"Bring Me to Life" is the debut single by American rock band Evanescence from their debut studio album, Fallen (2003). It was released by Wind-up as the album's lead single on January 13, 2003, following its inclusion in the soundtrack of the film Daredevil. The song was written by Amy Lee at age 19 about having been desensitized in an abusive relationship and realizing things she had been missing in life. Guitarist Ben Moody and David Hodges share songwriting credits on the song, which includes guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones. Produced by Dave Fortman, "Bring Me to Life" is primarily a nu metal and rap rock song.<!--this is sourced in the article--> The male vocals were forced by the label against Lee's wishes to market the song in the musical landscape of the time.
The song received a generally positive reception, with critics praising Lee's vocals and melody. One of Evanescence's most commercially successful songs, "Bring Me to Life" charted at number one in Australia, Chile, Colombia, Italy, Scotland, and the rest of the United Kingdom while receiving multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Italy, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance and was also nominated for Best Rock Song. Directed by Philipp Stölzl, the music video shows Lee singing and climbing on a skyscraper while having nightmares in her room. The song was re-worked and re-recorded on Evanescence's orchestral-electronic fourth studio album, Synthesis (2017).
Composition and recording
Lee wrote "Bring Me to Life" at age 19, after a then-acquaintance (who later became her husband) asked her if she was happy; Lee was in an abusive relationship and in turmoil, and was shocked the person saw through her facade as she felt she "was completely outwardly acting normal". "I felt like he could just see straight into my soul. That inspired the whole song", she explained. In 2022, Lee noted that she was finding her voice lyrically while making the album, realizing "how the more honest I was, the more powerful I felt"; the song was "in a broader way about breaking free from something I knew I had the power to if I was brave enough", and represented "true desires, unspoken frustrations and fears, standing up to the bullshit around me [that] I was just on the cusp of being able to defeat". It was mixed by Jay Baumgardner in his studio, NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, on an SSL 9000 J. A 22-piece string section was recorded by Mark Curry in Seattle, and mixed at the Newman Scoring Stage and Bolero Studios in Los Angeles.
"Bring Me to Life" is stylistically a nu metal In order to market it, the label forced them to add the male rapping vocal, which Lee did not want, or the song and album would not be released. The male vocal was a compromise after the label originally demanded they include a rap on eight of the songs on the album. During an interview, Lee stated: "It was presented to me as, 'You're a girl singing in a rock band, there's nothing else like that out there, nobody's going to listen to you. You need a guy to come in and sing back-up for it to be successful.'" Lee wrote Paul McCoy's part. On the chorus, Lee sings the lines "'Call my name and save me from the dark' over "surging guitars", and McCoy raps the lines "Wake me up/ I can't wake up/ Save me!".
Rolling Stones Kirk Miller said that the song is stylistically a "case of mistaken identity", dooming the band to Linkin Park comparisons "thanks to [its] digital beats, clean metal-guitar riffs, scattered piano lines and all-too-familiar mix of rapping and singing." Blair R. Fischer of MTV called it a "ubiquitous rap-rock confection". Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times said that "with its lyrical drama and crunchy guitars, [the song] branded the band as overdone nu-metal." "Bring Me to Life" has also been classified as hard rock, alternative rock and a "crossover goth-metal smash". Nick Catucci of The Village Voice wrote that "piano tinkles, Lee's breathless keen, dramatic pauses, guitars like clouds of locusts, [and] McCoy's passing-12-kidney-stones guest vocals" characterize the song, which "sounds like church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal." Vik Bansal of MusicOMH said the track contains "Lee's temptress vocals, pseudo-electronic beats à la Linkin Park, understated but menacing metallic riffs in the background, and a ripping, radio-friendly rock chorus." MTV described it as "an unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate before piling on crumpled guitar lines and a rap" while "Lee's vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture". Wind-up Entertainment president Ed Vetri revealed that when the label first introduced the song to radio, radio programmers rejected it, saying, "A chick and a piano? Are you kidding? On rock radio?" Some program directors would hear the female voice and piano at the start of the song and turn it off without listening to the rest of the song. A female voice on rock radio was a rarity, and the song was considered for airplay only after there was a male vocal on it. After the song was released on the Daredevil soundtrack, listeners began requesting air play for it, compelling radio stations to reconsider Evanescence. but this was omitted from later pressings and later released as a bonus track on the band's first live album, Anywhere but Home. An acoustic version was recorded and released on the "Bring Me to Life" DVD. In 2003, the song served as the official theme song for WWE's 2003 No Way Out event.
Reception and accolades
AllMusic's Johnny Loftus called the song "misleading" due to the vocal duet but "flawless". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times said that "Bring Me to Life" "floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and then hits like a brick." Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Ann Powers wrote that it is a "mix of voluptuous singing and metallic guitar (the latter enhanced by McCoy's rap-rock declamations)". Christopher Gray of The Austin Chronicle deemed it "one of the more curious offerings to be had on the airwaves right now and lingers in the memory like the remnants of a particularly vivid nightmare".
Bryan Reeseman of Mix described "Bring Me to Life" as "grandiose and moody". John Hood of the Miami New Times said it is a "huge, heavy, and mightily histrionic" track that pits Lee's "soaring voice both with and against the rap-infused gruff of McCoy". In his review of Evanescence's second album, Don Kaye of Blabbermouth.net criticized the song for containing "annoying faux-rapping" as a "key component". For NPR, Suzy Exposito wrote that McCoy "came in to insulate chauvinistic rock listeners from Lee's operatic subjectivity". Melissa Maerz of Spin said that Lee thematically tackles death on the song with "grandeur". Rolling Stone called it "haunting, moody and cinematic".
"Bring Me to Life" won the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards, where it was also nominated in the category Best Rock Song. At the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards the band was nominated in the category for Best New Artist for "Bring Me to Life". The song received a nomination at the 2003 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Song. At the 14th annual Billboard Music Awards, it won the award for Soundtrack Single of the Year. "Bring Me to Life" ranked number 69 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 2000s. In 2018, NPR named it one of the 200 greatest songs by 21st century women.
Chart performance
"Bring Me to Life" peaked within the top 10 of more than 15 countries, and within the top 20 of several other countries, making it the band's most successful single to date. It was certified triple-platinum in 2019 for selling more than three million copies in the United States. It topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and Pop 100 charts and peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. "Bring Me to Life" charted at number 73 on Billboards Best of the 2000s Rock Songs Chart, the only song by a female-led band on that chart. The song topped the charts of Australia, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. It peaked within the top 5 of Austria, Canada, France, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Netherlands, and Sweden. On the ARIA Singles Chart, "Bring Me to Life" peaked at number one where it stayed for six weeks. The song also topped the Eurochart Hot 100 ranking. On June 4, 2011, the song returned to the top of the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart, eight years after its original release, remaining at number one for two weeks, on June 11, 2011, to June 25, 2011. It fell to number two, remaining there for three weeks, and on July 17, 2011, "Bring Me to Life" returned to number one again and remained there for three weeks. The song remained within the top 10 into October 2011. , the song has sold more than 745,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
Music video
The music video for "Bring Me to Life" was directed by Philipp Stölzl. Stölzl stated: