Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = White Flag
| cover = White Flag Dido.jpg
| alt =
| border = yes
| type = single
| artist = Dido
| album = Life for Rent
| B-side =
* "Paris"
* "Don't Leave Home"
| released =
| recorded =
| studio = The Church (London, England)
| genre = Pop
| length =
| label =
| writer =
| producer =
| prev_title = Feels Like Fire
| prev_year = 2003
| next_title = Life for Rent
| next_year = 2003
| misc =
}}
"'White Flag'" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the lead single from her second studio album, 'Life for Rent'. The song was first released to US radio on 7 July 2003 and was issued in the United Kingdom as a physical single on 1 September 2003. The song performed well on record charts around the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. In Dido's native UK, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, and in the United States, it climbed to number 18 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100. The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features actor David Boreanaz as Dido's love interest.
"White Flag" was nominated for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards but lost to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful". It won the Best British Single at the 2004 Brit Awards. The song has featured in several TV series including 'Smallville', 'The Inbetweeners', 'Medium', 'The Sopranos', 'Tru Calling', 'Cold Case', 'Winners & Losers', as well as in the films 'Perfect Stranger', 'Mommy and Bad Education'. Carly Rae Jepsen performed a cover version of the song on 'Canadian Idol'. "White Flag" ranked at number 317 on Blender's list "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".[[https://web.archive.org/web/20101228140244/http://www.blender.com/lists/68125/500-greatest-songs-since-you-were-born-451-500.html?p=4 The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 301 350]]
Background and composition
"White Flag" was written and produced by Dido, Rick Nowels, and Rollo Armstrong. In the song, the protagonist is unwilling to give up, even if she knows her relationship is over.
"White Flag" features "multi-layered" sound, delicate piano outro, and strings.[ The majority of the song is in the key of D minor, but constantly alternates between that key and its relative major, F major.][It is actually in the Aeolian mode, because there is no dominant chord, A major.] The tempo is 90 beats per minute, and Dido's vocals range from the low note of A3 to the high note of C5.
Critical reception
David Jeffries from AllMusic praised "Dido's sweet delivery" and stated that "Its all very beautiful, the perfect soundtrack for weeping, and the definition of "wistful" in a song."[ Derryck Strachan wrote for BBC Music that the song is "engaging to the extent that you could easily be humming along without it registering in your brain. There's something unconscious, pleasantly innocuous about it. It's comfort food for the ears and it could be easily on a Tom HanksMeg Ryan romantic comedy."] Alexis Petridis from 'The Guardian' wrote that the song "is a superb, confidently written pop song, possessed of a chorus that is impossible to dislodge from your memory without the aid of hypnotherapy."
Awards and successThe song was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, but lost to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful". The song won the award for "Best Single" at the 2004 BRIT Awards.
Music video
The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, was filmed in Cape Town, South Africa and features actor David Boreanaz as Dido's love interest.
The video tells a story about a relationship that is over, but where Dido is obviously still smitten with her ex, who is oblivious of her. They have numerous occasions where they are near each other without him noticing. Dido is clearly still not over him, while he doesn't seem to really notice she is there. At the end of the video, they return to their apartments and Dido's room is filled with photos of him and, in a twist ending, his apartment is also filled with Dido's photos (showing he's still as much in love with her as well.) The screen rotates throughout the entirety of the video, never standing still. The song's opening is also cut out entirely from the video.
Track listings
'European and Japanese CD single'
# "White Flag" 3:58
# "Paris" 3:23
'European 12-inch single'
:A. "White Flag" (Beginnerz Remix) 7:33
:B. "White Flag" (Version Idjut) 7:12
'US promo CD'
# "White Flag" (radio edit) 3:36
'US 7-inch single'
:A. "White Flag" 4:00
:B. "Don't Leave Home" 3:46
'Australian CD single'
# "White Flag"
# "Paris"
# "White Flag" (Johnny Toobad mix)
Credits and personnel
Credits are lifted from the European CD single liner notes.
'Studios'
* Recorded and mixed at The Church (London, England)
* Additional recording at The Ark (Lincolnshire, England)
* Strings recorded at Angel Recording Studios (London, England)
* Mastered at Metropolis Studios (London, England)
'Personnel'
* Dido writing (as Dido Armstrong), vocals, production
* Rick Nowels writing, guitar, keyboards
* Rollo writing (as Rollo Armstrong), production
* Paul Herman additional acoustic guitar
* Rusty Anderson electric guitar
* Mark Bates additional keyboards, piano, programming
* P*Nut drums and bass programming
* Ash Howes recording, mixing
* Grippa additional recording
* Gavin Callaghan recording assistant
* Nathan Loughran recording assistant
* Nick Ingman string arrangement
* Gavyn Wright concertmaster
* Miles Showell mastering
* Simon Corkin artwork design
* Ellen Von Unwerth photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (2003)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)
|78
|-
!scope="row"|Austria (3 Austria Top 40)
|13
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)
|25
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)
|30
|-
!scope="row"|CIS (Tophit)
|38
|-
!scope="row"|Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)
|4
|-
!scope="row"|France (SNEP)
|47
|-
!scope="row"|Germany (Official German Charts)
|12
|-
!scope="row"|Ireland (IRMA)
|8
|-
!scope="row"|Italy (FIMI)
|9
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)
|10
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)
|24
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)
|27
|-
!scope="row"|Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)
|16
|-
!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)
|5
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)
|12
|}
Certifications
Release history
References
Category:2000s ballads
Category:2003 singles
Category:2003 songs
Category:Arista Records singles
Category:BMG Japan singles
Category:Brit Award for British Single
Category:Cheeky Records singles
Category:Dido (singer) songs
Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Category:Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in Austria
Category:Number-one singles in the Czech Republic
Category:Number-one singles in Germany
Category:Number-one singles in Hungary
Category:Number-one singles in Italy
Category:Number-one singles in Norway
Category:Number-one singles in Portugal
Category:Pop ballads
Category:Song recordings produced by Dido (singer)
Category:Song recordings produced by Rollo Armstrong
Category:Songs written by Dido (singer)
Category:Songs written by Rick Nowels
Category:Songs written by Rollo Armstrong
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