I Can Change (Brandon Flowers song)

"I Can Change"
Single by Brandon Flowers
from the album The Desired Effect
Released	May 5, 2015
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2014 at Battle Born Studios (Winchester, Nevada)
Genre	Synthpop[1] house[2]
Length	4:19
Label	Island
Writer(s)	Brandon Flowers Steve Bronski Lawrence Cole James Somerville Axel Hedfors Sebastian Ingrosso
Producer(s)	Ariel Rechtshaid
Brandon Flowers singles chronology
"Lonely Town" (2015) "I Can Change" (2015)
Music video Official Lyric Video on YouTube

"I Can Change" is the fourth single by American singer-songwriter Brandon Flowers from his second studio album, The Desired Effect.^[3]

Background and composition

The song contains elements from "Smalltown Boy" (1984) by Bronski Beat. Brandon Flowers wrote "I Can Change" upon request from Swedish house duo Axwell and Ingrosso, who asked if Flowers would collaborate with them for their upcoming album. Because Axwell and Ingrosso were unable to finish the song, Flowers decided to record it himself. He noticed similarities between the song he had been given by Axwell and Ingrosso and Bronski Beat's "Smalltown Boy" and thus decided to sample the melody from it. Coincidentally, Flowers later learned that Axwell and Ingrosso previously sampled "Smalltown Boy" for their 2006 single "Tell Me Why".^[4][5]

"I Can Change" features a vocal recording of Neil Tennant (of Pet Shop Boys) taken via a cell phone answering machine. Flowers has said of the recording: "We just talked about it, and we just had this gap in a verse and we needed to stick something in there. We were talking about it being a speaking part, and the greatest musical 'speaker' is Neil Tennant! His voice is like no other. I texted him if he would -- he didn't even hear the song or the tempo or anything, I just texted him this line. I asked, will you send us a voicemail of yourself saying, 'When you're looking for a change'? And that was it. He sent us a voice memo, and we stuck it onto the track, from the phone. It was done within 20 seconds."^[2]

Reception

Billboard listed it as one of "20 Summer Pop Songs You Need for Your Summer Playlist".^[6]

Flowers performed this track on The Graham Norton Show and at the Royal Variety Performance (2015) at Royal Albert Hall.^[7][8]

Track listing

Digital download
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"I Can Change"	Brandon Flowers, Steve Bronski, Lawrence Cole, James Somerville, Axel Hedfors, Sebastian Ingrosso	Ariel Rechtshaid	4:19

Digital download — remix
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"I Can Change" (Michael Brun remix)		Ariel Rechtshaid	3:44

Digital download — remix
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"I Can Change" (Kill Them With Colour remix)		Ariel Rechtshaid	3:50

Credits and personnel

Brandon Flowers – songwriter, lead vocals, synthesizer Steve Bronski – songwriter Lawrence Cole – songwriter James Somerville – songwriter Axel Hedfors – songwriter Sebastian Ingrosso – songwriter Ariel Rechtshaid – producer, programming, drum programming, synthesizer Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – synthesizer Nate Donmoyer – drum programming, synthesizer

Benji Lysaght – guitar Ted Sablay – acoustic guitar Tony Maserati – mixer Neil Tennant – additional vocals Erica Canales – backing vocals Danielle Withers – backing vocals Emily Lazar – mastering Chris Allgood – assistant mastering

Credits adapted from The Desired Effect liner notes.^[9]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[10]	45
Ireland (IRMA)[11]	70
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12]	52

Accolades

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
NPR	United States	The Complete List: NPR Music's Favorite Songs Of 2015 (So Far)[13]	2015	N/A
411 Mania	United States	411’s Top 200 Tracks Of 2015[14]	2015	86

References

1. Beaumont, Mark (May 1, 2016). "Brandon Flowers - 'The Desired Effect'". NME. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
2. Lipshutz, Jason (26 March 2015). "Brandon Flowers Used a Voicemail Message from Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant on a New Song". Billboard. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
3. "Brandon Flowers reveals new song 'I Can Change'". Nme.com. 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
4. Adams, Cameron (14 May 2015). "Brandon Flowers says new solo album The Desired Effect is eighties pop rock". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
5. Nunstedt, Anders (8 June 2015). "Brandon Flowers sågning av Avicii" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
6. Jason Lipshutz (2015-11-06). "20 Summer Pop Songs You Need For Your 2015 Playlist: Adam Lambert, Alessia Cara, Brandon Flowers & More". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
7. "BBC One - The Graham Norton Show, Series 17, Episode 6". BBC.
8. Vale, Paul. "Royal Variety Performance 2015 review at Royal Albert Hall, London – 'the biggest night in showbiz' | Review | Various". The Stage. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
9. The Desired Effect (album liner notes). Brandon Flowers . Island Records. 2015.
10. "Ultratop.be – Brandon Flowers – {{{song}}}" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
11. "Chart Track: Week 7, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
12. "Archive Chart: 2015-07-10" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
13. "The Complete List: NPR Music's Favorite Songs Of 2015 (So Far)". NPR. 2015-06-30. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
14. "411's Top 200 Tracks Of 2015". 411MANIA.COM. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2016-01-27.