"I Believe I Can Fly" is a song written, produced, and performed by disgraced American singer R. Kelly from the soundtrack to the 1996 film ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel ...

''. 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, kept from the number-one spot by

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...

's " Un-Break My Heart". Although Kelly has had two number one songs on the Hot 100, "I Believe I Can Fly" is his most successful single. It reached the number-one spot of the ''Billboard'' R&B Singles Chart and remained there for six non-consecutive weeks, keeping "Un-Break My Heart" from the top position of that chart for four of those weeks. Internationally, "I Believe I Can Fly" topped the charts in eight countries, including the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The song received five nominations at the

40th Annual Grammy Awards The 40th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1998, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Rock icon Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss & Union Station, and R. Kelly were the ...

, winning

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B ...

, Best R&B Song, and

Best Song Written for Visual Media The Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media (including its previous names) is the Grammy Awards awarded to songs written for films, television, video games or other visual media. Recipients * Each year is linked t ...

, while losing Song of the Year and

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

. It was ranked number 406 on ''

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 ...

''s list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...

in 2004. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

was directed by Kelly with

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Ade ...

and designed by visual artist and designer Ron Norsworthy.

Background and composition

In a 2013 interview with The Boombox, R. Kelly was asked about the creative process behind the song: "When I met Michael Jordan on a basketball court at an athletic club — we hooped together in Chicago — he came to me and asked me if I wanted to do a song for his upcoming movie," Kelly said. "I was like, 'Yeah!' I didn't even ask what it was. ventuallyhe let me know what it was, we went to a screening to watch it and that's when I ended up coming up with 'I Believe I Can Fly'. I knew from the first melody that was gonna be the song that was gonna take me out of R&B and into another genre of music."

Critical reception

A writer for ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

'' described the song as "majestic" and "

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

-styled", noting that "hearing R. Kelly's booming voice reach a crescendo while backed up by a choir is a rousing performance that will get many replays".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' wrote that it is "highly inspirational" and "embodying the mind-set of the two superstars ichael Jordan and R. Kelly. He added, ""If I can dream it, I can achieve it." A great motivator for the children who will flock to the silver screen for Jordan". A reviewer from ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' viewed it as a "warm anthem". Ross Scarano from '' Complex'' said, "Like it or not, R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" works because of R. Kelly. There's not another singer alive with the same combination of ability, earnest conviction, and personal demons—demons that Kelly believes he needs the listener's support to fight." He added that the singer "calls on strings and a choir and every bit of strength available in his lungs and vocal chords to rise above the broad struggle described in the lyrics." David Browne from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' opined that the "go-for-it lyrics and florid orchestration seem to have been written with a future

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

musical in mind." Tom Ewing of

Freaky Trigger ''Freaky Trigger'' is an Internet publication and e-zine that focuses on popular culture with topics varying from music to cinema. It was founded by the music critic Tom Ewing in 1999 and features Pete Baran and Mark Sinker as editors. From 2000 ...

noted "I Believe I Can Fly"'s "genuine power as a redemption song" and also called it "the most convincing self-help song". British newspaper ''Lennox Herald'' picked it as the "undoubted highlight" of the ''Space Jam'' album". Thessa Mooji from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' described it as a "dramatic ballad". ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it three out of five, calling it "a smoochy gospel-tinged ballad". They added, "A huge hit in the US and should ignite here." A reviewer for ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...

'' labeled it as "schmaltzy but potent". ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

'' rated it five out of ten, writing, "'I believe I can soar' sings R. Kelly but I suppose we should be thankful that he's released a proper song for once instead of those awful rap cover versions which are clogging up the charts these days. It's taken from the film ''Space Jam'' and if you bought

's last single and liked '' The Bodyguard'' then you will buy this for sure. I believe it will fly to the top of the charts though it makes me sore to say it." James L. Brown from '' USC Today'' deemed it a "long slow

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Impact and legacy

In 2004, ''

'' ranked "I Believe I Can Fly" number 406 on their list of the ''

''. In 2012, '' Complex'' placed the song at number 24 in their ranking of ''The Best 90s R&B Songs''.

Music video

The

for "I Believe I Can Fly" was directed by

. It begins at an old farm, where a young boy is playing with his ball. By the farm lies an autumn yellow cornfield, where R. Kelly starts singing. In another scene, a large screen by the farm are showing clips from ''

'', while Kelly performs on the ground. Later in the video, the singer sits in an autumn forest. Behind him is the screen where the film's clips are displayed. In the last part of the video, Kelly conducts a large choir in a sports hall, accompanied by an orchestra. After Kelly has sung the last stanzas of the song, the choir claps as the video ends.

Track listing

Personnel

* Produced and arranged by R. Kelly * Recorded by Stephen George at Battery Studios,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

* Assistant recording engineers: Chris Brickley and Rick Behrens *

String Orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

recorded by Carl Robinson at United Sound Systems – Studio A,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

* 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 The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

: R. Kelly *

Background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

: The Luv Club Choir, directed by

Percy Bady Percy Bady is an American singer, keyboardist, arranger, songwriter and record producer. Biography Bady was involved in 26 platinum and gold records. In 2003, he released his first solo album, ''The Percy Bady Experience'', which reached No. 2 ...

Keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

* Strings: Paul Riser and The Motown Romance Orchestra, led by Hart Hollman *

Executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

: Barry Hankerson

Cover versions

* In 1997, former ''

Wishbone Wishbone commonly refers to: * Furcula, a fork-shaped bone in birds and some dinosaurs Wishbone may also refer to: * Wish-Bone, an American salad dressing and condiment company * Wishbone formation, a type of offense in American football * Wishb ...

'' star

Mikaila Mikaila Dominique Enriquez (born December 15, 1986), known as Mikaila, is an American singer, actress, and songwriter from Edmond, Oklahoma. She is best known for her role as Melina Finch in the PBS series '' Wishbone''. Early life Mikaila became ...

covered "I Believe I Can Fly" on her second album "Dreams". *British pop singer Louisa Johnson covered this song on

The X Factor (British series 12) ''The X Factor'' is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. The twelfth series began airing on ITV on 29 August 2015 and ended on 13 December 2015. The judges were Simon Cowell, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, who returned ...

in the final of the competition. *In 2003, punk rock band

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (often shortened to just Me First or the Gimmes) are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, Fat Mike, Joey Cape, and Dave Raun. Ch ...

covered the song for their album '' Take a Break''. *Pop singer William Hung recorded this song for his 2004 album ''

Inspiration Inspiration, inspire, or inspired often refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, the doctrine in Judeo-Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible * Creative inspirat ...

''. *Jazz saxophonist

Marion Meadows Marion Meadows is an American soprano saxophonist and composer, mainly in smooth jazz. He was born in West Virginia and grew up mainly in Connecticut. His first album as a leader was ''For Lovers Only'' in 1990. He has had several other commerci ...

also covered the song from the album ''Dressed to Chill.'' *Late singer James Ingram sang the song on his album ''Forever More (Love Songs, Hits & Duets)'' in 1999. *R&B singer/actress

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

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". *Pop singer/actress

Jessica Simpson Jessica Ann Simpson (born July 10, 1980) is an American singer, actress, entrepreneur and philanthropist. After performing in church choirs as a child, Simpson signed with Columbia Records in 1997, aged seventeen. Her debut studio album, ''Swee ...

sang the song on her

DreamChaser Tour ''Irresistible'' is the second studio album by American recording artist Jessica Simpson, released on May 25, 2001, through Columbia Records. Simpson, who began working on the project in July 2000, contacted already established w ...

in 2001. *The song has also been covered by

Jane McDonald Jane Anne McDonald (born 4 April 1963) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. Born and raised in Wakefield, McDonald spent much of her early career performing in local clubs and pubs before landing work as a singer on cr ...

Irene Reid Irene Reid (September 23, 1930 – January 5, 2008) was an American jazz singer. Early life Reid was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. She sang in church and in high school in Georgia, and moved to New York City in 1947 after her mother d ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums ...

(in a duet with

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert was also a ...

Ruth Brown Ruth Alston Brown (; January 12, 1928 – November 17, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and actress, sometimes referred to as the " Queen of R&B". She was noted for bringing a pop music style to R&B music in a series of hit songs for At ...

, James Ingram,

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career s ...

, Bianca Ryan, and formerly of Woe, Is Me Tyler Carter. *''

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 ...

'' candidates Katharine McPhee,

Anwar Robinson Anwar Farid Robinson (born April 21, 1979) is an American singer/songwriter/musician who was the 7th place finalist on the fourth season of ''American Idol''. After moving with his family from Newark to Montclair, New Jersey in 1994, Robinso ...

, Aaron Kelly, Curtis Finch Jr., and Jacob Lusk all performed the song in different seasons of the TV show. *Gospel singer

performed the song at the Ronald McDonald Concert for World Children's Day in 2003. *The song was covered by

Jermaine Paul Jeremiah Jermaine Paul (born July 26, 1979) is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is the winner of season 2 of American talent competition ''The Voice''. Prior to his ''The Voice'' stint, he was co-nominated at the 48th Grammy Awards for Be ...

on season 2 of '' The Voice''. *The song was covered by Tim Olstad on season 3 of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. *The song was covered by Delvin Choice on season 6 of '' The Voice''. *The song has been covered live by

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist ...

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 ''

'', "I Believe I Can Fly" was performed by the school band in the 2002 film ''

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

'' during the high school graduation ceremony of Devon Miles (played by

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's ...

). *In the computer-animated sequel film '' Ice Age 2: The Meltdown'', Crash the possum sings the song after Manny catapults him with a tree before he crashes into another. *In the 2003 film ''

Good Boy! ''Good Boy!'' is a 2003 American science fiction comedy film directed by John Hoffman, based on the book ''Dogs from Outer Space'' by Zeke Richardson; Hoffman and Richardson collaborated on the screen story, while Hoffman wrote the screenplay. T ...

