"Bring Me to Life" is the debut single by American rock band
Evanescence from their debut studio album, Fallen (2003). It was released by
Wind-up as the album's lead single on January 13, 2003, following its inclusion in
the soundtrack of the film Daredevil. The song was written by
Amy Lee when she was 19 about having been desensitized in an abusive relationship and realizing things she had been missing in life. Guitarist
Ben Moody and
David Hodges also share songwriting credits on the song, which features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band
12 Stones. Produced by
Dave Fortman, "Bring Me to Life" is primarily a
nu metal song. The male vocals, which are
rapped, were forced by the label against Lee's wishes in order to market it in the musical landscape of the time.
The song received a generally positive reception, with critics praising Lee's vocals and melody. It became a commercial success, reaching number five on the US
Billboard Hot 100 and charting in the top ten of over 20 countries. One of Evanescence's most commercially successful songs, it was certified triple-platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America in 2019. "Bring Me to Life" won the
Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance and was also nominated for
Best Rock Song. Directed by
Philipp Stölzl, the music video shows Lee singing and climbing on a skyscraper while having nightmares in her room. The song was re-worked and re-recorded on Evanescence's
orchestral-
electronica fourth studio album, Synthesis (2017).
Composition and recording
Lee wrote "Bring Me to Life" at age 19,[1] after a then-acquaintance (who later became her husband) asked her if she was happy; Lee was in an abusive relationship and in turmoil, and was shocked the person saw through her facade as she felt she "was completely outwardly acting normal". "I felt like he could just see straight into my soul. That inspired the whole song", she explained.[2][3][4] The song is about "open-mindedness" and "waking up to all the things you've been missing for so long". After the moment that inspired her to write it, she "realized that for months I'd been numb, just going through the motions of life."[5][6] In 2022, Lee noted that she was finding her voice lyrically while making the album, realizing "how the more honest I was, the more powerful I felt"; the song was "in a broader way about breaking free from something I knew I had the power to if I was brave enough", and represented "true desires, unspoken frustrations and fears, standing up to the bullshit around me [that] I was just on the cusp of being able to defeat".[4] It expressed a "cry for help", while "
Going Under", which she wrote after "Bring Me to Life", was the next stage of her "coming to the realization that I was going to stand up for myself and make a change."[7][8]
Moody and David Hodges share writing credits on the track.[9] With pressure from the label to refine its production, Evanescence ultimately made around 10 demos of the song, which included changing the synths for the opening piano part, and the addition of real strings by
David Campbell, an "expense" Lee "fought hard for over a less expensive synthetic alternative".[4][7]
"Bring Me to Life" is stylistically a
nu metal-
rap rock song.[12][13][14] In order to market it, the label forced them to add the male rapping vocal, which Lee did not want, or the song and album would not be released.[18] The male vocal on the song was a compromise after the label originally demanded they include a rap on eight of the songs on the album.[8] During an interview, Lee stated: "It was presented to me as, 'You're a girl singing in a rock band, there's nothing else like that out there, nobody's going to listen to you. You need a guy to come in and sing back-up for it to be successful.'"[19] Lee wrote Paul McCoy's part.[20] On the chorus, Lee sings the lines "'Call my name and save me from the dark' over "surging guitars",[21] and McCoy raps the lines "Wake me up/ I can't wake up/ Save me!".[13][22] The song is set in
common time and performed in a moderate
tempo of 95 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E minor, and Lee's vocal range for the song runs from the low note of
A3 to the high note of
D5.[23]
Rolling Stone's Kirk Miller said that the song is stylistically a "case of mistaken identity", dooming the band to
Linkin Park comparisons "thanks to [its] digital beats, clean metal-guitar riffs, scattered piano lines and all-too-familiar mix of rapping and singing."[24] Blair R. Fischer of
MTV called it a "ubiquitous rap-rock confection".[13] Richard Harrington from The Washington Post described its sound as "crunching metallic".[25]Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times said that "with its lyrical drama and crunchy guitars, [the song] branded the band as overdone
nu-metal."[26] "Bring Me to Life" has also been classified as
hard rock,[27]alternative rock,[28] and
Blender writer Nick Catucci described it as a "crossover
goth-metal smash".[29] Nick Catucci of The Village Voice wrote that "piano tinkles, Lee's breathless keen, dramatic pauses, guitars like clouds of locusts, [and] McCoy's passing-12-kidney-stones guest vocals" characterize the song, which "sounds like church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal."[30] Vik Bansal of
