The Climb (song) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "The Climb" |
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| Single by Miley Cyrus | ||||
| from the album Hannah Montana: The Movie | ||||
| Released | March 5, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Country pop | |||
| Length | 3:54 | |||
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| Producer(s) | John Shanks | |||
| Miley Cyrus singles chronology | ||||
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"The Climb" is a popular song sung by American singer Miley Cyrus. It was made for the 2009 movie Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song was written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe, and John Shanks produced it.
The song came out on March 5, 2009. It was the first song released from the movie's soundtrack. "The Climb" is a powerful song with lyrics that talk about life being a tough but rewarding journey. It's a country pop song and was Miley Cyrus's first solo song played on country radio stations. The music uses piano, guitar, and violins. Many people see "The Climb" as one of Miley Cyrus's most famous songs.
"The Climb" was nominated for a Grammy Award. This award is for songs written for movies or TV shows. However, the song was later taken out of the running by Walt Disney Records. This happened because the rules say the song must be written *specifically* for the movie, and "The Climb" wasn't.
Despite this, the song was a big hit! It reached the top 10 in countries like Australia, Canada, Norway, and the United States. In the U.S., it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also one of the best-selling digital songs of 2009. Just five months after its release, the song sold over three million copies in the U.S., earning a special "triple platinum" award from the Recording Industry Association of America.
The song's music video was directed by Matthew Rolston. It shows Miley Cyrus climbing a mountain and singing, mixed with clips from Hannah Montana: The Movie. Miley Cyrus also performed the song live many times. She sang it as the last song on her Wonder World Tour and during her Gypsy Heart Tour. Many other artists have also sung "The Climb". It was a very popular song for people trying out for the TV show American Idol.
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How the Song Was Made
"The Climb" wasn't originally written for the 2009 movie Hannah Montana: The Movie. One of the writers, Jessi Alexander, thought of the song's tune while driving. When she met her songwriting partner, Jon Mabe, they wrote a song about getting through life's challenges. They were inspired by their own struggles in the music business. Jessi Alexander said writing the song felt like "therapy."
She explained that she just had the melody in her head and couldn't wait to play it. They wrote it quickly and didn't think much of it at first. The lyrics came from their experiences as "underdogs" in the music world. Jessi had faced ups and downs with record deals. They both felt it was important to remember that "it's not a race."
The first version of the song was called "It's the Climb" and was written from a "third person" point of view (like telling someone else's story). Jessi said this first version was more "spiritual" and even mentioned prayer. But she also knew it could be a pop song for the Walt Disney Company.
Before Miley Cyrus sang it, several country artists had turned down the song. Eventually, Peter Chelsom, the director of Hannah Montana: The Movie, heard it. He was looking for new songs for the film. He liked "The Climb" and gave it to Miley to record.
Chelsom asked Jessi Alexander to change some parts of the song. He wanted it to be from a "first person" point of view (like Miley's own story). Jessi felt these changes were a big deal because changing from "third person" to "first person" can change the whole meaning. After working on it many times, Jessi and Jon finally made a version that was "perfect for the movie."
The filmmakers told the songwriters that the song would be perfect for Miley and would change her life. The director felt the song helped the movie's music by showing off Miley's singing talent. In the movie, Miley Cyrus plays a character named Miley Stewart, who secretly lives a double life as the superstar Hannah Montana. Keeping this secret causes problems for her. She writes "The Climb" to express her feelings. The movie's producer, Alfred Gough, said the song shows Miley's journey and the lessons she learns in the film. It's a powerful song that captures the movie's main message.
"The Climb" was chosen as the first song from the movie's soundtrack because it had country music elements. This helped introduce Miley to new fans beyond her usual pop audience. It was her first solo song aimed at country radio.
Song Style
"The Climb" is a country pop song that also has elements of soft rock and pop rock. It lasts about 3 minutes and 55 seconds. Around two minutes and forty-five seconds into the song, you can hear a sudden burst of violins, and the song becomes even more powerful.
A music writer named Todd Martens said that Miley Cyrus uses a "raspy voice" in the song, which gives it a "country grit." The song's lyrics talk about life being a "journey which is difficult but rewarding." Both Martens and another reviewer, Fraser McAlpine, noticed the line: "It's always gonna be an uphill battle/Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose." Martens thought this line meant Miley was admitting her own mistakes. McAlpine felt it showed that small setbacks aren't the end of the world.
Awards and Nominations
"The Climb" won "Best Song from a Movie" at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. It also won "Music Choice: Single" at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards.
As mentioned before, "The Climb" was nominated for a Grammy Award. But Walt Disney Records withdrew the song because it wasn't written specifically for the movie, which is a rule for that Grammy category. The Grammy organization confirmed that Disney asked for the song to be removed. Another song, "All is Love", took its place.
Song Success
"The Climb" first appeared on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart on March 7, 2009. It was special because Miley's father, Billy Ray Cyrus, also had a song on the chart that same week. This was the first time a father and daughter had separate songs on that chart since 1990! "The Climb" eventually reached number 25 on the country chart.
The song also did very well on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It debuted at number six, selling 166,000 digital copies in its first week. This made "The Climb" Miley's highest-charting song at the time. It later reached its highest spot at number four on the Hot 100. The song also topped the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart for 15 weeks in a row. Miley Cyrus became the youngest artist to reach number one on that chart since LeAnn Rimes in 1997.