'', Wilson briefly sings the song while diving into a pool. *In the first-season episode of the television series ''

Da Ali G Show ''Da Ali G Show'' is a British satirical television series created by and starring English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In the series, Baron Cohen plays three unorthodox journalists: faux-streetwise poseur Ali G, Kazakh reporter Borat Sagdiyev, ...

'',

Ali G Alistair Leslie Graham, better known as Ali G, is a satirical fictional character created and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. A faux-streetwise poseur from Staines, Ali G speaks in rude boy-style Multicultural London English a ...

performs the song during the opening skit. *In the 2005 comedy '' 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 ''

'', where R. Kelly performed "I Believe I Can Fly" for the first time as a duet with the eventual winner of the show is Melanie Amaro. *This song was also performed on the singing competition series '' The Voice'' as the last solo song for the

Season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

winner

. *In the Fox musical television 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 Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

" by

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accents ...

featuring

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to th ...

. *In the comedy's third installment '' The Hangover Part III'', Leslie Chow sings a 12-second portion of the song, while parachuting through

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. *In Red Velvet's ''Level Up Project'', Wendy Shon sang the chorus while

parasailing Parasailing, also known as parascending, paraskiing or parakiting, is a recreational kiting activity where a person is towed behind a vehicle while attached to a specially designed canopy wing that resembles a parachute, known as a parasail w ...

and riding on a speed boat in

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi. Pattaya City ( th, เมือ� ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. She also sang the chorus in Level Up Project 2 in 2017-2018 and in ''

Battle Trip ''Battle Trip'' () is a South Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by KBS. Season 1 was aired starting 16 April 2016 and ended on 3 April 2020 with 177 episodes and 4 special episodes. The program starred Kim So ...

''s Episode 103 while

paragliding Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'p ...

Krems an der Donau Krems an der Donau () is a town of 23,992 inhabitants in Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria. It is the fifth-largest city of Lower Austria and is approximately west of Vienna. Krems is a city with its own statute (or ''Statutarst ...

, Austria.

Other performances

Kelly performed this song at the

. In The TP-2.com Tour, Kelly performed a 10-minute long remix of "I Believe I Can Fly," which included dialogue from a priest, Kelly's mother, and God as characters. The remix was later featured on the

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made a ...

release '' Loveland''.

STS-122 STS-122 was a NASA Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS), flown by the . STS-122 marked the 24th shuttle mission to the ISS, and the 121st Space Shuttle flight overall. The mission was also referred to as ISS-1E by the ...

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 Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

. The song also played at the conclusion of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's broadcast of the

1997 NBA Finals The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Western Conference champion Utah Jazz took on the defending NBA champion and Eastern Conference champion Chi ...

. In addition to the NBA, the song also found use at other sporting events, most notably at

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

home games during their four consecutive World Series runs from

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, the first three of which they won. 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 Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational Shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th ...

was being transferred from

Los Angeles International Airport Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the ...

to the California Science Center through the streets of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, 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 Deborah Kaye Allen (born January 16, 1950) is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director, producer, and a former member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She has been nominated 20 times for an ...

'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.)

Parodies

*In the 1999 episode "The Best of Both Worlds" of the Nickelodeon animated television series ''

KaBlam! ''KaBlam!'' (stylized as ''KaBLaM!'') is an American animated sketch comedy television series that ran on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2000. The series was created by Robert Mittenthal, Will McRobb, and Chris Viscardi. The show was developed as a fu ...

'', in the '' Life with Loopy'' segment, the song was spoofed as "I (Don't) Believe I Can Fly." *In the 2012 episode "Food Battle 2012" of the webseries ''

Smosh Smosh is an American YouTube sketch comedy- improv collective founded by Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox. In 2002, Padilla created a website named "smosh.com" for making Flash animations, and he was later joined by Hecox. They began to post vid ...

'', the song was spoofed as "I Believe I’m Able to Fly." It also appeared on the 2015 episode "EVERY CAT EVER". *In 2013, the song was parodied by sports radio show ''

Tim & Sid ''Tim & Friends'' (formerly ''Tim & Sid'') is a sports talk show hosted by Tim Micallef that was produced by the Canadian sports television network Sportsnet where it aired. The program, originally known as ''Tim & Sid'' and hosted by Micallef an ...

'', spoofing the song as "I Believe in Masai", in reference to

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

General Manager

Masai Ujiri Masai Ujiri (born 7 July 1970) is a British-born, Nigerian-Canadian professional basketball executive and former player and is the president of basketball operations of the Toronto Raptors in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a m ...

. *In 2016, the song was parodied as "I'm Convinced I Can Swim" by "Art Smelly" from the soundtrack to the hit film ''Earth Jelly'' in an episode of '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1996 singles 1996 songs Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media Music videos directed by Hype Williams European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Switzerland UK Singles Chart number-one singles R. Kelly songs Contemporary R&B ballads Pop ballads Bianca Ryan songs James Ingram songs Songs written by R. Kelly Looney Tunes songs Songs written for animated films Space Jam Basketball on NBC Atlantic Records singles Jive Records singles Gospel songs Song recordings produced by R. Kelly