Umbrella Beach

"Umbrella Beach" is a song by American electronica act Owl City. The song was released as the third single from his second album Ocean Eyes. It is the second UK single from the album (as it was decided not to release "Vanilla Twilight" in Europe) and had a May 16, 2010, release date in the US, and was released May 17, 2010, in the UK.

"Umbrella Beach"
Single by Owl City
from the album Ocean Eyes
ReleasedMay 16, 2010
Recorded2009
Length3:50 (Album Version)
3:23 (Radio Edit)
LabelUniversal Republic
Songwriter(s)Adam Young
Producer(s)Adam Young
Owl City singles chronology
"Vanilla Twilight"
(2010)		 "Umbrella Beach"
(2010)		 "To the Sky"
(2010)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help
Music video
"Umbrella Beach" on YouTube

The album cover is a picture of the beach at Santa Monica, California, taken from the Santa Monica Pier.

Meaning

Lyrically, Young stated that the song is about ... "a hermit living in a box car on the edge of the shoreline that corroded so badly, it wound up at the bottom of the bay. Rather than finding a new home, the hermit chooses to learn to scuba dive and now spends his days deep under the waves in his boxcar".[1]

Music video

The music video for "Umbrella Beach" premiered on April 16, 2010, on YouTube. The video tells about a boy who is trying to build a plane to cross the sea and go to another island. At the end of the video, a group of his friends help him push the plane down a hill for takeoff. It is not shown whether or not the plane successfully flies. Adam Young did not appear in the music video apart from photos on a table. The video was filmed in Hope Cove, England.[2]

Critical reception

Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song a positive review stating:

Adam Young a.k.a Owl City is currently in the midst of one of music's biggest challenges. His breakthrough smash, 'Fireflies', has now sold a whopping 2.5 million copies worldwide, topping the charts in 18 different countries in the process. However, if the Minnesota-based singer-songwriter doesn't deliver a follow-up hit, he could find himself forever banished to a spot on 4Music's 'Greatest One-Hit-Wonders of The Teenies' countdown.

Thankfully, with its Ibiza-ready beats.'Umbrella Beach' is more than up to the challenge. By essentially re-working the best bits of 'Fireflies' and cranking up the BPM a few notches, Young has fashioned another stellar indie-folk-electro smash that should encourage even the most stubborn toe-tapper to have a jump around. Oh, and if they need help calming down afterwards, the accompanying promo clip will come in handy - we'll warn you now, it's a bit of a weepie..[3]

Chart performance

"Umbrella Beach" entered the UK Dance Chart on the chart week of May 8, 2010, at number 25, later peaking at number 12.

Chart (2010) Peak
position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[4] 110
UK Dance (Official Charts Company)[5] 12
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References
  1. "Umbrella Beach by Owl City Songfacts". Songfacts, LLC. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  2. Owl City’s Umbrella Beach by Alexander Brown, PromoNews.TV
  3. Robert Copsey. "Owl City: 'Umbrella Beach'". Digital Spy. digitalspy.co.uk.
  4. Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: The O – Ozric Tentacles". zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  5. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
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