musicOMH said the track contains "Lee's temptress vocals, pseudo-electronic beats à la Linkin Park, understated but menacing metallic riffs in the background, and a ripping, radio-friendly rock chorus."[31]MTV described it as "an unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate before piling on crumpled guitar lines and a rap" while "Lee's vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture".[6]
Release
"Bring Me to Life" first appeared in a scene of the film Daredevil and was included on the
film's soundtrack, released in February 2003. The song was released as Fallen's first single on April 7, 2003.[4]Wind-up Entertainment president Ed Vetri revealed that when the label first introduced the song to radio, radio programmers rejected it, saying, "A chick and a piano? Are you kidding? On rock radio?"[32] Some program directors would hear the female voice and piano at the start of the song and turn it off without listening to the rest of the song.[33] A female voice on rock radio was a rarity, and the song was considered for airplay only after there was a male vocal on it.[34][35][36] After the song was released on the Daredevil soundtrack, listeners began requesting air play for it, compelling radio stations to reconsider the band.[37][38][34]
Lee said that with the success of the single they "went from playing clubs to arenas in a matter of months" and "people in other countries were listening to it".[4] On its international success, she stated:
"Since we released [the song] on Daredevil it went all over the world, whether they wanted it to or not, so we had fans in countries we had never been to because they had the soundtrack and they heard it on the radio. So, it started blowing up all over the world and then we had a reason to tour all over the world. And that's how the whole international thing happened this early."[21]
The single includes "Farther Away" as a
B-side. The first pressing of the Australian single contained the track "Missing" as a B-side,[39] but this was omitted from later pressings and later released as a bonus track on the band's first live album, Anywhere but Home.[40] An acoustic version was recorded and released on the "Bring Me to Life" DVD. In 2003, the song served as the official theme song for
WWE's 2003
No Way Out event.[41]
Reception and accolades
AllMusic's Johnny Loftus called the song "misleading" due to the vocal duet but "flawless".[42]Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times said that "Bring Me to Life" "floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and then hits like a brick."[43] Writing for the Los Angeles Times,
Ann Powers wrote that it is a "mix of voluptuous singing and metallic guitar (the latter enhanced by McCoy's rap-rock declamations)".[26] Joe D'Angelo of MTV said the song is an "unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate before piling on crumpled guitar lines and a rap" and Lee's "vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture to keep it from sinking into tired mediocrity."[6] Adrien Bengrad from PopMatters called it a "quality single" although hearing it more led him to find it "nothing more than a bombastic distraction from the usual dreck" despite "the refreshing dose of melody".[44] Christopher Gray of The Austin Chronicle deemed it "one of the more curious offerings to be had on the airwaves right now and lingers in the memory like the remnants of a particularly vivid nightmare".[45]
Bryan Reeseman of Mix described "Bring Me to Life" as "grandiose and moody".[10] Nick Catucci of The Village Voice deemed it a "fabulous breakthrough single" that sounds like "church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal."[30] Writing for Kerrang!, Mike Rampton found the "manly rap" forced by their label to be "not good".[46] John Hood of the Miami New Times said it is a "huge, heavy, and mightily histrionic" track that pits Lee's "soaring voice both with and against the rap-infused gruff of McCoy".[47] In his review of Evanescence's second album, Don Kaye of
Blabbermouth.net criticized the song for containing "annoying faux-rapping" as a "key component".[48] For
NPR, Suzy Exposito wrote that McCoy "came in to insulate chauvinistic rock listeners from Lee's operatic subjectivity".[49] Melissa Maerz of Spin said that Lee thematically tackles death on the song with "grandeur".[50]Rolling Stone called it "haunting, moody and cinematic".[51]
"Bring Me to Life" peaked within the top 10 of more than 15 countries, and within the top 20 of several other countries, making it the band's most successful single to date. It was certified
triple-platinum in 2019 for selling more than three million copies in the United States.[61] It topped the BillboardModern Rock Tracks and
Pop 100 charts and peaked at number five on the
Billboard Hot 100.[62] It also peaked at number four on the
Adult Pop Songs chart. The song initially peaked within the
Christian rock charts as well, because its lyrics were interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ by several listeners.[63][64] "Bring Me to Life" charted at number 73 on Billboard's Best of the 2000s Rock Songs Chart, the only song by a female-led band on that chart.[65] The song topped the charts of Australia, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. It peaked within the top 5 of Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden. On the
ARIA Singles Chart, "Bring Me to Life" peaked at number one where it stayed for six weeks.[66]
"Bring Me to Life" charted within the top 20 of every other country of its release.
