"Use My Voice" is a song by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on August 14, 2020, by BMG as the third single from the band's fifth studio album, The Bitter Truth.[2] It was originally intended as the first single, but "Wasted on You" was released first due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] It was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video in the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards.
| "Use My Voice" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Evanescence | ||||
| from the album The Bitter Truth | ||||
| Released | August 14, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2020 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | BMG | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Nick Raskulinecz | |||
| Evanescence singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Use My Voice" on YouTube | ||||
Background
editThe song was written 'to celebrate the power of speaking out in order to promote a more just world'. In a press release, Amy Lee said, "This is an era of awakening, and full of powerful beauty. I hope to inspire others to seek truth, find their own voices and use them as I step up to use mine. Don't let anybody speak for you. Only you can do that."[4] In order to reinforce the message of the song, Lee was also accompanied by vocals delivered by other fellow musicians such as Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel, violinist Lindsey Stirling, Halestorm's Lzzy Hale and The Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen, as well as some of Lee's personal friends and family members. The band also worked with registration organisation HeadCount as a way of encouraging people to register and vote on the 2020 United States presidential election.[5]
In an interview for CBS This Morning, Lee stated that the first thing that inspired her on creating a song regarding public and political issues was a moment during the Stanford University sexual assault cases trial in which a victim said to her abuser that the only thing he could not take away was her voice. After that, Lee considered that it had been hypocritical of her remaining silent about things that affect the world and decided to work on both the song and being more explicit about politics.[6]
Personnel
editCredits adapted from Tidal.[7]
- Evanescence – composer, lyricist, associated performer
- Amy Lee – vocals, piano, keyboards, additional programming
- Deena Jakoub – composer, backing vocals
- Lzzy Hale – backing vocals
- Carrie Lee – backing vocals
- Lori Lee – backing vocals
- Sharon den Adel – backing vocals
- Lindsey Stirling – backing vocals
- Taylor Momsen – backing vocals
- Amy McLawhorn – backing vocals
- Jen Majura – backing vocals
- Tiago Nunez – Programmer
- Ted Jensen – mastering engineer
- Nick Raskulinecz – mixing engineer, recording engineer
Charts
edit| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)[8] | 45 |
| Czech Republic (Modern Rock)[9] | 8 |
| Scotland (OCC)[10] | 50 |
| UK Singles Sales (OCC)[11] | 40 |
| UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[12] | 39 |
| US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[13] | 44 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | August 14, 2020 | BMG | [2] | |
| August 25, 2020 | Active rock radio | [14] | ||
| Italy | September 4, 2020 | Contemporary hit radio | Sony | [15] |
References
edit- ^ Spencer Kaufman (August 14, 2020). "Evanescence Recruit Lzzy Hale, Taylor Momsen, and More for Empowering New Song "Use My Voice"". Consequence. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ a b "Use My Voice - Single by Evanescence". Apple Music. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ Kaplan, Ilana (August 19, 2020). "Evanescence's Amy Lee on the Band's New Album, 'The Bitter Truth'". Marie Claire. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ Rose, Anna (August 14, 2020). "Amy Lee, Lzzy Hale, Taylor Momsen and more unite in new Evanescence single 'Use My Voice'". NME. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ Munro, Scott (August 12, 2020). "Evanescence recruit Lzzy Hale, Sharon den Adel and more for new single Use My Voice". Metal Hammer. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Evanescence's Amy Lee on politics in new song". CBS. August 26, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Credits / Use My Voice / Evanescence – TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 24 August 2020". The ARIA Report. No. 1590. Australian Recording Industry Association. September 27, 2021. p. 9.
- ^ "CZ - RADIO - TOP 20 MODERN ROCK - EVANESCENCE - Use My Voice" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. August 21, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "Evanescence Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
- ^ "Rock Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
- ^ Pagura, Chiara (September 2, 2020). "Evanescence - Use My Voice (Radio Date: 04-09-2020)". EarOne (in Italian). Retrieved January 3, 2021.