"Home" is the debut single and coronation song from American Idol season 11 winner Phillip Phillips. The song was co-written by Drew Pearson and Greg Holden, and produced by Drew Pearson. Phillips first performed the song on the season's final performance night on May 22, 2012, and then again on the finale after he was declared the winner. His recording of "Home" was released as a single on May 23, 2012 and included as a track on the compilations American Idol Season Finale - Season 11 EP and Journey to the Finale released at the same time. The song was also included on his debut album, The World from the Side of the Moon, released later in November that year.
The single debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 with a first week sales figure of 278,000 downloads. It has the biggest digital sales week for any Idol winner's coronation song, and it became the best selling of all coronation songs, as well as the best-selling song by any Idol alum in the United States. It has sold over 5 million copies in the United States.
Background
The song was written by Drew Pearson and Greg Holden, and chosen by Jimmy Iovine as a coronation song for the eventual winner of Season 11 of American Idol, Phillip Phillips. According to Drew Pearson, it was originally intended for Greg Holden, but was submitted to Idol as a possible finale number by Pearson's publishing company, Pulse Recordings. Pearson and Holden had previously not met before but were brought together to write the song, with Holden the primary lyricist. The song was written in three hours in Pearson's studio in Burbank, California in November 2011. Originally it had only two verses, but an arrangement change was made about a month after it was written, and the second verse was repeated. Pearson cited Mumford & Sons, Arcade Fire, and a few Irish bands as influences for the song. A demo was recorded, and Holden had performed the song in his tour, but he expressed no intention of releasing his recording of the song. According to Holden, the song is about a friend who was going through a very difficult time, and it was his way of reaching out and saying that "you know someone's here for you".
After the release of the song, Phillips said that while the song and its writers are "really good", "it's not really something I would write". He also revealed that he had wanted to use a song he co-wrote with his brother-in-law, "Drive Me," as the coronation song. In interviews after the finale, he said, "The song that I did tonight that supposedly is my single, it's not really my single, I told them it's not my single." He also said, "I have my own stories to tell," and added "[but] I couldn’t do my song [on the finale]; we just didn’t have enough time." Philip stated that he writes songs in the "jazz and rock alternative sound; not really rock-rock." Phillips said that "I didn't have time to let it grow and become my own before we recorded it"." Later he said he was "starting to grow a connection" with the song, and that "I kind of sing it like me, and on the guitar I do some different strummings on some parts, so it's coming along."
Composition
The song is written in the key of C major with a bright tempo.
Reception
Critical
The song "Home" was well-received when it was first performed on American Idol. Phillips received a standing ovation—the only one of the night—from the judges. Randy Jackson said, "Dude, I loved the song, I love you, I loved the production, I loved the marching band--everything about that was perfect!" Jennifer Lopez said, "That was a Phillip song and there is nothing on the radio that sounds like that!" and Steven Tyler offered the opinion that, "By virtue of your vulnerability and style, you made the world your home."
Professional reviewers have praised the song unanimously, calling it one of the best American Idol coronation songs of all time. Popdust gave it a good review saying, "it runs with the necessary thematic elements needed to market someone who came from a reality competition show, while picking up more interesting styles that focus on instrumentals and arrangement in addition to vocals." American Songwriter thought that the song "has all the elements of a current hit: British folksiness, anthemic marching-band-ness, rootsy singalong", and suggested that Phillips "got lucky with a pretty good [song]".