It’s creating quite a stir online and on the air, and once you’ve heard the song you will be whistling the tune wherever you go.
Kira Willey is the wonderful artist behind the song “Colors,” the inspirational track that can be heard in the new Dell commercial showcasing the many customizations that can be configured for Dell computers. Kira is the founder of Fireflies Yoga and creator of the CD “Dance for the Sun,” an award-winning yoga album for kids that includes the track found in the video.
Copywriter Bobby Hershfield, part of the Mother, NY creative team behind the commercial spot, had this to say about choosing the song:
We wanted to find a song that communicated a person’s relationship with their computer. Since the spot shows how a computer is an extension of a person, we wanted the song to reinforce that idea in an interesting and engaging way.
What we loved about “Colors” was two fold. We love first the melody and tone. It eased you into the images and had a nice emotional quality to it. Secondly, we loved the lyrics that colors matched a mood. That a person could feel differently one day to the next. We thought that was a nice metaphor for Dell, whose family of computers contain different styles, patterns, colors, and features. The song with the images really reinforced the idea that there is a Dell for everyone.
We came across the song through our editor, who had found it during a search. As he was editing the spot he thought the song worked well with the imagery and gave the spot overall a nice quality to it.
We couldn’t be happier with the way it all turned out
I was fortunate enough to chat with Kira and gather more information on the song and her background as an artist.
CB: Where were you born, and where do you currently reside?
KW: I was born in Boston, and grew up all over New England. My husband and I now live in eastern Pennsylvania with our two young children.
CB: I understand from a young age and throughout high school, your passion was playing the violin. Looking back, did you always see a career for yourself in music?
KW: I’ve played music since I was five years old, when I began the Suzuki method of violin. In recitals I played Twinkle Twinkle next to now world-famous violinist Joshua Bell! Although I didn’t know music would become my career until after college, it’s always been a huge part of my life. Even when I had a “real job” and wasn’t working in music, I loved that I could speak the language with other musicians, and was always grateful for that lifelong musical education.
I have a large family, and almost everyone is very musical—lots of singers and instrumentalists. My brother, who sings bass on three tracks on my CD, and my dad are fantastic singers. And my cousin Beau Lisy co-produced the album and is an amazing percussionist and drummer.
CB: What was your inspiration for creating “Dance for the Sun?”
KW: I was living in New York City, teaching music to young children, and began practicing yoga at around the same time. I eventually got certified to teach yoga to kids, and the natural way for me to teach—and a very effective way, as it turned out–was to sing and use lots of rhythm. I created Fireflies Musical Yoga for Kids, and “Dance for the Sun” evolved for the most part out of the songs I wrote to use in my classes. I had no idea that the CD and its concept of teaching musical yoga to kids would connect so well with families and become so popular, but I’m certainly glad it has.
CB: How did the song “Colors” come about?
KW: I had wanted to do a song about colors for a while, and felt like it was almost too simple. But I realized after I wrote it that it has a few different levels of meaning: the literal one, which kids really connect to because colors are so directly related to their world—all kids have a strong opinion about their favorite colors! But it also describes the different moods we all have and how we can feel lots of different ways at once, which is important for kids to recognize and learn that that’s OK. And even on another level, in the line “all the colors of the world are in me,” I was going for the idea that even though we’re all different kinds of people, we’re more alike than we are different. It can really mean whatever anyone wants it to mean.
CB: When did you think when Dell contacted you about using your music?
KW: It was a bolt out of the blue–I was excited about it, particularly about the potential of my music connecting with a broader audience.
CB: The new commercial is beautiful, and the song fits very well. What does your family think now that your music can be heard online and on TV?
KW: Everyone’s really thrilled, and lots of people — some I know but most I don’t — are contacting me wanting to know more about the music, which is great.
CB: Do you have any plans or projects on the horizon?
KW: I’ll continue to teach Fireflies Yoga classes, give workshops and master classes, and perform kids’ yoga concerts—we did one in Bryant Park, NYC last weekend which was a blast. I’m hoping to spread the joy and benefits of kids’ yoga to a much wider audience using TV; we just finished developing a script for a children’s music and yoga TV show. I write a kids’ yoga blog for iyogalife.com, and I’m revamping my Web site with lots of videos, photos and new songs. I am also writing new songs all the time, hoping to record some of them very soon. So I’ve got lots going on!
Kira Willey
July 25th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
It`s a good middle of the road commercial.
July 26th, 2008 at 3:55 am
The song is catchy, wish it were longer. I always enjoy Chris Byrd’s blogs. They’re fun and enlightening at the same time.
July 26th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
@sugarbear
I love the song… and it’s been stuck in my head for days =)
@Renee Rosewell
Thanks for the compliment.. you can catch the full version on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur5AYncDDE0
July 26th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
@chrisBatDell. the song is very catchy and appealing. The video will appeal to more people of all ages.