In November 2003, at the age of 19, Melua released her first album, Call off the Search, which reached the top of the United Kingdom album charts and sold 1.8 million copies in its first five months of release. Her second album, Piece by Piece, was released in September 2005 and to date has gone platinum four times. Melua released her third studio album Pictures in October 2007, which has been announced to be the last of her albums in collaboration with Mike Batt. According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, Melua has a fortune of £18 million, making her the seventh richest British musician under thirty.
In the summer of 2003, aged just 18 and still studying at the Brit School of Performing Arts in leafy Surrey, no-one, least of all Katie, would have predicted what the next few years would hold for the teenager. Four years later, Katie has sold more than 7.5 million albums becoming, in 2006, the year’s best selling British female in the world along the way.
Georgian born Katie relocated from Tbilisi to Belfast at the age of 8 due to her father’s profession as a heart surgeon and 5 years later moved to South East London. After her GCSEs Katie joined the Brit School for Performing Arts where she undertook a BTEC and Music A-level and discovered different styles of music including Queen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Irish folk music and Indian music. On hearing an Eva Cassidy song Katie was blown away and when she discovered that Eva was no longer alive wrote the song ‘Faraway Voice’ as a tribute to her. It was this song that attracted the attention of the composer and producer Mike Batt. Katie signed to Batt’s record label Dramatico but stayed at the Brit School to complete her studies – she graduated with distinction in July 2003.
During the summer of 2003 her debut single, ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’, attracted the attention of British station BBC Radio 2 and upon its release entered the charts at number 10. Released in November, Katie’s debut album ‘Call Off The Search’ hit the UK number 1 spot in January 2004 and has subsequently scored top 10 positions throughout Europe. The album has since been certified gold in Holland, Hong Kong and Switzerland, platinum in Denmark, New Zealand and Australia, 2 x platinum in Germany, Ireland, Norway and South Africa and received the IFPI Double Platinum Award for 2 million European Sales. In March 2005 ‘Call Off The Search’ hit the number 1 spot in Denmark, a year after its initial release and became a top five album in Japan. Katie was awarded Best International Newcomer at Germany’s ECHO Awards in April 2005. In Britain, Katie was the highest selling female artist in 2004 – ‘Call Off The Search’ has now sold 1.8 million copies and is 6 x platinum (in Britain alone) and worldwide sales exceed 3.5 million.
Katie joined the line up for the Band Aid 20 single to record a new version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’. As an ambassador for Save The Children this was particularly poignant for Katie. In March 2005 Katie was invited by Nelson Mandela to perform at his 46664 concert in aid of Mandela’s AIDS foundation. In addition to performing a full live set, Katie joined Queen on stage to perform a moving version of ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’. Katie flew from South Africa to Sri Lanka where she experienced the work that is being done by Save The Children, particularly with child soldiers.
In August 2005 Katie and her family swore allegiance to The Queen and became British Citizens following a ceremony in Surrey, England. Katie was asked to perform at the Royal Wedding of Prince Pieter-Christiaan in Holland and at the Norwegian Royal Gala Concert in the presence of the Crown Prince Of Norway. Continuing the royal theme, the American TV show ‘Good Morning America’ broadcast live from Buckingham Palace and Katie was invited by the show to perform ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ and ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’. Katie performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Norway.
In between her overseas travel Katie recorded her new album, ‘Piece By Piece’, which was released in Europe on September 26th 2005. The album comprises more self-penned songs including the title track as well as a cover of the 1987 Cure hit ‘Just Like Heaven’ that Katie recorded for a new DreamWorks film starring Reese Witherspoon. The first single, ‘Nine Million Bicycles’, preceded the album release and gave Katie her highest UK single chart entry at number 5. One week later and Katie entered the UK album charts at number 1 and Europe swiftly followed with the album reaching #1 in Norway, Denmark and Holland, #2 in Ireland, #2 in Iceland, #3 in South Africa, #4 in Poland and #2 in Germany giving an overall chart position of #2 on the Billboard European Top 100 Chart.
