You Raise Me Up

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"You Raise Me Up" is a popular song in the inspirational mold, the music was written by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland; the lyrics by Brendan Graham. The song has now been recorded more than 125 times around the world in different languages.

The song, which is very similar in melody to the traditional Irish folk music song "Danny Boy"--if not a liberal "borrowing" from the melody of "Wind Beneath My Wings"--was originally written as an instrumental piece and entitled "Silent Story". Løvland approached Irish novelist and songwriter Graham to write the lyrics to his melody after reading Graham's epic first novel - The Whitest Flower (Harper Collins). It was originally released on the 2001 Secret Garden album Once in a Red Moon, with the vocals sung by Irish singer Brian Kennedy, and sold well in both Ireland and Norway. The song was used for commemorations of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the USA even though it had not been released in America at that time. Originally, Brian Kennedy was supposed to follow Secret Garden on their Asian tour in 2002, but got sick, and could not attend the tour. He was replaced by Norwegian singer Jan Werner Danielsen, who also later recorded the song together with Secret Garden, but it was never released.

It was subsequently recorded by Daniel O'Donnell in 2003 and was a hit throughout Ireland and the UK.

Later in 2003, David Foster decided to produce the song. He chose the up and coming Josh Groban to record the song, which proved very popular in the US. His version made it to the top of the Billboard AC Charts and remained there for 6 weeks. Josh Groban also performed it at Super Bowl XXXVIII, in a special NASA commemoration for the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. A special surprise performance by Groban, for Oprah Winfrey's 50th birthday, also gave You Raise Me Up massive international prominence. The Josh Groban recording also was nominated for a 2005 Grammy award.

Shizuka Arakawa, the 2006 Olympic Champion in figure skating, used the piece as an exhibition number for many shows and professional competitions from 2005-2006. Michelle Kwan skated to the song during the 2004 Champion On Ice Tour and other competitions in 2005.

Australian Idol Top 12 contestant Daniel Belle sang the song for the "Pop" song selection in Australian Idol 2004, and it has become one of the most performed songs on similar Pop Idol and X Factor shows across the world.

In 2004, the song was played more than 500,000 times on American radio. In late 2005, there were over 80 versions available in USA alone, and it has become nominated for Gospel Music Awards four times, including "Song of the Year". This version by Christian group Selah (with both verses included, as originally written) also went to No. 1 on Billboard's Christian Charts.

The song returned to glory back in Ireland when Irish vocal pop group Westlife became the 100th artist to record the song. Westlife brought the song around the world and brought it to number 1 in the United Kingdom and the band's and song's home of Ireland. Westlife won "Record of the year 2005" in the UK, and are tipped to do well at the Meteors in Ireland, it's their 15th Irish #1. Westlife, together with Secret Garden, also performed the song at the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize concert.

Australian Idol runner up 2004 Anthony Callea has apparently co-written a song with the writer, Brendan Graham.

Brian Kennedy has re-released the single after performing it at legendary Northern Irish football player George Best's funeral, the song again climbing the UK Charts to No. 4 in January 2006 (named "George Best - A Tribute"). Brian has returned to the spotlight in Ireland once again after being named Ireland's 2006 entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The song was also released by Daniel O'Donnell, Ronan Tynan, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Russell Watson, Selah, Celtic Woman, Tommy Fleming, Michael Ball, and the Celtic Tenors with Samantha Mumba, this time with an R&B flow to it. Åsa Jinder has written lyrics in Swedish, "Rör vid min själ", and that version has been recorded by Sanna Nielsen. The most recent recording is a Spanish version by Il Divo entitled "Por Ti Seré".

The Japanese animation Romeo x Juliet, airing from April 2007, uses the song as its opening theme with Japanese lyrics, sung by Lena Park.

RTE (Ireland's national television station) screened a Roy Esmonde produced documentary titled You Raise Me Up on New Year's Day 2006. First screened a year earlier, this updated edition included the most recent successes for the song, as well as the story of how the song first came to be written by Løvland and Graham.

Preceded by "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" by Arctic Monkeys

UK Singles Chart Number 1 single (Westlife version) 5 November 2005 - 18 November 2005

Succeeded by "Hung Up" by Madonna