Fire Under My Feet

Album: I Am (2015)
Charted: 51
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Songfacts®:

  • The first single to be released from I Am is an uptempo, gospel-tinged track, which was premièred on BBC Radio 2 on May 11, 2015. Lewis co-wrote the song with Toby Gad (John Legend, Beyoncé).
  • The song finds the former UK X Factor winner singing of "drowning in quicksand" and complaining that "no one's got my hand." The Sun reported the lyrics are an allusion to the end of Lewis' time at Simon Cowell's Syco label, before she signed a new deal with Island Records in 2014.
  • The song's music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom, who has previously collaborated with Taylor Swift ("Mean" and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Again"), Lawson ("Brokenhearted") and Little Big Town ("Day Drinking").

    Lewis came up with the clip's concept, which features her performing the song in a studio mixed with footage of a mathematician, boxer and pianist who all have overcome adversity to achieve their dreams. "This song is all about the passion that you have to do what you do, even though there's adversity or people trying to tell you that you can't do something," she explained.

    "That's what I wrote the song about, and I feel like a lot of people in this video have things that they've had to overcome to be able to do what they're passionate about. It's just incredible seeing them in their element."
  • This was the first song that Lewis wrote for I Am. "That was where it first began for me and I thought I need to build energy into the record and I needed that encouragement and empowerment," she told The Independent. "If there's one message throughout the album it's to know your own power, that's not in a way of strength but it's OK to just be you, just be yourself and be authentic and that's good enough."

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