "Over My Shoulder" – 4:44


 * Limited Edition 7" Vinyl
 * 1) "Grace Kelly" – 3:07
 * 2) "Satellite" – 4:15


 * UK 12" Vinyl
 * 1) "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Full Vocal Remix) – 6:46
 * 2) "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Dub Remix) – 6:40
 * 3) "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Full Vocal Remix) – 6:48
 * 4) "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Dub Remix) – 7:08

Official versions

 * "Grace Kelly" – 3:07
 * "Grace Kelly" (Acoustic Version) – 3:07
 * "Grace Kelly" (Bimbo Jones Remix Edit) – 3:00
 * "Grace Kelly" (Bimbo Jones Remix) - 6:26
 * "Grace Kelly" (Les Grandes Gueules Version) - 3:07
 * "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Radio Edit) – 3:20
 * "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Full Vocal Remix) – 6:46
 * "Grace Kelly" (Linus Loves Dub Remix) – 6:40
 * "Grace Kelly" (Pull Tiger Tail Remix) – 4:26
 * "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Full Vocal Remix) – 6:48
 * "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Dub Remix) – 7:08

Charts and certifications
It reached number one in the United Kingdom and in Ireland. In the U.S. market, it peaked at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.