"Alligator Sky" is a song by American electronica project Owl City from his third studio album All Things Bright and Beautiful. It was released as the lead single from the album on April 12, 2011.[1] Four versions of the song were released: The first features Californian rapper Shawn Chrystopher, the second version omits Chrystopher's vocals, a third version featuring Atlanta rapper B.o.B leaked online,[2] and a fourth version featuring vocals by Big Boi of Atlanta hip-hop duo OutKast also leaked online.[3]

"Alligator Sky"
Single by Owl City featuring Shawn Chrystopher
from the album All Things Bright and Beautiful
Released	April 12, 2011
Recorded	2010-2011
Genre	Synthpop hip hop
Length	3:05 (album version) 3:14 (No Rap edit) 3:11 (version featuring B.o.B) 3:07 (version featuring Big Boi)
Label	Universal Republic
Songwriter(s)	Adam Young Shawn Chrystopher Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. Antwan André Patton
Producer(s)	Adam Young
Owl City featuring Shawn Chrystopher singles chronology
"Peppermint Winter" (2010) "Alligator Sky" (2011) "Galaxies" (2011)
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History

Adam Young stated in an interview with AOL that he experimented with different sounds on the album All Things Bright and Beautiful and that "Alligator Sky" is where he 'pulled the hip-hop vibe, stating; "... I am a big fan of the way hip-hop music is put together and everything that goes into it—being so beat-heavy and just focusing on the rhythm side of it, sometimes more than melody. But I wanted to marry those two ideas and just focus on the rhythm side of it then have this rapper do verses just as a new look to it."[4]

Music video

A music video for the first version of the song was released on May 6 and was made by Endeavor Media.[5] Young uploaded 'Behind the Scenes' footage of the video on VEVO a few days prior to the release on May 2, which explained the concept for the video; saying that it's about two men (Young and Chrystopher) leaving earth, but unlike many videos with a similar theme, they aren't leaving a post-apocalyptic earth, instead, there is a big celebration about leaving a very polluted earth. In the video the earth is shown as a planet that has terrible living conditions. The celebration is because they are leaving earth to find a better planet in outer space. As shown in the music video the duo are taking samples of earth with them to outer space to archive them.[6]

Young's "Alligator Sky" self makes an appearance at the end of the music video for "Deer in the Headlights" where he is nearly run over by himself driving the DeLorean (from Back to the Future) after coming to the year 2015.[7]

Track listing

1. "Alligator Sky" (featuring Shawn Chrystopher) — 3:05
2. "Alligator Sky" (No Rap Edit) — 3:14
3. "Alligator Sky" (Long Lost Sun Remix) — 3:08

Charts

References