"I Believe" is the debut single of ''American Idol'' season three winner Fantasia. The song was co-written by

Louis Biancaniello Louis John Biancaniello is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Biancaniello's skills were developed while working alongside producer Narada Michael Walden with whom he produced hits for Shanice '' I Love Your Smile'', Whitney ...

Sam Watters Samuel Joshua Watters (born July 23, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I ...

, and former ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' contestant Tamyra Gray. Released in the United States on June 15, 2004, "I Believe" debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 142,000 copies during its first week and winning three '' Billboard'' awards. The song also reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart and number four on Australian ARIA Singles Chart. It was included on Fantasia's debut album, ''

Free Yourself ''Free Yourself'' is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Fantasia, which was released on November 23, 2004. The album sold 240,000 units in its first week, reaching number eight on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album is certi ...

'', released on November 23, 2004.

Background

Fantasia sang "I Believe" on the third-season finale of ''

'' as her last performance within the competition.

Diana DeGarmo Diana Nicole DeGarmo (born June 16, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in 2004 as the runner-up of the third season of ''American Idol'', releasing her debut studio album, '' Blue Skies'', later that year. The ...

, the runner up of ''American Idol'' season three, sang the song first, also on the finale, for her first performance of the night. The judges unanimously acclaimed Fantasia the winner of season three, a prediction that came true when she was crowned American Idol the following evening. An ecstatic and tearful Fantasia performed her new single "I Believe" minutes after the announcement. DeGarmo's performance was also well received by the judges.

Release and commercial performance

"I Believe" was released in the United States on June 15, 2004, as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

and 7-inch single. The song debuted on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number one, staying there for one week. During its debut week, the single sold 142,000 copies, making it the second debut solo single by a female artist to commence its chart run at number one, following

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

's "

Doo Wop (That Thing) "Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as the lead single from ''Th ...

". It has sold 527,000 copies in the United States as of 2009. "I Believe" was the winner of two ''Billboard'' Music Awards and one ''Billboard'' American Urban Radio Networks award. In Canada, the song remained atop the Canadian Singles Chart for 10 weeks and was certified double platinum by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It ...

(CRIA), shipping more than 80,000 units. Outside North America, "I Believe" charted in Australia, New Zealand, and Romania. In Australia, the song was issued as a CD single on July 19, 2004. The following week, it debuted at its peak of number four on the ARIA Singles Chart. By doing so, Fantasia became the second ''American Idol'' winner to chart in Australia, after

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

debuted on the ARIA chart with " Miss Independent" in 2003. "I Believe" stayed in the top 50 for 11 weeks, ending 2004 as Australia's 85th-best-selling single and earning a gold certification from the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing ...

(ARIA) for shipping over 35,000 copies. In New Zealand, the song charted on the

RIANZ Singles Chart Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mu ...

for five weeks, peaking at number 20 for two weeks in August 2004. On the

Romanian Top 100 Multiple record charts have been inaugurated in Romania since the 1990s. The Romanian Top 100 was the country's national chart until 2012. Founded in 1995, it was a ranking based on the compilation of charts submitted by local Romanian radio stat ...

, the single charted for one week, appearing at number 93 on July 19, 2004.

Awards

Track listings

US, Canadian, and Australian CD single # "I Believe" # "

Chain of Fools "Chain of Fools" is a song written by Don Covay. Aretha Franklin first released the song as a single in 1967 and subsequently it appeared on many of her albums. It hit number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Rhythm & Blues chart and number two on ...

" # " Summertime" US 7-inch single :A. "I Believe" :B. "Summertime"

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the US CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded at

NRG Studios NRG Recording Studios is a recording facility located in North Hollywood, California, that was created by producer and mixer Jay Baumgardner in 1992. Facilities The facility consists of three studio consoles: *Studio A console: custom vintage ...

(

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

, California), Homesite 13 (

Novato, California Novato (Spanish for "Novatus") is a city in Marin County, California, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area. At the 2020 census, Novato had a population of 53,225. History What is now Novato was originally the site of several Coast Miwok ...

), and the Record Plant (Hollywood, California) * Mixed at Homesite 13 (Novato, California) Writing and production * Tamyra Gray – writing, background vocals *

– writing, background vocals, production, arrangement *

– writing, keyboards, programming, production, arrangement, mixing *

Steve Churchyard Steve Churchyard is an English record producer, recording engineer and mixer who began his career at Sir George Martin’s AIR Studios in London. He currently resides in the United States. He has been nominated for 15 Grammy awards. In 2008 he wo ...

– string session engineering * Mark Kiczula – assistant string engineering * Ross Hogarth – choir session engineering * Brian Scheuble – choir session engineering * Jun Ishizeki – assistant choir engineering Vocals * Fantasia – vocals * Maxi Anderson – choir * Eric Butler – choir *

Debra Byrd Debra Byrd (born 19 July 1951, Cleveland, Ohio) is an American vocalist who has worked with Barry Manilow in and after Lady Flash and Bob Dylan, appeared on Broadway, and serves as the head vocal coach for ''American Idol'' and '' Canadian Ido ...

– choir * Nick Cooper – choir * Kevin Dorsey – choir * Angela Fisher – choir * Sybil Harris – choir * Darlene Koldenhoven – choir * Byron Motley – choir * Bobbi Page – choir * Deborah Sharpe-Taylor – choir * Melanie Taylor – choir * Tony Wilkins – choir * Terry Wood – choir * Yvonne Williams – choir Orchestra * David Campbell – string arrangement, conducting *

Joel Derouin Joel Derouin is a Canadian violinist, concert master, composer and music director. In addition to having worked with many popular musicians, he is also known for his work in film, television and theatre. Biography Born in Cornwall, Ontario, Can ...

– violin * Darius Campo – violin * Mario DeLeon – violin * Berj Garabedian – violin * Armen Garabedian – violin * Larry Greenfield – violin * Julian Hallmark – violin * Natalie Leggett – violin * Alyssa Park – violin * Sara Parkins – violin * Bob Peterson – violin * John Wittenberg – violin * Evan Wilson – viola * Matt Funes – viola * Larry Corbett – cello * Dan Smith – cello

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 19 Recordings singles 2004 debut singles 2004 songs American Idol songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles Fantasia Barrino songs J Records singles Song recordings produced by Sam Watters Songs written by Louis Biancaniello Songs written by Sam Watters Syco Music singles