"Calling All Angels" is a song by American rock band

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. It was included on the band's third studio album, '' My Private Nation'', and produced by Brendan O'Brien. On April 14, 2003, the song was the first single to be released from ''My Private Nation'', peaking at number 19 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topping three other ''

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 advertis ...

'' charts: the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...

, and Triple-A listings. Outside the US, the song entered the top 40 in Australia and New Zealand.

Background

"Calling All Angels" was inspired by a conversation singer Pat Monahan had with his therapist. Monahan said, "She said, "Just remember that we are made up of angels and traitors, and the

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

is the one that says, 'You're beautiful and you can do anything you want,' and the traitor is the one that says, 'You're ugly and you can't get anything right.'" And so that song just came from that conversation of, if we all called our angels, what a cool life this would be for all of us."

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews from rock critics, with Ken Tucker of ''

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

'' giving the song a B+ and calling it "an anthemic hymn to commitment...that builds steadily to a gloriously clanging climax." Matt Lee of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

was less impressed, describing the track as "pedestrian, the vocals soulless, even more so than" the band's biggest hit single, " Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)".

Awards and nominations

The recording was nominated for two

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s at the ceremony held in February 2004. In the category Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group, it lost out to "Disorder in the House" by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer and songwriter. His most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". All t ...

. In the category Best Rock Song, the winner was "

Seven Nation Army "Seven Nation Army" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, ''Elephant (album), Elephant'' (2003). V2 Records released the song to American alternative radio on February 17, 2003, a ...

" by

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

Track listings

European CD single # "Calling All Angels" (radio edit) – 3:51 # "For You" – 3:04 European maxi-CD single # "Calling All Angels" (radio edit) – 3:51 # "Fascinated" – 3:26 # "Landmine" – 3:49 # "Calling All Angels" (video) Australian CD single # "Calling All Angels" (radio edit) – 3:51 # "Fascinated" – 3:26 # "For You" – 3:04 # "Landmine" – 3:49

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Cover versions

In 2016, the song was used in the US version of '' The Passion''. It was sung by Jencarlos and appeared on the official soundtrack album. It was sung in the story when

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

(Jencarlos)

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in the Garden of

Gethsemane Gethsemane ( ) is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, where, according to the four Gospels of the New Testament, Jesus Christ underwent the Agony in the Garden and was arrested before his crucifixion. The garden is ...

. The tempo was slowed, several lyrics were changed, and the third verse was entirely cut to fit the theme of the scene.

References

External links

Single release info from discogs.com
{{Authority control 2003 singles 2003 songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Songs written by Pat Monahan Train (band) songs