I Believe I Can Fly

"I Believe I Can Fly"
Single by R. Kelly
from the album R. and Space Jam: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture
Released	November 26, 1996 (1996-11-26)
Format	CD single, cassette single
Recorded	August 1996
Genre	R&B, soul, gospel
Length	5:22 (Album Version) 4:42 (Radio Edit)
Label	Atlantic, Jive
Writer(s)	R. Kelly
Producer	R. Kelly
R. Kelly singles chronology
"I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)" (1996) "I Believe I Can Fly" (1996) "Gotham City" (1997) Space Jam track listing "Space Jam" (3) "I Believe I Can Fly" (4) Hit 'Em High (The Monstars' Anthem) (5)

"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was written, produced and performed by Kelly and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. It was originally released on November 26, 1996, but later appeared in Kelly's 1998 album R..

In early 1997, "I Believe I Can Fly" reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100; it was kept from the #1 spot by Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart". Despite the fact that two of R. Kelly's songs did reach #1, "I Believe I Can Fly" remains the biggest hit of R. Kelly's career. The single was #1 on the R&B Singles chart (for six nonconsecutive weeks), and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom. It has won three Grammy Awards, and is ranked #406 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1996-1997)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	2
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles & Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Dance Maxi Singles	6
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40	9
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	5
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	7
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	21
UK Singles Chart	1
Australia ARIA Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	2
Dutch Singles Chart	1
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	1
French Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	3
Swedish Singles Chart	11
Swiss Singles Chart	1
Polish Singles Chart	1

End of year charts

End of year chart (1997)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6

End of decade charts

Chart (1990-1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	87

Cover versions

• In 2003, punk rock band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covered the song for their album Take a Break.
• American singer William Hung recorded this song for his 2004 album Inspiration.
• Saxophonist Marion Meadows also covered the song from the album Dressed to Chill.
• American singer and actress Patti Labelle sang the chorus of the song on her 1998 live album Live One Night Only as an addition to her signature tune "Over the Rainbow".
• American singer and actress Jessica Simpson sang the song on her DreamChaser Tour in 2001.
• The song has also been covered by Etta James, Yolanda Adams (in a duet with Gerald Levert), Ruth Brown, James Ingram, Ronan Keating, Bianca Ryan, and formerly of Woe, Is Me Tyler Carter.
• American Idol candidates Katharine McPhee, Anwar Robinson, Aaron Kelly, Curtis Finch Jr., and Jacob Lusk all performed the song in different seasons of the TV show.

In film and television

Other than appearing on the soundtrack for the film Space Jam, "I Believe I Can Fly" was performed by the school band in the movie Drumline during the high school graduation ceremony of Devon Miles (Nick Cannon).

• In Ice Age: The , sings the song before he crashes into a tree.
• In the film Good Boy!, Wilson briefly sings the song while diving into a pool.
• In Fun with Dick and Jane, Jim Carrey sings along with the song as it is played in an elevator.
• This song also appeared on the first American season of The X Factor, where R. Kelly performed "I Believe I Can Fly" for the first time as a duet with the eventual winner of the show Melanie Amaro.
• This song was also performed on The Voice as the last solo song for the second season's winner Jermaine Paul.
• American musical TV series Glee, performed a version of the song in episode fourteen of season three, "On My Way" (aired on February 21, 2012). It is a mash-up track with the song "Fly" by Nicki Minaj featuring Rihanna.
• In The Hangover Part III, Leslie Chow sings a 12-second portion of the song, while parachuting through Las Vegas.
• In Space Jam

Notable other performances

R. Kelly performed the song at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards.

STS-122 crew heard this song on flight day 10 as a wake up call.

Since its release, it has become commonly associated with the NBA, most notably with Michael Jordan.

On December 21, 2011, R. Kelly performed it on X-Factor as a duet with Melanie Amaro.

A version of the song, recorded by the Halifax community choir, was used as the backing track to a 2012 UK TV advertisement for the Halifax Bank.

On October 13, 2012, when the Space Shuttle Endeavour was being transferred from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center through the streets of Los Angeles, the recording was played as the shuttle left The Forum, and the song was performed live by James Ingram later that day at Debbie Allen's live show celebrating the Endeavour's arrival at the corner of Crenshaw Blvd and Martin Luther King Blvd. (The shuttle was delayed over five hours in arriving there; to keep the crowd entertained, the performance went on only slightly delayed.)

Parodies

In the 1999 episode "The Best of Both Worlds" of the animated TV series KaBlam!, in the Life with Loopy segment, the song was spoofed as "I (Don't) Believe I Can Fly."

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Nobody" by Keith Sweat	Billboard's Hot R&B Singles & Tracks number one single December 21, 1996	Succeeded by "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue
Preceded by "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue	Billboard's Hot R&B Singles & Tracks number one single (second run) February 1, 1997	Succeeded by "On & On" by Erykah Badu
Preceded by "Block Rockin' Beats" by The Chemical Brothers	UK Singles Chart number-one single April 6, 1997 – April 26, 1997	Succeeded by "Blood on the Dance Floor" by Michael Jackson