She's So High

"She's So High" is a power pop song written and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Tal Bachman. It was released as a single to North American radio on February 13, 1999, from his self-titled debut album (1999). The song peaked at number three in Canada, topped the US Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, and reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became a top-10 hit in Australia and New Zealand and peaked at number 30 in the United Kingdom. American media group AllMusic named it an "album pick".[2] The song won a BMI award[3] and a Juno Award for Best Producer.[4]

"She's So High"
Single by Tal Bachman
from the album Tal Bachman
B-side
  • "Angeline"
  • "Superstar"
  • "Guilty"
ReleasedFebruary 13, 1999 (1999-02-13)
StudioPlantation Mixing and Recording (Maui, Hawaii)
GenrePower pop[1]
Length3:44
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Tal Bachman
Producer(s)
Tal Bachman singles chronology
"She's So High"
(1999)
"Strong Enough"
(1999)
Music video
"She's So High" on YouTube

Background and writing

Tal Bachman wrote the song about an experience that he had in high school when he was trying to get a girl to date his stepbrother.[5] "I attempted to bribe the hottest girl in our high school to go out on a date with [my stepbrother]," Bachman told MTV News. "So as the conversation between me and what I thought was this godly, exalted woman progressed, I began to feel more and more uncomfortable and awkward, and so I just remember that feeling... I don't want to say fear, but just kind of being in awe of her."[5] The song was produced by Bob Rock and was recorded in Maui. Bachman stated he played both his father's '62 Stratocaster and a 12-string electric on the song. He also said that he drew some inspiration in writing it from Sheryl Crow's song "If It Makes You Happy".

Chart performance

The song debuted on Canada's RPM Top Singles chart on April 19, 1999, at number 18, the highest new entry of the week.[6] For the next few weeks, the song descended the chart, but it began to gain popularity and eventually reached its peak of number three on June 28.[7] It stayed there for another week before beginning its slow descent off the chart, last appearing at number 100 on July 24, 2000, over a year after its first appearance.[8] It was the eighth best-selling single of 1999 in Canada.[9] On the specific RPM genre charts, "She's So High" reached number three on the Rock Report chart and number 30 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[10][11] In the United States, the song reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1999, spending 28 weeks in the top 100, and peaked atop the Adult Top 40 chart in September for three weeks.[12][13] It finished 1999 as the United States' 51st highest-selling song.[14]

The song also found significant success in Australasia. It first appeared at number 44 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart on the week of August 15, 1999. For the next four weeks, the song rose and fell in the top 30, then shot up to number 13 on September 19.[15] It reached its peak of number eight the following week, then spent nine more nonconsecutive weeks in the top 50, ending the year as Australia's 54th best-selling single.[16] In neighbouring New Zealand, "She's So High" debuted at number 46 on the RIANZ Singles Chart on October 3, then rose 37 positions to number nine—its peak position—the next week.[17] It dropped to number 14 for two weeks, then to number 20 for another two weeks, then spent an additional four weeks in the top 50, logging 10 weeks on the chart altogether. Despite its relatively short charting period, it came in at number 50 on New Zealand's year-end chart.[18]

In the United Kingdom, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 30 on October 24, fell to number 51 the following week, then left the top 100 the week after.[19] Elsewhere in Europe, the song peaked at number 29 in Iceland,[20] number 71 in Germany,[21] and number 93 in the Netherlands.[22]

Music video

The official music video features Yvonne Sciò[23] dressed in angel's wings and World War II-era headgear, specifically a leather pilot cap with aviator's goggles. After stealing balloons from a clown on the street, she gives them to a little girl in exchange for a glass of water, and the girl is then lifted off the ground. Afterwards, Sciò places the glass on the street and attempts a highwire act above it between two buildings, concluding by diving into the glass, which is greeted with applause from a crowd of onlookers. The storyline is interspersed with shots of Bachman playing the song with his band.[24]

Track listings and formats

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the Tal Bachman album booklet.[31]

