Celebrate (Ingrid Michaelson song)

"Celebrate" is a song by American singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson from her sixth studio album, It Doesn't Have to Make Sense (2016). It was released as a promotional single for the album on August 18, 2016.

Background
Ingrid Michaelson wrote a majority of It Doesn't Have to Make Sense (2016) while taking inspiration from the loss of her mother, giving the album a dark tone. To contrast this feeling, Michaelson began writing the chorus of "Celebrate", stating in an interview "how can you not be happy when you're singing the word 'celebrate?'" During live performances, she would detail her interactions with Jimmy Clark that are described within the song before performing it.

Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.


 * Ingrid Michaelson – lead vocals, lyricist, composer
 * Cason Cooley – piano, lyricist, composer, producer
 * Katie Herzig – lyricist, composer, producer
 * Chris Athens – mastering engineer
 * F. Reid Shippen – mixer
 * Butterfly Boucher – bass guitar
 * Jeremy Lutito – drums
 * Tyler Burkum – electric guitar

AJR version
On May 8, 2017, a version of the song featuring American indie pop band AJR was released as the only single for Michaelson's Alter Egos, an EP of five re-recorded tracks featuring new artists. A music video for the song featuring both groups was later released on June 13, 2017.

Background
In support of It Doesn't Have to Make Sense, Michaelson toured in 2016 while featuring AJR as an opening act. During the development of Alter Egos, Michaelson recalled the experience as fun and picked AJR as a remixer. The band added various instruments to the song with lead singer Jack Met additionally re-recording the second verse. Their remix of "Celebrate" is the only song on the EP to feature elements of the original song, with other collaborators re-recording all portions of the song.

Music video
An official video directed by Andrew Elvis Miller was released on June 13, 2017. The video features Michaelson and various dancers in medieval themed clothing and large powdered wigs inspired by Hamilton, using modern objects while in solid black and white backgrounds. AJR later appears in the same attire, with band member Adam carrying a bass guitar and Ryan carrying a sample machine. The song's video was filmed at YouTube Space in New York City, with choreography done by Stacey Tookey.

Commercial performance
AJR's success with their 2016 single "Weak" commercially boosted their remix of "Celebrate", out-performing Michaelson's original song and other remixes appearing on Alter Egos. The remix tipped on the Ultratop 50 Flanders, contributing to the EP reaching number 13 on Billboards Independent Albums and number 96 on Billboards Top Album Sales chart.