"Use My Voice" is a song by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their de ...
. It was released on August 14, 2020, by
BMG BMG may refer to:
Organizations
* Music publishing companies:
** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008
*** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
as the third single from the band's fifth studio album, ''
The Bitter Truth
''The Bitter Truth'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Evanescence. It was released on March 26, 2021, through BMG Rights Management and was produced by Nick Raskulinecz. It is the band's first album of all-new material since th ...
''.
It was originally intended as the first single, but "
Wasted on You" was released first due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. It was nominated for the
MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock was first given out in , one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. In its first year, the award was called Best Heavy Metal Video, and from 1990 to 1995, it was renamed Best Meta ...
in the
2021 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2021 MTV Video Music Awards were held on September 12, 2021, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York City. This marked the first time in eight years that the venue hosted the show. The show was hosted by hip-hop rapper and singer Doja ...
.
Background
The song was written 'to celebrate the power of speaking out in order to promote a more just world'. In a press release,
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler (; born December 13, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead songwriter of the rock band Evanescence. Alongside her contributions with the band, Lee has also particip ...
said, "This is an era of awakening, and full of powerful beauty. I hope to inspire others to seek truth, find their own voices and use them as I step up to use mine. Don't let anybody speak for you. Only you can do that." In order to reinforce the message of the song, Lee was also accompanied by vocals delivered by other fellow musicians such as
Within Temptation
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other i ...
's
Sharon den Adel, violinist
Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling (born September 21, 1986) is an American violinist, songwriter, and dancer. She presents choreographed violin performances, in live and music videos found on her official YouTube channel, which she created in 2007.
Stirling pe ...
,
Halestorm
Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, her drummer brother Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith.
The group's self-titled debut album was ...
's
Lzzy Hale
Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale (born October 10, 1983) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded with her brother Arejay Hale in 1997.
Career
Hale began writing and ...
and
The Pretty Reckless
The Pretty Reckless is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2009. The band consists of Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums).
The ba ...
'
Taylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and J ...
, as well as some of Lee's personal friends and family members. The band also worked with registration organisation
HeadCount as a way of encouraging people to register and vote on the
2020 United States presidential election.
In an interview for ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday ...
'', Lee stated that the first thing that inspired her on creating a song regarding public and political issues was a moment during the
Stanford University sexual assault cases trial in which a victim said to her abuser that the only thing he could not take away was her voice. After that, Lee considered that it had been hypocritical of her remaining silent about things that affect the world and decided to work on both the song and being more explicit about politics.
Personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
*
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their de ...
– composer, lyricist, associated performer
*
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler (; born December 13, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is the co-founder, lead vocalist, and lead songwriter of the rock band Evanescence. Alongside her contributions with the band, Lee has also particip ...
– vocals, piano, keyboards, additional programming
*
Deena Jakoub – composer, backing vocals
*
Lzzy Hale
Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale (born October 10, 1983) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded with her brother Arejay Hale in 1997.
Career
Hale began writing and ...
– backing vocals
* Carrie Lee – backing vocals
* Lori Lee – backing vocals
*
Sharon den Adel – backing vocals
*
Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey Stirling (born September 21, 1986) is an American violinist, songwriter, and dancer. She presents choreographed violin performances, in live and music videos found on her official YouTube channel, which she created in 2007.
Stirling pe ...
– backing vocals
*
Taylor Momsen
Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American musician, singer, model, and former actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2000) and J ...
– backing vocals
* Amy McLawhorn – backing vocals
*
Jen Majura
Jennifer Majura Indrasen (born 16 June 1983) is a German musician. She was the rhythm guitarist for American rock band Evanescence from 2015 to 2022.
Biography
Majura was born in Stuttgart, West Germany, and started in music at the age of ...
– backing vocals
* Tiago Nunez – programmer
*
Ted Jensen
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' '' Come Away with Me''.
Biograp ...
– mastering engineer
*
Nick Raskulinecz
Nick Raskulinecz () (born February 4, 1970) is an American record producer. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Production career
Raskulinecz is from the Bearden area of Knoxville, Tennessee. He first produced and recorded bands in Knoxvil ...
– mixing engineer, recording engineer
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
2020 songs
2020 singles
Evanescence songs
Political songs