The Phoenix (Fall Out Boy song)

"The Phoenix" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy for their fifth studio album Save Rock and Roll (2013). The song was written by the band in collaboration with Butch Walker, who handled production. After being released to digital outlets on March 24, 2013, in advance of the album's release, "The Phoenix" impacted radio on July 16, 2013 as an official single. The song charted for 1 week then fell off. An accompanying music video was also released as part of the ongoing series The Young Blood Chronicles, serving as a prequel to the video of the album's lead single "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)".

"The Phoenix"
Single by Fall Out Boy
from the album Save Rock and Roll
Released	March 24, 2013
Recorded	2012–2013
Genre	Rock[1]
Length	4:04
Label	Island
Songwriter(s)	Patrick Stump Pete Wentz Joe Trohman Andy Hurley
Producer(s)	Butch Walker
Fall Out Boy singles chronology
"My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" (2013) "The Phoenix" (2013) "Alone Together" (2013)
Music video
"The Phoenix" on YouTube

"The Phoenix" contains elements of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 in C major.^[2] Prior to its official release as a single, the song debuted at number 80 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 on the strength of digital sales and also charted in several other countries, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. It won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single in 2013.^[3]

Composition

The song was inspired by Soviet Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and drum loops, both of which Stump was interested in at one point in the recording process.^[4] While listening to the fourth movement (Allegro non troppo) of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7, Stump became entranced by a certain string moment and proceeded to build an entirely new song influenced by it. The same orchestral snippet was employed as a sample by German hip-hop artist Peter Fox in his 2008 single Alles neu.^[4] The tempo of the song is 138 BPM, and it is written in the key of E minor.

Music video

"The Phoenix" is the second of eleven videos in The Young Blood Chronicles series. This video follows that of "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)" and precedes "Young Volcanoes."

Video synopsis

A steel brief case with glowing contents is delivered to Fall Out Boy. Trohman handcuffs Stump's hands to the case and he heads out. As he walks down the street looking for predators, a boy on a bicycle approaches him. As he is staring at the bicycle boy a hooded woman sneaks up behind him, then tases and kidnaps him. They bring him to a dark room with vixens. The vixens torture him in various ways then chop off his hand and have the boy deliver it to Wentz while at his girlfriend's house. Finding the chopped hand in the bag, Wentz frees a falcon on a rooftop. Nearby band member Hurley sees it right before getting kidnapped by vixens in a parking lot via truck, and Trohman gets kidnapped in a gas station. Wentz gets kidnapped on the rooftop. Meanwhile, the vixens continue to torture Stump by laying him on a flatbed while sticking probes into his body and removing some of his organs. Stump is then strapped to a chair following the next video, "Young Volcanoes." The screen blanks out after Stump snaps.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2013) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 86 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[6] 73 Finland Download (Latauslista)[7] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[8] 72 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 40 Scotland (OCC)[10] 28 UK Singles (OCC)[11] 36 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[12] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 80 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[14] 14 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[15] 49

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[16] 44

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[17]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[18]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[19]	2× Platinum	2,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United States	July 16, 2013[20]	Modern rock radio	Island Records

In popular culture

This song is used in the gameplay trailer of the wrestling video game WWE 2K14.^[21]

In 2023, it is used in South Korea's Terra commercial.^[22]

References

1. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (April 8, 2013). "Save Rock and Roll". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 11, 2021. Their fifth LP opens with the rock-operatic rallying cry "The Phoenix"…
2. Anderson, Kyle (May 14, 2013). "Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on being back at No. 1, hanging with Elton John, and why he loves Shostakovich". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
3. "Relentless Kerrang! Awards 2013 – The winners!". Kerrang!. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
4. Kyle Anderson (May 14, 2013). "Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on being back at No. 1, hanging with Elton John, and why he loves Shostakovich". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
5. "The ARIA Report: Issue 1205 (Week Commencing 1 April 2013)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-07. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
6. "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
7. "Fall Out Boy: The Phoenix" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
8. "Chart Track: Week 14, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
9. "Fall Out Boy – The Phoenix". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
12. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
13. "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
14. "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
15. "Fall Out Boy Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
16. "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
17. "Brazilian single certifications – Fall Out Boy – The Phoenix" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
18. "British single certifications – Fall Out Boy – The Phoenix". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
19. "American single certifications – Fall Out Boy – The Phoenix". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
20. "Future Releases on Alternative Radio". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
21. WWE Games [@WWEgames] (3 October 2013). "WWE Official Tweet on The Phoenix" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 6 May 2016 – via Twitter.
22. Terra commercial (2023) on YouTube