First Day of My Life (Melanie C song)

"First Day of My Life" is a song by British singer Melanie C. It was released on 30 September 2005 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland as the third and final single from Melanie C's third solo album, Beautiful Intentions (2005). The song peaked at number one in Germany, Spain, and Switzerland, being certified platinum in Germany and gold in Switzerland. The song is Melanie C's most successful single in continental Europe, spending two years in different European charts. The single has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

"First Day of My Life"
Single by Melanie C
from the album Beautiful Intentions
B-side	"Runaway" "Better Alone" "Warrior"
Released	30 September 2005 (2005-09-30)
Length	4:04
Label	Red Girl
Songwriter(s)	Guy Chambers Enrique Iglesias
Producer(s)	Richard Flack
Melanie C singles chronology
"Better Alone" (2005) "First Day of My Life" (2005) "The Moment You Believe" (2007)
Audio sample
file help
Music video
"First Day of My Life" on YouTube

Background

The song was written by Guy Chambers and Enrique Iglesias and had originally been recorded by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, with lyrics in Italian as "Un nuovo giorno" ("A new day") for his 2004 eponymous album Andrea, and he also released it as a single the same year. The song was not from the original Beautiful Intentions release, but was included on a re-release in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and other European countries.

Chart performance

The song became one of the biggest hits in Europe in 2005, but it was never released in UK as a commercial single, though it was included as a B side on one of the two UK CDs of her single "Carolyna". The song also was nominated as "The Single of the Year" at the 2006 ECHO Awards in Germany but lost to "Hung Up" by Madonna. On 15 September 2006, "First Day of My Life" went platinum in Germany, selling over 400,000 copies.

After a huge success of this single in Europe, Melanie recorded this song in French (Je suis née pour toi — I Am Born For You), to promote the single and album for French market. "First Day of My Life" also appeared on Chisholm's fourth album This Time as a bonus track for the Italian release.

The song spent 57 weeks on the Swiss Singles Chart, entering on 16 October 2005 at number 15 and exiting the charts on 13 May 2007 at number 87. It peaked at number one for two weeks, from 13 to 20 November 2005.^[1]

Music video

The video was shot on location in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany, on 26 August 2005 and features a number of recognizable local landmarks. For key scenes of the video, a busy downtown thoroughfare known to locals as the Raschplatzhochstraße or Raschplatz overpass (on which Melanie can be seen standing and singing in the video) was closed for the afternoon.

Formats and track listings

European 3-Track CD "First Day of My Life" – 4:04 "First Day of My Life" (acoustic version) – 4:04 "Runaway" - 3:24 German 2-Track CD "First Day of My Life" – 4:04 "Runaway" – 3:24 German Maxi CD "First Day of My Life" – 4:04 "First Day of My Life" (acoustic version) – 4:04 "Runaway" – 3:24 "First Day of My Life" (music video) – 4:04

Australian Maxi CD "First Day of My Life" – 4:04 "First Day of My Life" (acoustic) - 4:04 "Better Alone" (special Productions Re-work) – 6:50 "Better Alone" (edit) – 3:05 "Better Alone" (pop mix) – 3:56 France CD "First Day of My Life" – 4:04 "First Day of My Life" (acoustic version) – 4:04 Italian CD "First Day of My Life" – 4:04 "First Day of My Life" (acoustic version) – 4:04 "Warrior" – 3:47 "First Day of My Life" (music video) – 4:04

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2005–2006) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[2] 65 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 2 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[4] 3 Denmark (Tracklisten)[5] 18 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[6] 6 France (SNEP)[7] 25 Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 1 Italy (FIMI)[9] 32 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 94 Norway (VG-lista)[11] 14 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[12] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 9 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[1] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 7 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[15] 61 Germany (Official German Charts)[16] 12 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 13 Chart (2006) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 29 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[19] 52 Germany (Official German Charts)[20] 26 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 14 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position Germany (Official German Charts)[22] 21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[23]	Platinum	300,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[24]	Gold	20,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Austria	30 September 2005 (2005-09-30)	CD	Red Girl 313 Music	[8]
Germany
Switzerland
Australia	15 May 2006 (2006-05-15)		Red Girl Rajon	[25]

References

1. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life". Swiss Singles Chart.
2. "Issue 847" ARIA Top 100 Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
3. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
4. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
5. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life". Tracklisten.
6. "Hits of the World: Eurocharts" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 47. 19 November 2005. p. 63. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
7. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life" (in French). Les classement single.
8. "Melanie C – First Day Of My Life" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
9. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life". Top Digital Download.
10. "Melanie C – First Day Of My Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
11. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life". VG-lista.
12. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life" Canciones Top 50.
13. "Melanie C – First Day of My Life". Singles Top 100.
14. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2005". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
15. "Year End European Hot 100 Singles Chart 2005 01 – 2005 52" (PDF). Billboard. VNU Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
16. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2005" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
17. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2005". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
18. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2006". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
19. "European Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
20. "Top 100 Single–Jahrescharts 2006" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
21. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2006". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved 23 February 2020.
22. "Gratis: 'Hits des neuen Jahrtausend'-Liste" [Free: 'Hits of the New Millennium' List] (in German). RTL. 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
23. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Melanie C; 'First Day of My Life')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
24. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('First Day of My Life')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
25. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 15th May 2006" (PDF). ARIA. 15 May 2006. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2021.