In the United Kingdom, the song spent four weeks at the top of the
UK Singles Chart, which in turn helped Fallen peak at the top of the
UK Albums Chart.[67][68] The song also topped the
European Hot 100 chart.[69] On June 4, 2011, the song returned to the top of the
UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart, eight years after its original release, remaining at number one for two weeks, on June 11, 2011, to June 25, 2011. It fell to number two, remaining there for three weeks, and on July 17, 2011, "Bring Me to Life" returned to number one again and remained there for three weeks. The song remained within the top 10 into October 2011.[70] As of June 2018[update], the song has sold more than 745,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[71]
Music video
The accompanying music video for "Bring Me to Life" was directed by
Philipp Stölzl.[72][73] Talking about the video, Stölzl said: "On the one hand, it brings out the most catchy part of the song, the bridge, the duet with the male and female vocals. On the other hand, it reflects the ['Daredevil'] soundtrack background of the song. I did not know if I would have to use a
stunt double for most of the angles, which would have restricted me a lot, but then it turned out that Amy did everything herself, hanging on Paul's arm for hours without getting tired. In the end, she is the one who made that shot strong."[72]
According to Joe D'Angelo of MTV News, Lee's "teetering on a ledge" in the video shows a "distressed and emotionally wrought heroine."[74] MTV's Gil Kaufman described the scenes of the video: "Lee dreams that she has super Spidey powers, climbs up the outside of a building, spies on her creepy neighbors, then plunges into the abyss."[75] Corey Moss of MTV felt that "as intense as a superhero movie, the sequence also gives a nice visual to the song's most memorable lyric, 'Save me.'"[72] John Hood of Miami New Times wrote that the "gothopolis backdrop" in the video "would make
Tim Burton green with envy".[47]Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times wrote: "You might not immediately recognize Amy Lee's name, but you would know her if she plummeted past you from the top floor of a tenement building."[26]
The music video peaked at number nine on MTV's Total Request Live in April 2003.[76] It was nominated at the
2003 MTV Video Music Awards for
Best Rock Video, but lost to
Linkin Park's "
Somewhere I Belong".[55] On February 1, 2022, it surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube, becoming the first Evanescence music video to reach this milestone.[77] As of January 2024, the music video has over 1.3 billion views on YouTube.[78]
Live performances
A live performance from the Fallen tour filmed at
Le Zénith in Paris is included on Evanescence's first live album and concert DVD Anywhere but Home (2004). The live recording contains a piano and vocal solo before the song's intro.[79] McCoy's studio vocals were performed by tour guitarist John LeCompt during the tour.[13]
In 2017, a rearranged version of the song was recorded for the band's fourth studio album Synthesis. The new version was made available for digital download and streaming on August 18, 2017; it was also made available for instant download for concertgoers who purchased tickets for the band's
Synthesis Tour.[84] The Synthesis version of "Bring Me to Life" replaces the drums and guitar from the Fallen version with string arrangements accompanied by crashing
cymbals, "tension-building"
timpani drums and various
electronic elements throughout.[85][86] It also removes Paul McCoy's vocal feature. Several critics have described its new arrangement as "dramatic", with Billboard's Sadie Bell deeming it "just as rich" as the original and Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos calling it a "cinematic take".[85][87] Lee has described the song as "new" to her again due to the fact that she incorporated musical elements and vocals which she had "heard in [her] head" since its release.[87]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Welsh classical singer
Katherine Jenkins recorded a cover version of "Bring Me to Life" on her 2009 album Believe. Jenkins said her producer,
David Foster, told her "you can't sing that". She continued, "I went home that night and I just thought to myself 'you have to pull yourself together, he's worked with so many incredible artists you have to step up the plate.' ... I proved him wrong!"[164] Jenkins decided to change the guitar-led and percussive original version and instead, "make it more orchestral with the percussion coming from the strings."[165] Alfred Hickling of The Guardian gave a mixed review of Jenkins' cover, calling it "histrionic."[166] However, a writer of
BBC Online chose her version of the song as a highlight on the album.[165] On October 23, 2009, the song was available for digital download as the second single from Believe.[167] On November 23, 2011, Jenkins sang the song live at the
Leicester Square station in London.[168]
^Lee, Amy (March 13, 2013).
"Scuzz Meets Evanescence". Scuzz TV (Interview). Interviewed by Terry Bezer. Archived from
the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013 – via YouTube.
^
ab"MTV Video Music Awards 2003"(To see the nominations, click on the "winners" parameter). MTV.
Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
^Breimeier, Russ (2003).
"Fallen (Wind-Up)". Christianity Today. Archived from
the original on October 26, 2007. 'Bring Me to Life,' as excerpted above, reads as a solid plea for spiritual revival.