"Carry On" is a song by Norwegian producer Kygo and British singer

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...

, released as a standalone single for the 2019 film, ''

Pokémon Detective Pikachu ''Detective Pikachu'' (also known as ''Pokémon: Detective Pikachu'' and released as in Japan after the original game) is a 2019 comedy film directed by Rob Letterman. Based on the ''Pokémon'' franchise, the film is a loose adaptation of the ...

''. The song plays during the end credits of the film. "Carry On" was released on 19 April 2019, through

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

. The music video was released on the same day.

Background and composition

"Carry On" was written by Kygo, Rita Ora,

Ilan Kidron Ilan Kidron (born 22 April 1976), also known as iKid, is a Sydney-based singer songwriter with over one billion combined streams, best known as the lead singer for Australia's multi-platinum selling dance music act The Potbelleez. As a writer ...

Natalie Dunn Natalie Dunn, also known as Natalie Dunn Fries, (born 1956) was the first American woman to win the world championship in figure roller-skating, which she did in 1976. She won her first event at age seven, and won the national women's single at age ...

Josh Cumbee Joshua Kissiah Cumbee is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his artist collaborations with Armin van Buuren and as a songwriter for other artists. In 2015, he was nominated ...

and Afshin Salmani. According to Dunn and Kidron, they began writing the song in 2016 and the initial version of the song was recorded by several singers, including

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the g ...

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco-pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Grammy A ...

(featuring Swae Lee) and

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after p ...

. Ora later recorded the song with Kygo, after adding a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

. At the time, Ora was working on the

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of what each of thos ...

film ''Detective Pikachu'', and the song would go on to be featured in the end credits of the film. EDM.com's Katie Stone wrote that "as the song progresses into the first instrumental build" an "airy

tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...

beat" is introduced which "pairs beautifully with the top line." Stone also wrote that Ora's vocals get "pitched up and overlayed, creating a vibey track." The music site ''Run the Trap'' described the song as "melancholic."

Reception

John Frisica of ''Nintendo Enthusiast'' wrote that the song is "pretty chill and ethereal." Katie Stone from EDM.com praised Ora's singing as "soulful" and thought that "it's only fitting she would be included on the original soundtrack" since she appears in the film. Becca Longmire of ''

ET Canada ''ET Canada'' (previously referred to as ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series, using the same format as the American entertainment newsmagazine '' Entertainment Tonight''. ''ET Canada'' is a broadc ...

'' called the song "catchy."

Music video

While announcing the song's release on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

on 15 April 2019, Ora accompanied the post with

film still A film still (sometimes called a publicity still or a production still) is a photograph, taken on or off the set of a Film, movie or television program during Film production, production. These photographs are also taken in formal studio settings ...

s which the ''Wisconsin Gazette'' described as her "channelling" Detective Pikachu. The music video for the song was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

four days later, on 19 April. Directed by Jonathan Singer-Vine and produced by

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pro ...

, the video intersperses scenes from ''

''. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' wrote that the video is "set in the world of the film" and added that "Ora sports a Pikachu-yellow trenchcoat while driving around a dark city, as clips of ''Detective Pikachu'' play alongside her."

Track listing

*Digital download #"Carry On (from the Original Motion Picture "POKÉMON Detective Pikachu")" – 3:35 *Digital download – Remixes #"Carry On" (

Nicky Romero Nick Rotteveel (; born January 6, 1989), professionally known as Nicky Romero or Monocule, is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer from Amerongen, Utrecht Province. He has worked with, and received support from DJs, such as Tiësto, Fedde le ...

Remix) – 2:55

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Kygo songs Rita Ora songs Song recordings produced by Kygo Songs from Pokémon Songs written by Ilan Kidron Songs written by Josh Cumbee Songs written by Kygo Songs written by Nat Dunn Songs written by Rita Ora