Billboard magazine said "The Climb" was the eighth best-selling digital song of 2009. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) gave the song a "triple platinum" award for selling over two million copies. By January 2014, it had sold over 3.7 million copies in the U.S. In Canada, "The Climb" reached number five and was certified "triple platinum" for selling 240,000 digital copies.
The song was also popular in Australia and New Zealand. It reached number five on the Australian Singles Chart and was certified platinum. In the New Zealand Singles Chart, it reached number 12.
In the UK Singles Chart, "The Climb" reached number 11. It was also certified silver for selling over 200,000 copies. In Ireland, it also peaked at number 11. The song also did well in other parts of Europe, reaching the top 30 in Austria, Belgium, and France, and number five in Norway.
Music Video
The music video for "The Climb" first appeared online on Miley Cyrus's Myspace page on February 11, 2009. The video starts with Miley holding a guitar and a suitcase, walking down a long path in a valley. The sun rises over a mountain in the distance. This scene uses computer-generated imagery (CGI). Miley wears a traveling jacket and cowboy boots.
In another part of the video, Miley sings "The Climb" under a blue light in a purple room. These two scenes switch back and forth. Clips from Hannah Montana: The Movie appear in front of Miley as she walks. The video zooms into these clips, showing scenes of Miley's character and her friend Travis riding horses.
As the video continues, Miley sees things like horses and a shooting star. It also starts to rain in the path scene. Miley puts down her jacket and suitcase and keeps walking with only her guitar. More movie clips play. Finally, Miley reaches the top of a reddish, CGI mountain. She looks out over the cliff, watching the sun shine over a shimmering lake. There's also another version of the music video that doesn't include the movie clips.
Todd Martens from the Los Angeles Times liked the song but wasn't sure about the video. He said the settings looked like paintings and Miley's dancing seemed off-beat. Travis from MTV called the video "beautifully shot (although heavily digitized)." Lyndsey Parker from Yahoo! Music thought the mountain top scene looked like the music video for Britney Spears' song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman". In 2009, the video was nominated for an award but lost to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" video.
Live Performances
Miley Cyrus first sang "The Climb" at the Kids' Inaugural: "We Are the Future" event on January 19, 2009. This event was in Washington D.C. to celebrate Barack Obama becoming President of the United States. Miley, wearing a fancy red dress, dedicated the song to Obama's daughters.
After the song was officially released, Miley continued to promote it. She performed it live on TV shows like American Idol, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Good Morning America. She also sang it at the Academy of Country Music Awards. In April, she performed "The Climb" as part of her show for Sessions@AOL. She also sang it at an Apple Store in London, and these performances were released as a live album.
Miley also sang "The Climb" at a charity event for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She performed it on The Today Show and at the first D23 Expo.
To help promote the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, Miley went on a special radio tour. She performed "The Climb" acoustically (without a full band) for many radio shows. The song was also the last song she sang on her 2009 Wonder World Tour. During these shows, Miley wore a white top and shorts, and big video screens showed sunsets. Critics praised her performances, calling them "soulful and touching."
Miley also sang "The Climb" during her Gypsy Heart Tour. She performed it on CNN Heroes in 2011. Years later, in 2017, she sang it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Howard Stern Show. On March 24, 2018, Miley performed the song for a huge crowd protesting gun violence at the March For Our Lives event in Washington, D.C. In May 2020, she sang it for a special online graduation event called "#Graduation 2020."
Charts and Certifications
Weekly charts
Certifications
Year-end charts
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Other Versions
"The Climb" has been sung by many other artists. When people auditioned for the ninth season of the TV singing show American Idol, "The Climb" was the most popular song choice!
Joe McElderry's Version
| "The Climb" | ||||
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| Single by Joe McElderry | ||||
| from the album Wide Awake | ||||
| Released | December 14, 2009 | |||
| Genre | Country pop | |||
| Length | 3:36 | |||
| Label | Syco | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jessi Alexander, Jon Mabe | |||
| Producer(s) | Quiz & Larossi | |||
| Joe McElderry singles chronology | ||||
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In the same year Miley Cyrus released "The Climb," British music boss Simon Cowell chose the song for the finalists of The X Factor, a British TV talent show. The three finalists, Joe McElderry, Olly Murs, and Stacey Solomon, recorded the song.
After Stacey Solomon was eliminated, Olly Murs and Joe McElderry sang "The Climb" as their final performance. When Joe McElderry won the competition, his version of "The Climb" was released as a single on December 14, 2009.
Joe McElderry said the song's lyrics meant a lot to him. He felt it described his journey in the past few months, saying, "It all feels very, very surreal."
Music Video for Joe McElderry's Version
The music video for Joe McElderry's version was filmed in London, England, on December 16, 2009. The video starts with clips from The X Factor show. Then, it shows Joe McElderry in a main setting: a flooded city. This scene was filmed on a special set with a city background. Joe wears a grey vest and shirt as he performs in the water.
Throughout the video, scenes switch between the flooded city and old clips from The X Factor. The old clips are in black and white at first, then show him in color during the live shows. The video ends with Joe finding out he won the competition and hugging his friends.
Track Listings
- Digital download
- "The Climb" – 3:36
- CD single
- "The Climb" – 3:36
- "Somebody to Love" – 2:38
- "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" – 2:27
Charts and Certifications
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See also
In Spanish: The Climb para niños
