Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox song "Building a Mystery" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan from her fourth studio album, Surfacing (1997). At a live performance, Sarah explains the song as being "basically about the fact that we all... have insecurities to hide, and we often do that by putting on a facade." She also goes on to say that "unfortunately, if we just be who we are, that's usually the more attractive and beautiful thing".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Released on 9 June 1997, the song was an immediate top-40 and adult contemporary hit, and it has received several accolades. Commercially, "Building a Mystery" was Canada's most successful single of 1997, topping the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart for eight weeks, and peaked at number 13 in the United States. "Building a Mystery" won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards as well as the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 1998.
CensorshipEdit
The album version of "Building a Mystery," and the live albums Afterglow Live and Mirrorball contain the line, "A beautiful fucked up man." The radio version replaces this line with "A beautiful but strange man" or the original lyric garbled beyond recognition, and during performances on radio or television, Sarah often sings the line "A beautiful messed up man."
ReceptionEdit
The song won the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 1998. The track also made Sarah McLachlan the recipient of the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1998, beating Mariah Carey, Shawn Colvin, Paula Cole and Jewel.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It came in at number 91 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '90s".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Chart performanceEdit
"Building a Mystery" became McLachlan's biggest chart hit in Canada, spending eight weeks at number one on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and ranking at number one on the magazine's year-end chart for 1997.<ref name="can"/><ref name="canye"/> It also topped the RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks and Alternative 30 charts.<ref name="canac"/><ref name="canrock"/> In the United States, it debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early September 1997 and peaked at number 13 a month later.<ref name="hot100"/> It also spent 10 weeks at number one on Adult Alternative Airplay;<ref name="aaa"/> in February 2021, for the chart's 25th anniversary, Billboard ranked the song at number 38 on its list of the 100 most successful songs in the chart's history.<ref name="AAA-25">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Greatest-AAA">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In Australia, the song reached number 97 in March 1998.<ref name="aus"/>
Music videoEdit
Directed by Matt Mahurin,<ref name="leblanc">Template:Cite magazine</ref> the music video for the song features Moist front man David Usher. It features a man, described as McLachlan's boyfriend, taking points of light from wherever he travels and stitching some sort of garment. When McLachlan investigates in his absence, she finds that he has been assembling a skirt so decorated as to be lit with stars.
In other usesEdit
On 23 October 2001, "Building a Mystery" became the first song ever publicly played on an Apple iPod. Apple founder, chairman and CEO Steve Jobs selected and played a short portion of the song during the presentation in which he first introduced the iPod to the public at Apple Campus in Cupertino, California.<ref name="Guglielmo">Template:Cite news</ref>
Track listingsEdit
US CD and cassette single<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- "Building a Mystery" – 4:06
- "I Will Remember You" – 4:53
US maxi-CD single and Australian CD single<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- "Building a Mystery" – 4:06
- "I Will Remember You" – 4:53
- "Possession" – 4:39
- "Angel" (soft drum mix) – 4:30
PersonnelEdit
Personnel are lifted from the Surfacing liner notes.<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>
- Sarah McLachlan – writing, vocals, acoustic and electric guitars
- Pierre Marchand – writing, background vocals, production, recording, mixing
- Michel Pepin – additional electric guitars
- Brian Minato – bass
- Ash Sood – drums
ChartsEdit
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
Weekly chartsEdit
Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chartTemplate:Single chart| Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)<ref name="aus">Template:Cite Ryan</ref> | 97 |
| Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | 23 |
Year-end chartsEdit
| Chart (1997) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)<ref name="canye">Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 1 | |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 5 | |
| Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 15 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
63 |
| US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 20 | |
| US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 20 | |
| US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 56 | |
| US Triple-A (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 5 |
| Chart (1998) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 74 |
Release historyEdit
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 9 June 1997 | Radio | Nettwerk | <ref name="leblanc"/> |
| United States | 12 June 1997 | Template:Hlist | Arista | |
| 23 June 1997 | Hot adult contemporary radio | |||
| 22 July 1997 | Contemporary hit radio | <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> |
See alsoEdit
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1997 (Canada)
- List of RPM Rock/Alternative number-one singles (Canada)