Human (Rag'n'Bone Man song)


"Human" is a song by British singer and songwriter Rag'n'Bone Man. The song was co-written by Rag'n'Bone Man, Jamie Hartman and produced by Two Inch Punch. It was released as a digital download on 21 July 2016, through Sony Music and Columbia Records. The song is included on his debut studio album of the same name, released in February 2017. It was later used as a theme song for the American web television series Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, which was released in 2018.

Composition

The song is written in the key of B minor with a common time tempo of 75 beats per minute. The vocals span from A2 to B4 in the song.

Critical reception

Cameron Adams of The Daily Telegraph compared the song to "Take Me to Church" by Hozier for both having an "instant impact, honest lyrics and throwback to ‘real’ music in a time of corporate pop."
In 2018, the song won a Brit Award for British Single of the Year.

Live performances

Rag'n'Bone Man performed "Human" on Later... with Jools Holland on 20 September 2016. He also performed the song on Australian talk show The Morning Show on 28 October 2016. Another live performance of "Human" took place on The Graham Norton Show on 10 February 2017. He appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 16 February 2017.

Chart performance

On 23 December 2016, the song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, scoring the Christmas number two of 2016. Still, the song was the most downloaded and top-selling single throughout the week, with the lack of streams influencing the overall chart position to be lower, denying the song the coveted Christmas number one. The song was certified Platinum on 17 February 2017 and 2× Platinum 21 July 2017 by the BPI. It has sold 1,269,000 combined units in the UK as of September 2017, which comprises 522,000 copies in actual sales and 75 million in streams.
In the United States, the song reached at number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart and number two on Rock Airplay. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on 7 July 2017, and has sold 324,000 copies in the US as of September 2017.
As of June 2020, the music video has received 1.1 billion YouTube views.

Formats and track listings

  1. "Human" – 3:19
  1. "Human" – 4:21

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Australia 89
Belgium 61
Belgium 33
Bulgaria 6
CIS 2
Denmark 66
France 7
Germany 85
Hungary 41
Hungary 5
Hungary 5
Hungary 31
Israel 15
Italy 43
Netherlands 97
New Zealand 50
Poland 68
Romania 3
Russia Airplay 2
Slovenia 26
Switzerland 7
Ukraine Airplay 13
UK Singles 8
Ukraine 13
US Hot Rock Songs 11

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Tom Thum featuring Ruel cover

In December 2017, Australian hip hop beat box vocalist Tom Thum featuring Australian Ruel released a cover version. Tom Thum vocally performed every layer of the song's instrumental, with Ruel on the song's lead vocal.
The video clip was filmed as part of YouTube Australia's Pop-Up Space in Sydney's AFTRS studios. Matching inventive beat boxing against a tender, emphatic vocal, the clip itself is draped with digital effects, ultra-addictive eye-candy.

Track listing

One-track single
  1. "Human" – 3:30