White Flag (Dido song)

"White Flag" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the lead single from her second studio album Life for Rent on 1 September 2003. The song is considered one of her signature songs and helped Life for Rent sell over ten million copies worldwide. It performed well on record charts around the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Norway, and Portugal. In Dido's native UK, it reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, and in the United States, it climbed to number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features actor David Boreanaz as Dido's love interest.

"White Flag"
Single by Dido
from the album Life for Rent
B-side
ReleasedSeptember 1, 2003 (2003-09-01)
GenrePop
Length
  • 4:01 (album version)
  • 3:40 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Dido
  • Rollo
Dido singles chronology
"Feels Like Fire"
(2003)		 "White Flag"
(2003)		 "Life for Rent"
(2003)
Music video
"White Flag" on YouTube

"White Flag" was nominated for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards but lost to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful". It won the Best British Single at the 2004 Brit Awards. The song has featured in several TV series including Smallville, The Inbetweeners, Medium, The Sopranos, Tru Calling, Cold Case, Winners & Losers, as well as in the films Perfect Stranger, Mommy and Bad Education. Carly Rae Jepsen performed a cover version of the song on Canadian Idol. "White Flag" ranked at number 317 on Blender's list "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".[1]

Background and composition

"White Flag" was written and produced by Dido, Rollo Armstrong and Rick Nowels.[2] In the song, the protagonist is unwilling to give up, even if she knows her relationship is over.[3]

"White Flag" features "multi-layered" sound, delicate piano outro, and strings.[3] The song is written in the key of F major (the verse starts on the minor parallel) with a tempo of 90 beats per minute, and Dido's vocals range from the low note of A3 to the high note of C5.[4]

Critical reception

David Jeffries from AllMusic praised "Dido's sweet delivery" and stated that "It’s all very beautiful, the perfect soundtrack for weeping, and the definition of "wistful" in a song."[3] Derryck Strachan wrote for BBC Music that the song is "engaging to the extent that you could easily be humming along without it registering in your brain. There's something unconscious, pleasantly innocuous about it. It's comfort food for the ears and it could be easily on a Tom Hanks–Meg Ryan romantic comedy."[5] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian wrote that the song "is a superb, confidently written pop song, possessed of a chorus that is impossible to dislodge from your memory without the aid of hypnotherapy."[6]

Awards and success

The song was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, but lost to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful".[7] The song won the award for "Best Single" at the 2004 BRIT Awards.[8]

Music video

The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features actor David Boreanaz as Dido's love interest.[9]

The video tells a story about a relationship that is over, but where Dido is obviously still smitten with her ex, who is oblivious to her. They have numerous occasions where they are near each other without him noticing. Dido is clearly still not over him, while he doesn't seem to really notice she is there.

At the end of the video, they return to their apartments and Dido's room is filled with photos of him and, in a twist ending, his apartment is also filled with Dido's photos (showing he's still as much in love with her as well.) The screen rotates throughout the entirety of the video, never standing still. The song's opening is also cut out entirely from the video.[10]

Track listings

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[69] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[70] Gold 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[71] Gold 25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[72] Gold 150,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[73] Platinum 10,000*
Sweden (GLF)[74] Gold 10,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[75] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[76] Platinum 600,000
United States (RIAA)[77] Gold 500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 301 – 350
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