Florence + the Machine’s version of the original Game of Thrones song ‘Jenny of Oldstones’ has today broken Shazam’s global all-time record (surpassing Adele’s ‘Hello’). As debuted during the closing credits of this season’s second episode, following a rendition sung by Podrick Payne earlier in the show, ‘Jenny of Oldstones’ was Shazam’d approximately 300,000 times in just 24 hours and has surpassed 7 million views on Youtube alone. The track is currently at number 2 on iTunes US, number 5 on iTunes UK and top 5 in countries around the world.
Listen to the song, produced by Thomas Bartlett, here, and read Florence in conversation with the New York Times about the exclusive collaboration here (warning, contains minor spoilers on episode 2).
Florence, the only artist to be featured in the final season of the hit HBO series, recorded ‘Jenny of Oldstones’ after being personally approached by the show’s creators, longtime Florence fans David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
“We’ve always been huge fans of Florence’s music, and the Season 2 trailer with her song ‘Seven Devils’ was possibly the most powerful we’ve ever had,” say Benioff and Weiss. “So the opportunity to hear her otherworldly voice on our show was always at the forefront of our minds. We’re still pleasantly shocked that she agreed to sing ‘Jenny of Oldstones,’ and we’re in love with the result.”
“When I first heard the song it sounded like a Celtic lullaby to me,” says Florence. “Celtic music has always been in my blood, so I felt like I could do something with it. The magic and ritual in ‘Game of Thrones,’ not to mention the costumes, have always appealed to me. I am honoured to be a part of the final season.”
‘Jenny of Oldstones’ was written by Ramin Djawadi, Dan Weiss, David Benioff and George R.R. Martin.
This summer Florence will continue to take her stunning fourth album, ‘High As Hope’, around the world: nominated for 2 BRIT Awards, the Mercury Prize (Florence’s third nod in her career) and coinciding with the release of her first book, ‘Useless Magic’, it’s been an extraordinary period of creativity for Welch which takes another unexpected twist today with her version of ‘Jenny of Oldstones’. Florence’s US headline dates begin next month – with Christine & the Queens, Blood Orange, Perfume Genius and Nathanielf Rateliff & The Night Sweats each opening at select shows – before she headlines festivals including Governors Ball in New York and British Summertime Hyde Park in London.
