Black Box (song)

"Black Box" is the debut single by season seven winner of Australian Idol, Stan Walker. It was released digitally on 22 November 2009, as the lead single from his debut studio album, Introducing... Stan Walker.

"Black Box"
Single by Stan Walker
from the album Introducing... Stan Walker
Released22 November 2009 (2009-11-22)
Recorded2009
GenreR&B[1]
Length3:27
LabelSony
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Cutfather
  • Jonas Jeberg
Stan Walker singles chronology
"Black Box"
(2009)		 "Unbroken"
(2010)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

Blue covered this song for their 2013 album Roulette.

Critical reception

Jade from MusicFix compared the song to all other Australian Idol winners' singles and wrote that the "black box" metaphor differentiates it from the others. She called the sound a "generic R&B beat" and continued by comparing Walker's voice to fellow Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian, saying that Australian Idol voters "decided one Sebastian just wasn't enough."[1] At the 2010 New Zealand Music Awards, "Black Box" won the award for the 'Highest Selling New Zealand Single'.[2] It was also named the 'Radio Airplay Record of the Year' at the ceremony, after topping the New Zealand Radio Airplay Chart for ten weeks.[3][4] At the 2010 ARIA Music Awards, "Black Box" was nominated for 'Most Popular Australian Single'.[5]

Chart performance

On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "Black Box" debuted at number five on 30 November 2009.[6] The following week, it peaked at number one, where it remained for ten consecutive weeks.[6] On 14 February 2010, "Black Box" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), for selling 30,000 copies.[7] In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number two on the ARIA Singles Chart on 30 November 2009, selling 17,493 copies in its first week,[8] and becoming the fastest-selling Sony Bandit.fm download ever.[9] Eventually, "Black Box" was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling 140,000 copies.[10]

Music video and live performances

The music video for the song was directed by Gemma Lee and filmed in Sydney on 24 November 2009.[11][12][13] In an interview with Nova FM, Walker explained, "There might be a little bit of group dancing ... we'll see what happens. At first I was really nervous but I've warmed up now and I'm getting into it. I'm working on my look ... It's pretty cool – it's my first ever film clip. It's basically a house party that explains the lyrics. It talks about a relationship that has gone down but everything is still recorded in the black box. I really like it."[12] The video premiered on YouTube on 29 November 2009.[11]

Walker performed "Black Box" on the New Zealand television show, Close Up, on 6 December 2009, the day before the release of his album, Introducing... Stan Walker.[14] He again performed the song at Barry Curtis Park in Manukau City as part of celebrations of Waitangi Day (6 February) in 2010.[15]

Track listing
  • Digital download[16]
  1. "Black Box" – 3:27

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2009) Peak
position
ARIA Singles Chart[17] 2
New Zealand Singles Chart[6] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (2009) Position
ARIA Singles Chart[18] 50
Australian Artists Singles Chart[19] 9
New Zealand Singles Chart[20] 19
Chart (2010) Position
ARIA Singles Chart[21] 60
Australian Artists Singles Chart[22] 4

Certifications
Certifications and sales for "Black Box"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[10] 2× Platinum 140,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[7] 2× Platinum 30,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format Label
Australia[16] 22 November 2009 Digital download Sony Music Australia
New Zealand[23]
Australia[24] 25 November 2009 CD single

See also

References
  1. Jade (November 2009). "Music review: Stan Walker & Michael Buble". MusicFix. Ninemsn. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011.
  2. "Gin Wigmore scoops music awards". Stuff.co.nz (Fairfax New Zealand). Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  3. "Top 10 radio airplay (#1700)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  4. "Top 10 radio airplay (#1710)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  5. "2010 ARIA Nominations Announced". Take 40 Australia. MCM Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
  6. "Stan Walker – Black Box". RIANZ Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  7. "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". Radioscope. 21 August 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  8. "Australian Idol winner Stan Walker album released early, Susan Boyle still at Number 1". Herald Sun. Herald and Weekly Times. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  9. James, Sarah-Louise (23 November 2009). "Biggest Sony Music Download Ever – And #1 On iTunes…". MTV Australia. MTV Networks. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  10. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2010 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  11. Stan Walker – Black Box (Official Video). 29 November 2009. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2011 – via YouTube.
  12. "EXCLUSIVE: Behind the scenes of Stan Walker's "Black Box" video shoot!". Nova FM. DMG Radio Australia. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  13. "Stan Walker talks about his plans after winning Australian Idol". News.com.au (News Limited). 23 November 2009. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  14. Stan Walker performance. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 18 October 2010 – via YouTube.
  15. "Just announced: Stan Walker to perform on Waitangi Day". Manukau City Council. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  16. "Black Box – Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  17. "Stan Walker – Black Box". ARIA Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  18. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  19. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Australian Artist Singles 2009". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  20. "Annual Top 50 Singles Chart". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). 2009. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
  21. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  22. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Australian Artist Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  23. "Black Box – Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  24. "Stan Walker: New Oz Idol". MTV Australia. MTV Networks. 22 November 2009. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
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