Released April 10, 2007 Genre Pop Label The Firm Music.
EMI | Format Digital single Length 2:54 | |
Writer(s) Mandy Moore
The Weepies | ||
"Extraordinary" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mandy Moore. The first single released from her 2007 album Wild Hope, it is also the first track on the album.
Contents
The song differs significantly from her earlier work. Whereas songs such as "Candy" and "I Wanna Be with You" are synthesized bubblegum pop, "Extraordinary" has a more organic and instrumental sound; it features violins, drums, and guitars. According to Moore's official MySpace blog, the song explores her feelings of inferiority and her effort to break free from thoughts.
Release
The song was first released to Moore's MySpace page on January 29, 2007. It was released to the iTunes Store, Apple Inc.'s music store, on April 10, 2007, which was Moore's 23rd birthday. Moore performed the song live for the first time at the official first televised ceremony of the Brick Awards on The CW, though she has also performed the song at a number of smaller gigs. The song is included in the trailer of the film Georgia Rule, which stars Lindsay Lohan. The song was also played on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition where Moore was brought to the family's new home.
Billboard magazine said that "Moore's once-girlish vocals now project a richer, more purposeful texture, well-suited to the autobiographical theme...".
Music video
The video premiered on Yahoo! Music and MTV's Total Request Live on May 7, 2007. It was filmed in March and features Moore playing a variety of different characters, including Amelia Earhart (at the top). In the video, the numerous Moores are stacked on top of each other, and in the background the scene is changing from a city to clouds to show the height of the characters on top of each other. Moore's last character drifts down with a parachute. The video was directed by Ace Norton, who also directed videos by Norah Jones.
The video peaked at number twelve on VH1's Top 20 Countdown on July 14, 2007.
Chart performance
The song is remarkable for being her second single to almost reach the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, peaking at #102 (or #2 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100). However, the song entered several other Billboard charts. As of July 2012, "Extraordinary" has sold 287,000 paid digital downloads in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Track listing
Promo CD single
- "Extraordinary" 2:54