Ophelia (The Lumineers song)

"Ophelia" is a song recorded by American folk rock band The Lumineers. It was released as the lead single from their sophomore album, Cleopatra on February 5, 2016.

"Ophelia"
Single by The Lumineers
from the album Cleopatra
ReleasedFebruary 5, 2016[1]
Recorded2015
Genre
Length2:40
LabelDualtone Records
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Simone Felice
The Lumineers singles chronology
"Submarines"
(2013)		 "Ophelia"
(2016)		 "Cleopatra"
(2016)

As of March 2020, the song has garnered over 389 million streams on Spotify.

Background

The song started out as a slower instrumental demo that Jeremiah Fraites, (one third of The Lumineers), sent to Wesley Schultz (lead vocalist of The Lumineers), in 2011.[2] According to Schultz, the demo generated enough excitement to work on the project. While playing at a backbar in LA alongside The Lumineers, Schultz wrote the song's hook,:[3] "O-o-phelia, you've been on my mind girl, like a drug. O-o-phelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love."

Soon after, The Lumineers felt they needed to find a proper substitute for the name Ophelia, due to the fact that a song of the same name had been released years prior by the band, The Band.[4] Nevertheless, this issue reached its end after Schultz decided that no other name had "the right musicality to it."[5] Subsequently, Schultz had trouble writing "good" verses to carry the hook he wrote, which made the songwriting process so difficult that the project was completely abrogated until four years later.[2] In January 2015, when it came time to work on a new record, the defunct "Ophelia" was resurrected.

"I remember thinking, 'Oh, it's so Ophelia.' So maybe I'll go back and rehandle it, and I'll figure out how to tell the story of Hamlet combined with something else."

— Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers[5]

Over a series of vocal demos, the song was recorded at The Clubhouse in Rhinebeck, New York.[6]

On February 8, 2016 via Facebook, the single's cover art was premiered, along with an 18 second-long snippet of the song.[7]

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Schultz said that the song's lyrics are "a vague reference to people falling in love with fame."[8]

The song was featured on the CW's The Flash in the last scene of episode 22 of season 2, "Invincible".

The song was featured in the 2017 film Happy Death Day.[9]

The song was featured in a 2017 commercial for American Express's "Shop Small" market campaign.

Critical reception

The song has received mixed reviews from music critics. The song was praised by Marina Watts of The Cornell Daily Sun; where Watts refers to "Ophelia" as "hauntingly beautiful", also noting that the song is "a march that wishes anyone who ever falls in love the best of luck."[10] David Dye of NPR also viewed "Ophelia" positively, while comparing its musical influences and style to The Lumineers' earlier hit, "Ho Hey".[11]

In a negative review Brunna Pimentel wrote for The Edge, she claimed to be disappointed with the song, stating that it "might have been an okay track for the middle of the album," but "as a single, it is undoubtedly anti-climatic." Pimentel also criticized the song for its "repetitive" chorus.[12]

Music video

The official music video was directed by Isaac Ravishankara,[13] and released via the Lumineers' YouTube and Vevo accounts on February 12, 2016.[14] As of January 2019, it has gained over 100 million views.

The Ballad of Cleopatra

The Ballad of Cleopatra is a compilation of the story in the music videos for "Ophelia", "Cleopatra", "Sleep on the Floor", "Angela" and "My Eyes", all songs from the album Cleopatra.[15][16] The video was released on the Lumineers YouTube channel on April 27, 2017.[17]

Live performances

On April 7, 2016, the Lumineers performed "Ophelia" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.[18][19] The Lumineers also performed the song on Good Morning America on April 13, their first time on the show.[20] A live performance of the song at the iHeartRadio music theater in Los Angeles was aired on Audience Network at 9pm on April 8.[21]

Track listing
Digital download[22]
No.TitleLength
1."Ophelia"2:40

Personnel
  • Wesley Schultz – lead vocals, songwriting, tambourine, stomping
  • Jeremiah Fraites – songwriting, piano, stomping, drums
  • Bryon Isaacs – bass
  • Scott Chopps – bass
  • Ryan Hewitt – engineering, grand piano
  • Simone Felice – production, stomping

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[44] 3× Platinum 240,000
France (SNEP)[45] Gold 75,000
Italy (FIMI)[46] Gold 25,000
Poland (ZPAV)[47] Platinum 20,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[48] Gold 400,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Spanos, Brittany (February 5, 2016). "Lumineers Announce New LP 'Cleopatra,' Debut Song 'Ophelia'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  2. "Song Exploder: How the Lumineers Turned Strife Into Their New Single 'Ophelia'". Wired.com. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  3. "Song Exploder: THE LUMINEERS". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  4. "Ophelia by The Lumineers Songfacts". www.songfacts.com. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  5. "Song Exploder: THE LUMINEERS". SoundCloud. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  6. "The Lumineers release new single 'Ophelia' - The Maroon Cafe". Themarooncafe.com. February 5, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  8. "The Lumineers' Wesley Schultz details the group's heavy new album". Ew.com. February 5, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  9. "HappyDeath Day Soundtrack".
  10. "Spinning Singles: The Lumineers, "Ophelia" - The Cornell Daily Sun". cornellsun.com. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  11. "Songs We Love: The Lumineers, 'Ophelia'". Npr.org. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  12. "Review: The Lumineers – 'Ophelia'". Theedgesusu.co.uk. February 8, 2016. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  13. "The Lumineers - Ophelia - Music Video - CMT". Cmt.com. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  14. Hendicott, James (February 12, 2016). "The Lumineers dance in the street in 'Ophelia' video". NME. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  15. Bards, Avid (April 15, 2018). "The Story of The Ballad of Cleopatra". AvidBards. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  16. "The Lumineers' "The Ballad of Cleopatra," a Life Story Filled with Wisdom - Atwood Magazine". May 18, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  17. LumineersVEVO, The Lumineers - The Ballad Of Cleopatra, retrieved December 11, 2018
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "The Lumineers: Ophelia - The Tonight Show". Lockerdome.com. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  20. "The Lumineers". M.facebook.com. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  21. "Watch The Lumineers Perform 'Ho Hey' & 'Ophelia' from AT&T Live Performance: Exclusive". Fuse.tv. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  22. "Ophelia (2016) - The Lumineers - High Quality Music Downloads - 7digital United Kingdom". 7digital.com. June 7, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017.
  23. "Ultratop.be – The Lumineers – Ophelia" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  24. "The Lumineers Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  25. "Lescharts.com – The Lumineers – Ophelia" (in French). Les classement single.
  26. "IRMA – Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  27. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 7". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  28. "Swisscharts.com – The Lumineers – Ophelia". Swiss Singles Chart.
  29. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  30. "The Lumineers Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  31. "The Lumineers Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  32. "The Lumineers Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  33. "The Lumineers Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  34. "The Lumineers Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  35. "The Lumineers Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  36. "Adult Alternative Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  37. "Alternative Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  38. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  39. "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  40. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  41. "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  42. "Top AFP - Audiogest - Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  43. "Decade-End Charts: Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  44. "Canadian single certifications – The Lumineers – Ophelia". Music Canada. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  45. "French single certifications – The Lumineers – Ophelia" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  46. "Italian single certifications – The Lumineers – Ophelia" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved May 10, 2017. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Ophelia" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  47. "Polish single certifications – The Lumineers – Ophelia" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  48. "British single certifications – Lumineers – Ophelia". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
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