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/
If the Lights Go Out
Katie Melua Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They say the end's not far from now
I think they're wrong
Don't worry your life away
Start living for today
Don't think about tomorrow
And if the lights go out on all of us
And if the sky falls down like pouring rain
Then I'll be here with you
I'll go down with you
Well I'm gonna try for all I'm worth
To stay with you 'til the end of the earth
Don't let me down
Don't let your feelings win
Don't give out, and don't give in
Don't think about tomorrow
'Cause if the lights go out on all of us
In just a year or two
And if the sky falls down like pouring rain
Then I'll be here with you
I'll go down with you
And if the lights go out on all of us
In just a year or two
And if the sky falls down like pouring rain
Then I'll be here with you
I'll go down with you
I'll go down with you
The song "If the Lights Go Out" by Katie Melua talks about the impending end of the world, a topic that has fascinated humans for centuries. The lyrics suggest that although there are predictions of the world ending soon, it is better to focus on the present moment and enjoy life rather than worrying about the future. The chorus reassures the listener that even if the worst does happen and the lights go out and the sky falls down, the singer will remain by their side until the end - "I'll go down with you".
The song has a melancholic undertone, emphasizing the importance of love and connection in the face of the world's uncertain future. With its gentle melody and evocative lyrics, "If the Lights Go Out" is a reminder to stay positive and cherish the moments we have while we can.
Overall, the song seems to have a dual message of encouraging the listener to seize the day while also offering comfort in the face of possible disaster. It is a poignant reminder that love and companionship can make even the darkest moments feel bearable.
Line by Line Meaning
They say the world must end somehow
People have been predicting the end of the world for ages.
They say the end's not far from now
The end is said to be close at hand.
I think they're wrong
But the singer does not take those predictions seriously.
Don't worry your life away
The singer advises people not to worry too much about it.
Start living for today
Instead, just enjoy the moment.
Don't think about tomorrow
Trying to predict future events is useless and stressful.
And if the lights go out on all of us
In case disaster strikes and everything goes dark,
In just a year or two
Which the singer imagines would happen pretty soon.
And if the sky falls down like pouring rain
If everything falls apart in a catastrophic way,
Then I'll be here with you
The singer promises to be with you, whoever you are.
I'll go down with you
And stick around no matter what happens.
Well I'm gonna try for all I'm worth
The singer is determined to do everything possible.
To stay with you 'til the end of the earth
To be there for you until the very end.
Don't let me down
The singer asks not to be disappointed.
Don't let your feelings win
Don't let negative emotions overcome you.
Don't give out, and don't give in
Keep going and stay strong.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Mike Batt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Enrique Aldanondo
Si las luces se apagan:
Dicen que el mundo debe poner fin de alguna manera,
Dicen que el fin no está lejos de aquí;
Yo creo que están equivocados,
No te preocupes, tu vida,
Empezar a vivir para hoy,
No pensar en el mañana.
Y si se apagan las luces de todos nosotros,
En sólo un año o dos.
Y si el cielo se cae como lluvia,
Entonces voy a estar aquí con ustedes.
Iré con ustedes.
Bueno, yo voy a tratar de todo lo que valgo,
Se quede con usted hasta el final de la tierra.
No me ha defraudado,
No deje que sus sentimientos ganar.
No le dé, y no ceder,
No pensar en el mañana.
Porque si se va la luz de todos nosotros,
En sólo un año o dos.
Y si el cielo se cae como lluvia,
Entonces voy a estar aquí con ustedes.
Iré con ustedes.
Y si se apagan las luces de todos nosotros,
En sólo un año o dos.
Y si el cielo se cae como lluvia,
Entonces voy a estar aquí con ustedes.
Iré con ustedes.
Iré con ustedes.
João Guerreiro
The world did not end yet, so we can still listen to Katie, and it is a good thing.
Maria Socorro
João Guerreiro.
Ikimashoo
My favorite female artist Great voice, great texts, great melodies...
Kathi Pistel
I love this! :) Katie Melua is a wonderful creator.
ronholfly
I love your voice Katie ❤️ The more I listen to this song Katie, I must tell you, it's growing on me. 🤡
Francesco Lotito
Great rock, continuous rithm from the start to the end of the song.. wonderful song👍...
TrustWithin
I love this song as alot of my friends are into conspiracy theorys and have been saying everythings going to collapse/the world's going to end for years now...but I won't worry my life away 💜💞💜💞💜💞
Jay
I love this song. It is my favourite of Katie's.
Isle Of Grey
I love this version.
glenys trigg
Absolutely beautiful music.