Rule the World (Take That song)

"Rule the World"
Single by Take That
from the album Beautiful World (deluxe edition)
Released21 October 2007
Recorded2007
Genre
Length
  • 3:58 (radio edit)
  • 4:58 (album version)
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)John Shanks
Take That singles chronology
"I'd Wait for Life"
(2007) 		"Rule the World"
(2007) 		"Greatest Day"
(2008)
Music video
"Take That - Rule The World (Band Version)" on YouTube

"Rule the World" is a song by English boy band Take That. It was recorded for the soundtrack of the film Stardust (2007), and then included on the deluxe edition of their fourth studio album Beautiful World (2006).

It was released in the United Kingdom on 21 October 2007 via digital download and as a CD single the following day. The single peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and went on to become the group's best selling single, shifting over 1.8 million sales and being certified as 3× Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The song was submitted for consideration at the 80th Academy Awards for Best Original Song, but was not nominated.[2] In addition to the song featuring in the film, it also plays over the ending of the episode “Fireworks” of the sitcom, Not Going Out.

Background

"Rule the World" is the first song written by Take That specifically for a film. Matthew Vaughn, the director of Stardust, contacted Take That in the hope of getting them to write a song for the film. After seeing the film the band members agreed to write and perform a song. The band wrote the chorus of the song while they were in Spain. They played the song for Matthew Vaughn who included it in the end credits of the film. Gary Barlow performs lead vocals. The song is not included on the soundtrack for Stardust, nor on the original release of the album Beautiful World.

It was released internationally exclusively as a single in October 2007, and was premiered live by the band at the inaugural National Movie Awards on 28 September 2007 to rave reviews and critical acclaim. It ended 2007 as the year's 5th biggest-selling single in the UK, despite being released just two months from the end of the year.[3] The song was also the 44th best selling single in the UK of 2008, the following year, and the 16th best selling single in Ireland in 2007.

The full-length version appears exclusively on the Tour Souvenir Edition of the album Beautiful World.

Crossover singer Camilla Kerslake, a protégée of Gary Barlow, has recorded the song on her eponymous debut album as "Il Mondo è Nostro" ("The World Is Ours").

Chart performance

In October 2007, "Rule the World" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 46 and peaked at number 2, being held off the top spot by Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love". The song became the 5th biggest selling single of 2007 and remained in the Top 100 until 12 April 2009, 1 year, 5 months and 21 days after the single's release. On 21 September 2008, the song managed to climb back up to number 34 on the UK Singles Chart following a performance by contestants on BBC One's Last Choir Standing and on 30 November 2008 it managed to climb up the chart once again to number 27 following its appearance on The X Factor, sung by Rachel Hylton.

The song spent twelve weeks inside the UK top ten, the longest of any Take That song. It re-entered the chart again in November 2009 following another X Factor performance, this time by Stacey Solomon, and again in November 2010, and has spent 75 weeks on the official UK Top 75 chart, making it the 5th longest runner of all time, and 100 weeks on the Top 100. It was the 30th biggest-selling single of the 2000s in the UK. As of January 2024 it has sold 1.8 million copies in the UK, making it the group's best selling single in the country.[4]

Critical reception

Digital Spy praised the song, stating it is "a big, proper, important-sounding ballad – the piano chords tremor with passion, the strings sweep impressively and every strum of the guitar seems to quiver with emotion – it offers copious proof that Gary Barlow's flair for melody is still very much intact."[5]

Music video

The music video was directed by Barney Clay and filmed at Abbey Road Studios.[6] It shows the band and the orchestra at the studios performing the song. Another version of the video features excerpts from the movie Stardust. It premiered on ITV on 22 September 2007. An animated lyric video was uploaded on YouTube on 24 May 2022 and it displays the lyrics following a shooting star across various illustrated landmarks around the world including The Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, Mount Rushmore, The Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and The Northern Lights.

Live performances

The song was the finale to The Circus Tour in 2009. This song was also performed on 19 November 2009 for Children in Need on "Children in Need Rocks the Royal Albert Hall", where Gary Barlow dedicated it to his father, who had died 5 weeks earlier. Take That performed the song at the London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony whilst the Olympic Flame was extinguished. The band's performance of the song during the closing ceremony was lauded as inspiring, in light of the loss of Barlow's stillborn daughter Poppy a week before.[7]

Personnel

Take That

Additional personnel

  • John Shanks – keyboards, guitar, bass
  • Jeff Rothschild – drums
  • The Millennium Ensemble – strings

Track listing

UK CD single[8]

  1. "Rule the World" (radio edit) – 3:58
  2. "Stay Together" – 3:57

German CD single[9]

  1. "Rule the World" (radio edit) – 3:58
  2. "Stay Together" – 3:57
  3. "Rule the World" (video) – 4:00

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] 3× Platinum 1,800,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ This song was written specifically for the soundtrack for Stardust (2007)
  2. ^ "Academy unveils 56 songs eligible for original song Oscar". Screen Daily. Retrieved 13 August 2019
  3. ^ "Top 40 Singles of the Year 2007". BBC Music. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  4. ^ Myers, Justin (24 March 2017). "Take That's Top 40 biggest songs revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  5. ^ "Take That: 'Rule The World'". 13 October 2007.
  6. ^ Ltd, Project 53. "Rushes".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "London 2012: Gary Barlow braves personal tragedy to perform at closing ceremony". The Daily Telegraph.
  8. ^ "Take That Rule The World UK CD single (CD5 / 5") (416872)".
  9. ^ "TAKE THAT"RULE THE WORLD"RARE 3TR.GERMAN CD P/S! – eBay".
  10. ^ "Take That – Rule the World" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  11. ^ "Take That – Rule the World" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. ^ Take That — Rule the World. TopHit. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  14. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 46. týden 2007 in the date selector.
  15. ^ "Take That – Rule the World". Tracklisten.
  16. ^ "Hits of the World: Eurocharts". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 48. 1 December 2007. p. 81.
  17. ^ "Take That – Rule the World" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  18. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Rule the World". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  19. ^ "Take That – Rule the World". Top Digital Download.
  20. ^ "Take That – Rule the World" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  21. ^ "Romanian Top 100 – Issue nr: 1/2008 (14 Ianuarie - 20 Ianuarie 2008)" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Top Radio Hits Russia Weekly Chart: January 10, 2008". TopHit. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  23. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  24. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200807 into search.
  25. ^ "Take That – Rule the World". Swiss Singles Chart.
  26. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on 13 May 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  28. ^ "Best of Singles 2007". IRMA. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  29. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2007". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Year End Charts: European Hot 100 Singles". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  31. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2008". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  32. ^ "Official Singles Chart 2009" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  33. ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  34. ^ "British single certifications – Take That – Rule the World". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 26 January 2024.