| "I've Seen It All" | |
|---|---|
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| Promotional single byBjörk featuringThom Yorke | |
| from the albumSelmasongs: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Dancer in the Dark | |
| Released | 21 July 2000 |
| Recorded | March 2000 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 5:29 |
| Label | One Little Indian |
| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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"I've Seen It All" is a song recorded by Icelandic singerBjörk for theDancer in the Dark soundtrack,Selmasongs (2000). It was written by the singer, along withSjón andLars von Trier (who also directed the film). It was released as the first promotional single fromSelmasongs on 21 July 2000, byOne Little Indian Records. The song features vocals fromRadiohead frontmanThom Yorke. It was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Original Song. Lyrically, it speaks of one coming to terms with the fact that they are goingblind.[1]
The version from the soundtrack albumSelmasongs is a duet withRadiohead singerThom Yorke[2] while the version performed in the filmDancer in the Dark is a duet with actorPeter Stormare.
We've known about each other for a while. [We were] always just about to do something together, and we were just waiting for the right situation. I was really excited about this song; I thought that I finally had a song that deserved his voice, 'cause he's definitely my favorite male singer in the world. I asked him, and he being the kind of guy he is, full of integrity — there's not a grain of artificial, show-business behavior in him — he kind of insisted that he would turn up [in the studio] and be there for quite a while, so the communication in the song, the recording, was real and genuine. It wasn't just a turn-it-on, you know, "I recorded my bit in Las Vegas and he recorded his..." you know, [like] we never met or something. It was the opposite, and that actually came from him, 'cause I was all just kind of being in work mode, "Yeah, we have to get it done," and he was all, "No, no, no."
— Björk on working with Thom Yorke[3]
Björk invitedRadiohead singerThom Yorke to record vocals in the album version. This new version was recorded over a four-day span in March 2000, with Björk recording her vocals in Las Vegas.[3] In an interview withTime Out magazine, she said: "It was my idea to work with Thom. We spent four days in Spain just singing as and when we felt like it. He's a very pure soul and I know he doesn't do things lightly. So it was great that he agreed".[4] The song was made available for download through Björk's website on 21 July 2000.[5]
Alexandra Flood fromMTV gave a positive review, saying "The centerpiece of the record is, "I've Seen It All", her duet with Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Björk describes the song as Selma's manifesto. It's a beautiful and eerie track, the pair's vocals careening over a techno beat, but just under a lovely set of strings. It's a minor masterpiece".[6] On the other hand, Ryan Schreiber fromPitchfork said "the paired vocalists also seem an odd match here; when Björk's soaring, intense delivery meets Yorke's general disinterest, the chemistry is far from convincing".[7]
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 5th Golden Satellite Awards | Best Original Song | Won | [8] |
| 1st Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards | Best Original Song | Nominated | [9] | |
| 58th Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Song | Nominated | [10] | |
| 43rd Annual Grammy Awards | Best Pop Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying A Vocalist(s) | Nominated | [11] | |
| 5th Online Film & Television Association Awards | Best Original Song | Won | [12] | |
| 73rd Academy Awards | Best Original Song in a Motion Picture | Nominated | [13] |
There are twomusic videos for this single. The main version of the video is an excerpt from the filmDancer in the Dark in which Björk,Peter Stormare and others sing the song on a train. The second version was directed byFloria Sigismondi and was an interactive "webeo" (a web animation) for anMTV promotion. Björk appeared with her face painted and the viewer could change the scenes and special effects by clicking on the video.[14] A third version was going to be directed byM/M Paris, but there were several problems with the distribution of the song, and finally the video was cancelled. Later, the idea for this video was used for the "Hidden Place" video.[15]
"I've Seen It All" was performed by Björk and theBrodsky Quartet for the very first time in December 1999 at theUnion Chapel in London, almost a year before it was released.[16] Björk performed "I've Seen It All" at the73rd Academy Awards, where the song was nominated forBest Original Song, with a 55-piece orchestra wearing herswan dress. She said before performing on the show, "I'm really excited [to perform]. I won many awards [and] I've been to a lot of [award] shows. This is the most exciting one for me. I'm not just gonna go and grab a fancy frock. It's about singing, so it's a completely different headspace, which is sort of why I'm doing it. I'm really excited. Really, really excited".[17]Billboard ranked it as the ninth "most awesome" Oscar performance of all time, saying that Björk's "outfit may have cemented her place in Oscar lore, but Bjork's performance was just as memorable, and refreshingly unconventional".[18]
"I've Seen It All" has been covered byBonnie 'Prince' Billy in his 2007 albumAsk Forgiveness.[19] It was covered by Tristan Tzara on their 2001 album Omorina Nad Evropom. It was also covered by the jazz organ trio Karl Orgeltríó and singersRagnar Bjarnason andSalka Sól Eyfeld in 2017.[20]
Credits adapted from Björk's official website.[21]
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