Hey Brother
"Hey Brother" is a dance song by Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii from his debut studio album, True. American bluegrass singer Dan Tyminski provides vocals for the track. It was written by Avicii, Ash Pournouri, Salem Al Fakir, Vincent Pontare and Veronica Maggio. "Hey Brother" sees Avicii giving his brother advice.
The song, which serves as the album's third single, was solicited to Australian radio on 9 October 2013 and later released on 28 October 2013 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In March 2014, a version of the track remixed by Avicii himself was released on his remix album True, this time featuring new vocals from singer Salem Al Fakir.
Composition
The song is written in the key of G minor, at a tempo in common time of 125 beats per minute.Lyric video
On 1 November 2013, the lyric video for "Hey Brother" was released onto YouTube by AviciiOfficialVEVO. The video is an assortment of stock footage clips depicting regular people and obscure events in normal everyday life such as playing basketball, Aundrea Fimbres with her face off screen having a light snack on chocolate and an olive, popcorn popping, and having a snowball fight, all in slow motion and accompanied by an animated text representation of the lyrics.Music video
The official music video, directed by Jesse Sternbaum, was released on 9 December 2013. It depicts two brothers growing up in wartime America. There are pictures and clips of the Vietnam War interspersed in the video. In the end of the video, it is uncovered that the younger brother thought of his dad as a brother that he didn't have. It features two boys, the older played by Zach Voss and the younger boy played by Jack Estes. The end of the video shows Avicii walking through the grass while fireflies are flying around.A music video was also released for the Avicii by Avicii version on 9 April 2014 on Avicii's VEVO page. The video was directed by Nick Fung and Nate Olson and features clips from the Cartoon Hangover web-series Bravest Warriors. The video was released as part of , a project by Avicii which had several songs from his True album made into music videos by various YouTube filmmakers and animators, which included Joe Penna, , and , as well as Cartoon Hangover.
Track listing
- ;CD single
- "Hey Brother" – 4:14
- "Hey Brother" – 4:14
- ;Digital download — remixes
- "Hey Brother" – 5:00
- "Hey Brother" – 5:30
- ;True
- "Hey Brother " – 6:09
Commercial performance
In the United States, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 77 in December 2013. It continued climbing and rose to number 16 in March 2014, and reached a million in total sales that week. After Clear Channel personnel noticed the song's success at pop and adult pop radio, they asked Island Def Jam to craft a remix that showcases the song's instruments more prominently. Support for this remix enabled "Hey Brother" to debut, and peak, at number 59 on Billboards Country Airplay chart in March 2014. The song would become Avicii's final song to hit the top 40 before his death in 2018.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak position |
Year-end charts
| Chart | Position |
| Australia | 79 |
| Australia Dance | 14 |
| Austria | 49 |
| Belgium | 23 |
| Belgium Dance | 39 |
| Belgium | 17 |
| Belgium Dance | 20 |
| Canada | 25 |
| Denmark | 50 |
| Germany | 60 |
| Hungary | 8 |
| Hungary | 28 |
| Hungary | 14 |
| Italy | 16 |
| Netherlands | 32 |
| Netherlands | 48 |
| Netherlands Dance | 8 |
| New Zealand | 24 |
| Poland | 38 |
| Romania | 7 |
| Russia Airplay | 171 |
| Slovenia | 13 |
| Sweden | 25 |
| Switzerland | 15 |
| Ukraine Airplay | 95 |
| UK Singles | 24 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 60 |
| US Dance Club Songs | 48 |
| US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs | 7 |
| Chart | Position |
| US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs | 94 |