Wikipedia

New Soul

For the genre, see Neo soul.

"New Soul" is a song by the French-Israeli singer Yael Naïm, from her self-titled second album. The song gained popularity in the United States following its use by Apple in an advertisement for their MacBook Air laptop. In the song Naïm sings of being a new soul who has come into the world to learn "a bit 'bout how to give and take". However, she finds that things are harder than they seem. The song, also featured in the films The House Bunny and Wild Target, features a prominent "la la la la" section as its hook. It remains Naïm's biggest hit single in the US to date, and her only one to reach the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

"New Soul"
Single by Yael Naïm
from the album Yael Naim
Released2008
Recorded2007
GenreIndie folk
Length3:34 (album version)
3:44 (single version)
LabelTôt ou tard[1]
Songwriter(s)Yael Naïm
Producer(s)Yael Naïm, David Donatien
Yael Naïm singles chronology
"Toxic"
(2007) 		"New Soul"
(2008) 		"Too Long"
(2008)

"New Soul" was mixed and mastered by S. Husky Höskulds at Groundlift Studios, Reykjavik and Los Angeles.

Composition

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The sheet music for "New Soul" published in the key of C major, and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 100 beats per minute.[2] Yael Naim's vocal range spans from A3 to A5.

Music video

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The video shows Nami moving into an empty apartment. She covers the walls in wallpaper depicting a lake surrounded by forest. She then begins unpacking several other things, including furniture, a piano, a goldfish in a bowl and a number of photographs of people, which she hangs on the wall. As she hangs the photographs, the people in the pictures are shown in real life, in the setting depicted in the pictures. Naïm then begins painting on the photographs, and whatever she paints appears with the people in real life. She removes one of the pictures to discover a hole in the wall, revealing the actual forest setting shown in the wallpaper. She pushes on the wall, and it falls away into the lake. The remaining walls fall onto the water leaving the floor of the apartment like a raft floating on the lake, together with her furniture. The people from her pictures reach her by boat. They climb onto the makeshift raft with her, as they all celebrate, dancing and playing instruments, whilst she empties the goldfish bowl into the lake.

In 2008, the video received strong airplay on MTV.

Chart performance

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In the issue dated 16 February 2008, "New Soul" debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at number 9, giving Naïm her first single ever to enter any US chart. It reached number 7 on the Hot 100 before falling to number 42 the following week. It later rebounded due to being featured on the Apple MacBook Air commercials, but nonetheless the song spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart. It debuted at number 44 on the Canadian Hot 100, and jumped to number 7 on the chart the following week. In her birth country of France, the single hit number 1 on the French Singles Chart. In February 2008, it debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 42 and reached a peak of number 30 one month later.

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[28] Gold  
Italy — 25,560[29]
United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Yael Naim - Keep listening". Archived from the original on 7 February 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  2. ^ Yael, Naim (13 March 2008). "New Soul". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Yael Naim – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Yael Naim. Retrieved 2 April 2008. [dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Yael Naim Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22December 2014.
  9. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  10. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  11. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 - Charts - Billboard JAPAN". billboard-japan.com. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Top 20 Inglés Del 24 al 30 de Junio, 2013". Monitor Latino. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  15. ^ "Yael Naim – New Soul". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  16. ^ "Yael Naim: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  17. ^ "Yael Naim Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  18. ^ "Yael Naim Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  19. ^ "Yael Naim Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  20. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 2008". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  21. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2008". Ultratop. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2008". Ultratop. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  23. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2008". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2008" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  26. ^ "Japan Hot 100 – Year-End 2008" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  27. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2008". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
  29. ^ "FIMI Annual Digital Sales Report – 2008" (PDF). fimi.it. 1 February 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  30. ^ "American single certifications – Yael Naim – New Soul". Recording Industry Association of America.
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