"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song written, produced and performed by American singer R. Kelly from the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. It was originally released on November 26, 1996, and was later included on Kelly's 1998 album R..
In early 1997, "I Believe I Can Fly" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100; it was kept from the number one spot by Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart". Although Kelly has had two number one songs, "I Believe I Can Fly" is his most successful single. It topped the charts in the United Kingdom. It has won three Grammy Awards, and was ranked number 406 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. The music video was directed by Kelly with Hype Williams.
Produced and arranged by R. Kelly
Recorded by Stephen George at Battery Studios, Chicago
Assistant recording engineers: Chris Brickley and Rick Behrens
String Orchestra recorded by Carl Robinson at United Sound Systems – Studio A, Detroit
Mixed by R. Kelly and Stephen George at Chicago Recording Co.
Assistant mix engineer: Ron Lowe
Programmed by R. Kelly and Stephen George
Lead vocals: R. Kelly
Background vocals: The Luv Club Choir, directed by Percy Bady
Keyboard: Percy Bady
Strings: Paul Riser and The Motown Romance Orchestra, led by Hart Hollman
Executive producer: Barry Hankerson
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.
Singer Yolanda Adams performed the song at the Ronald McDonald Concert for World Children's Day in 2003.
The song was covered by Tim Olstad on season 3 of the The X Factor.
The song was covered by Delvin Choice on season 6 of The Voice.
The song has been covered live by Faith No More in numerous tours, usually to segue into other songs.
The song has been covered live by James Carter's Organ Trio on Out of Nowhere.
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 Meltdown, Crash the possum 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 Season 1, Episode 5 of the TV Series Da Ali G Show, Ali G performs the song during the opening skit.
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.
R. Kelly performed his 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. The song also played at the conclusion of NBC's broadcast of the 1997 NBA Finals.
In addition to the NBA, the song also found use at other sporting events, most notably at Major League Baseball's New York Yankees home games during their four consecutive World Series runs from 1998 to 2001, the first three of which they won.
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.)
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."
In 2013, the song was parodied by sports radio show Tim & Sid, spoofing the song as "I Believe in Masai", in reference to Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri.