Studios

  • Recorded and mixed at Plantation Mixing and Recording (Maui, Hawaii)
  • Additional recording at the Shed (Vancouver, British Columbia)
  • Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

Musicians

Technical

  • Bob Rock – production, mixing
  • Patrick Glover – additional recording engineer
  • Brian Joseph Dobbs – engineering
  • Mike Gillies – additional engineering
  • George Marino – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[37] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Canada February 13, 1999 Radio Columbia [1]
United States Alternative radio [1]
April 20, 1999 Contemporary hit radio [38]
Japan May 19, 1999 CD SME [39]
United Kingdom October 18, 1999
  • CD
  • cassette
Columbia [40]

Use in media

Twenty years after its original North American release, the song was featured in a television advertisement for the Peloton stationary bicycle, broadly televised in late November 2019.[41]

Kurt Nilsen version

"She's So High"
Single by Kurt Nilsen
from the album I
B-side"Wedding's Off"
Released2003 (2003)
StudioHitsville (Halden, Norway)
Length4:06
Label
Songwriter(s)Tal Bachman
Producer(s)Ole Evenrude
Kurt Nilsen singles chronology
"She's So High"
(2003)
"Here She Comes"
(2003)

Four years after Bachman's hit, Norwegian singer Kurt Nilsen's cover version of the song reached number one in Norway and was Norway's best-selling single ever,[42] selling over 80,000 copies to earn an octuple (8×) platinum certification. It became an international hit a year later, achieving its best success in Flanders and the Netherlands, reaching the top 10 in these regions.

Track listings

  • Norway: RCA, BMG / 82876528502 (2003)
  • Europe: RCA / 82876 61088 2 (2004)

All tracks are written by Tal Bachman, except where noted

CD single
No.TitleLength
1."She's So High"4:08
2."Wedding's Off" (written by Kurt Nilsen)3:00
  • Europe: BMG / 82876 597 612 (2004)
No.TitleLength
1."She's So High"4:08
2."She's So High" (instrumental)4:08
  • Europe: RCA / 82876 59828 2 (2004)
Enhanced CD single
No.TitleLength
1."She's So High"4:08
2."She's So High" (instrumental)4:08
3."She's So High" (video on CD-ROM track) 

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Norway (IFPI Norway)[59] 8× Platinum 100,000[60]

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Norway 2003 CD
Europe February 9, 2004 [47]
Australia March 8, 2004 [61]
United Kingdom May 17, 2004 [62]

References

  1. O'Connor, Brian (March 27, 1999). "Tal Bachman Joins the Family Business With Columbia Debut" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 13. p. 21. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  2. "Tal Bachman – Tal Bachman – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  3. "Rob Thomas, Eagle-Eye Cherry Receive BMI Awards". MTV. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  4. "Saskatchewan Recording Industry Association – Juno Award winners". Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  5. "Tal Bachman Reveals His Inspiration For "She's So High"". MTV. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  6. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks April 19, 1999". RPM. July 17, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2018 via Library and Archives Canada.
  7. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8404." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  8. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks July 24, 2000". RPM. July 17, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2018 via Library and Archives Canada.
  9. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved November 19, 2018 via Library and Archives Canada.
  10. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 8126." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  11. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8173." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  12. "Tal Bachman Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  13. "Tal Bachman Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  14. "Billboard Top 100 – 1999". Retrieved August 28, 2010.
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  16. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1999". ARIA. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
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  20. "Íslenski Listinn Sætin 21 til 40 (18.11 – 25.11 1999)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). November 19, 1999. p. 10. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
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  26. Tal Bachman (1999). She's So High (European maxi-CD liner notes). Columbia Records. COL 666441 2.
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  30. Tal Bachman (1999). She's So High (UK CD single liner notes). Columbia Records. 667993 2.
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  34. "Tal Bachman Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
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  37. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
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  41. Reiss, Jaclyn (December 3, 2019). "Here's why people are reacting so viscerally to the 'Grace in Boston' Peloton commercial". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
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