"The Climb" is a song performed by American singer Miley Cyrus, for the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie. The song was written by Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe, and produced by John Shanks. It was released on March 5, 2009. as the lead single of the film's soundtrack by Walt Disney Records. The song is a power ballad with lyrics that describe life as a difficult but rewarding journey. It is styled as a country pop ballad, and was Cyrus' first solo song to be released to country radio. The instrumentation includes piano, guitar and violins.
Background[]
"The Climb" was not intentionally written for the 2009 musical film Hannah Montana: The Movie. Co-writer Jessi Alexander conceived the song's melody while driving to the home of songwriting partner Jon Mabe. Once she arrived, she and Mabe developed a song about overcoming life's obstacles inspired by their personal struggles in the music industry.[2] Alexander referred to the process as a form of "therapy" and recalled,
The song they created was titled "It's the Climb" and was written in third person. Alexander described the original song as "more spiritual" than the version that was released, and said it contained lines about prayer. However, she claimed she knew it was pop and suitable for The Walt Disney Company.
Before reaching Cyrus, the song had been rejected by several country artists. It was eventually picked up by Peter Chelsom, director of Hannah Montana: The Movie, who gave it to Cyrus to record for the film. Chelsom found what would become "The Climb" while visiting Nashville, Tennessee, during a quest to find eleven new songs for Hannah Montana: The Movie. After hearing Alexander's music, Chelsom asked her to submit songs for consideration. Alexander recorded "It's the Climb" on a CD and gave it to him. Several weeks later, Chelsom called to say that "the song was gonna be an integral part of the movie". However, he wanted Mabe and Alexander to rework some of the song's content and to change the song from third person to first person.[4] Alexander felt the changes amounted to a "substantial amount of the song" and commented, "For me, when you change something from third person to first person, it can change the whole meaning of a line." She and Mabe "wrestl[ed] over taking words out" and how much they could change while maintaining the song's integrity. After a number of drafts, Mabe and Alexander finally created a version they felt was "perfect for the movie".
Upon receiving the final draft, filmmakers told the songwriters, "This is perfect for Miley, it’s gonna change her life, gonna change your life." Chelsom commented that the song "turned up" the film's music level by tapping into Cyrus's newfound vocal range. As with the other songs featured in Hannah Montana: The Movie, the song is "tightly woven into the fabric of the story and the characters". In the film, Cyrus plays Miley Stewart, a character with a secret double life as superstar Hannah Montana. Keeping this secret causes trouble between Miley and many of the other characters in the film, and leaves Miley confused and contrite. She expresses her emotions by writing "The Climb". According to film producer Alfred Gough, "The song is her journey, the lessons she's learned in the movie. It's an epic [...] power ballad that encapsulates Miley's journey and the message of the film."
"The Climb" was chosen as the lead single from the soundtrack due to its country elements, which introduced Cyrus to listeners beyond her usual pop audience. The song is Cyrus's first solo effort marketed directly to country radio, though she had previously recorded and released a country duet with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus, which was titled "Ready, Set, Don't Go", in 2007. "The Climb" was leaked to the Internet on February 4, 2009, two days prior to its official release for airplay. In October 2009, it was re-released to countries outside the United States in the international version of Cyrus' extended play, The Time of Our Lives.
Music video[]
Cyrus shown singing at the top of the mountain in the music video for "The Climb". This setting is similar to that of the music video for "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" by Britney Spears.
The music video for "The Climb" filmed in January 2009. and premiered on Cyrus' Myspace page on February 11, 2009.[1] The video commences with a shot of Cyrus holding a guitar and a suitcase as she begins to walk down a long path extending through a valley. At the end of the valley, the sun breaks out over a distant mountain. The entire scene is enhanced with computer-generated imagery.[2] Cyrus has her hair tied in a bun and wears a traveling jacket, a gray tank top, and cowboy boots. In a separate setting, Cyrus, wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt and her hair loose, begins to sing "The Climb" beneath a blue spotlight in a purple room. The two settings alternate throughout the video. A vignetted scene from Hannah Montana: The Movie appears in front of Cyrus as she walks on the path. The video zooms into the scene and a montage of film clips plays, featuring Cyrus's character and her love interest, Travis Brody (played by Lucas Till) horseback riding. The video returns to Cyrus walking; she picks up a rose fallen on the path, then throws it behind her. As the video progresses, she also sees things such as a herd of horses and a shooting star cross her path.[3] A new setting enters the video in which Cyrus dances in a purple room with a countdown, or occasionally, film clips projected on the wall behind her. Rain begins to pour in the path setting. Cyrus puts down her jacket, guitar case, suitcase, and boots, and continues onwards with only her guitar strapped to her shoulder. More film clip montages play in the same manner as the first. As the last montage ends, Cyrus finally reaches the summit of a reddish, CGI mountain and triumphantly looks over the cliff's edge to watch the sun shining over a shimmering lake.[2] An alternate version of the music video excluding the Hannah Montana: The Movie clips exists and was sent to several channels, including VH1.[4]
Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times wrote that while he enjoyed the song, he was unsure about the video. He commented that while the video was an improvement since Cyrus' video for "7 Things" (2008), the settings in "The Climb" music video looked as though they had been painted by Thomas Kinkade and Cyrus' dancing appeared off-beat.[3] Travis of MTV described the video as "beautifully shot (although heavily digitized)".[5] Lyndsey Parker of Yahoo! Music remarked that the summit setting was similar to that of the music video for Britney Spears' "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman".[2] Parker also felt the scene in which Cyrus looks out over the cliff, shot using large sweeps with an aerial camera, had been "lifted straight out of an '80s Bon Jovi video".[2][6] In 2009, the video received a MuchMusic Video nomination for Best International Artist Video, but lost to Lady Gaga's music video for "Poker Face".[7]
Lyrics[]
I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming, but
There's a voice inside my head saying
You'll never reach it
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaken
But I, I got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down, but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most, yeah
Just got to keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on, cause
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna want to make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith
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