Katie was nominated for two Brit Awards in the “Best Female” and “Pop” categories, for the “Best International Female” at the Edison Awards in Holland and was awarded “Best International Female (Rock & Pop)” at the Echo Awards in Germany. Once again Katie was pronounced the highest selling female artist in Britain in 2005 selling more than 1 million albums.
It is fair to say that 2006 was yet another extraordinary year for 22 year old Katie. In addition to the awards nominations, Katie had a Dutch tulip named in her honour, toured America coast to coast, raced at 160mph round Grand Prix circuit Silverstone, flew a plane, launched Save The Children’s ‘Rewrite The Future’ campaign, made the headlines with a Guinness World Record for the deepest concert when she performed 303 meters beneath the North Sea in the leg of a gas rig and was awarded the World Music Award for Britain’s Biggest Selling Female. Whilst in 2004 and 2005, Katie was the greatest selling female artist in Britain, in 2006 Katie was the highest selling European female artist in the world selling more than 3 million copies of her second album ‘Piece By Piece’.
Awarded the Golden Camera Award for International Pop Artist at the start of 2007, Katie was presented with the Echo Award for International Female Artist in March 2007.
October 2007 saw the release of Katie’s third album ‘Pictures’ – a record which has delighted her legions of fans, confirmed Katie’s status as a unique and remarkable vocalist, and revealed the third chapter in what is destined to be a long musical career.
Katie’s fourth album, “The Katie Melua Collection”, is a musical summary of the 24 year old’s journey so far and is being released to coincide with Katie’s arena tour in October and November 2008.
www.katiemelua.com/
I Think Its Going to Rain Today
Katie Melua Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
With frozen smiles to chase love away
Human kindness is overflowing
Lonely, lonely
Tin can at my feet
Think I'll kick it down the street
That's the way to treat a friend
Bright before me the signs implore me
Help the needy and show them the way
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today
The song "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" by Katie Melua is a contemplative and emotional ballad about the human condition, expressed through observations of the natural world. The lyrics evoke a sense of abandonment and loneliness with the imagery of "broken windows and empty hallways" and a "pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray." The song goes on to suggest that despite these somber conditions, there is still hope for humanity in the form of overflowing human kindness.
The second stanza of the song speaks to the heart-wrenching reality of the many ways in which people put up barriers to love and connection in their lives. The image of "scarecrows dressed in the latest styles with frozen smiles to chase love away" is a particularly poignant reminder of how our society's norms and expectations can keep us from opening ourselves up to others. Despite this, the refrain that human kindness is overflowing infuses the song with a sense of optimism.
The final verse of the song lands on a bittersweet note as the singer contemplates their own feelings of loneliness and decides to "kick [a] tin can down the street" in a show of defiance. The chorus's refrain has shifted slightly, now imploring us to "help the needy and show them the way" rather than simply observing that "human kindness is overflowing." The message seems to be that, while there will always be darkness and loneliness, we can still strive to be the light for others.
Line by Line Meaning
Broken windows and empty hallways
The surroundings are abandoned and lifeless.
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
The sky is lifeless and dull.
Human kindness is overflowing
There is an abundance of kindness towards others.
And I think it's going to rain today
Despite the kindness, there is a sense of foreboding for what's to come.
Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
People are pretending to be something they're not in order to avoid love.
With frozen smiles to chase love away
People pretend to be happy, but it's only a facade to avoid connection with others.
Lonely, lonely
The singer is feeling incredibly lonely.
Tin can at my feet
The artist has nothing but a tin can for company.
Think I'll kick it down the street
The artist is so bored and lonely, they consider kicking a can down the street for entertainment.
That's the way to treat a friend
The artist is being sarcastic, implying they have no friends to treat well.
Bright before me the signs implore me
There are signs encouraging the singer to help those in need.
Help the needy and show them the way
The signs are calling on the artist to be selfless and guide others.
Human kindness is overflowing
Despite the sadness and loneliness, there is still an abundance of kindness towards others.
And I think it's going to rain today
Despite the kindness, there is still a sense of foreboding for what's to come.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Randy Newman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Caroline Weisskopf
love the fact that she actuallysings 'it's going to rain' and not 'gonna rain '.
Alec Bona
Ugh I love her so much
Simon Meißner
They are both so beautiful...
Angel N.
😍