2002 single by Chad Kroeger and Josey Scott
"Hero " is a song by Canadian musician
Chad Kroeger (lead vocalist of
Nickelback ) and American musician
Josey Scott (then lead vocalist of
Saliva ) for
the soundtrack to the 2002 superhero film
Spider-Man . It was written by Kroeger and recorded specifically for the film.
[4] "Hero" was released through
Roadrunner Records on March 1, 2002, as the soundtrack's lead single.
[5] The song serves as Kroeger's debut solo release.
There are two widely-available versions of the song: one with an orchestral background and one without. Mike Kroeger (bassist of Nickelback),
Tyler Connolly (lead singer/guitarist of
Theory of a Deadman ), and
Matt Cameron (drummer of
Soundgarden and
Pearl Jam ) appear on the recording. In addition to its digital release, "Hero" was distributed internationally in various CD single and
maxi single formats. Theory of a Deadman's "Invisible Man" was included on many of these releases.
"Hero" experienced worldwide commercial success, peaking in the top 10 of record charts in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The song also topped the US Billboard
Mainstream Rock and
Modern Rock airplay charts. It was nominated for
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media ,
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal , and
Best Rock Song at the
45th Grammy Awards (2003).
[6]
Background
The song was the result of a collaboration between Kroeger and Scott. Scott told
Yahoo! 's entertainment news service LAUNCH , "(Kroeger) had the idea for the song 'Hero,' so I came up to
Vancouver and met him. He pitched me the idea, and I thought that was pretty dope. Real dope. So we sort of tweaked it, together, laid down some
harmonies on it, and played everything from congas to acoustics on it."
Matt Cameron, who played drums on the recording, did not appear in the music video and cited "family issues" as the reason. Our Lady Peace drummer
Jeremy Taggart appeared in his place, performing along to Cameron's drum track.
[7]
Alice in Chains guitarist
Jerry Cantrell was originally picked to play the guitar solo (later played by Tyler Connolly
[8] ), but he pulled out.
[1] He did, however, contribute to the soundtrack with the song "She Was My Girl", from his solo album
Degradation Trip .
[9]
Music video
The music video consists of the group, except for Matt Cameron, performing on a building's rooftop purportedly in New York City, with footage of the movie spliced in between, and was directed by
Nigel Dick . It was filmed in
Vancouver ,
British Columbia on March 24, 2002, and premiered on March 28.
[7]
The song has won
Best Video from a Film at the 2002
MTV Video Music Awards .
[10]
Critical reception
Reviewing the song for
NME , Imran Ahmed was critical of Kroeger's "predictability" and drew a strong comparison to "
How You Remind Me ", Nickelback's 2001 international breakthrough, calling the formula for both "Commercial
grunge +
MOR sensibility =
Nu -MOR hit."
[11]
Chart performance
The song was a cross-genre hit in mid-2002, peaking at number one on the
Billboard Modern Rock and Mainstream Rock charts, number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 , and also winning considerable airplay at pop radio, peaking at number two and five, respectively, on the
Mainstream Top 40 and
Adult Top 40 charts.
Track listings
Digital download (single)
[5] Title Writer(s) 1. "Hero" 3:20
Digital download (album version)
[12] Title Writer(s) 1. "Hero" (motion picture version) 3:19
CD single
[13] Title Writer(s) 1. "Hero" (motion picture version) 3:19 2. "Hero" (radio version) 3:09 3. "Invisible Man" 2:40 Total length: 9:08
Personnel
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
^
a
b
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^
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^ Josie, Bailey Jo (December 5, 2020).
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^
a
b
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^
a
b
c
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^
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^
a
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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cite web }}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (
link )
^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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^
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External links
Singles Featured singles Related articles
Todd Poole
Chris D'Abaldo
Josey Scott
Jonathan Montoya
Dave Novotny
Paul Crosby
Wayne Swinny
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