When the average music lover hears the band name Evanescence, two songs inevitably come to mind.
One is the band’s debut single, Bring Me to Life. The song catapulted the band to fame when it was included on the soundtrack to the 2003 film, Daredevil. The iconic vocals of Amy Lee and Paul McCoy cemented the band in music history.
The other song, perhaps just as popular, is the band’s third single, titled My Immortal. That song released in December 2003, about six weeks after its writer, co-founder Ben Moody, left the band due to creative differences.
My Immortal has lived in various iterations since its initial release, with several different versions released over the years. Most recently, Evanescence re-recorded the song for 2017’s Synthesis, featuring an orchestra on the song.
My Immortal has had a storied history with the band, and played at nearly every live show, usually as an encore song along with Bring Me to Life. Here’s a look back at the song’s history in honor of the 21st anniversary of its release as a single.
Early song
My Immortal is one of Evanescence’s oldest songs. Although the song’s lyrics suggest Amy Lee wrote it, co-founder Ben Moody wrote the song.
Lee described the song as Moody’s, including in a 2006 interview when she discussed the song’s on the band’s second record, The Open Door.
“With the line-up changing, I think a lot of people thought it would be more of the “My Immortal” stuff,” Lee said in a 2006 VH1 interview. “But ‘My Immortal’ was Ben [Moody]’s song! I was always trying to pull us in a crazier direction.”
As the legend goes, the lyrics to the song are from the perspective of a recently deceased spirit. The spirit haunts the memory of a grieving loved one, making it difficult for the surviving person to deal with the death of the spirit.
Early versions of the song appeared on some of the band’s early music CDs, including the “dressed-up” demo CD, Origin. Diana Meltzer at Wind-Up records heard the song and knew it was a hit.
Music Video
Although the band’s debut album Fallen contains an older recording, the music video features what is known as the “band version.” In this version, the piano and Lee’s vocals are fuller and stronger than the earlier recording. And, the rest of the band appears in between the bridge and final chorus, with a strong guitar and drum medley added in.
It is this “band version” of the song used in the song’s music video. The band filmed music video shot in black-and-white in Barcelona on October 10, 2003. Just 12 days later, Moody abruptly left the band in the middle of the tour.
The song lives up to the idea of a spirit recently deceased haunting a living person. The music video features Lee and Moody separated, a somewhat ominous sign of things to come barely two weeks later.
Lee is never depicted with her feet touching the ground, suggesting she has died, but either will not or cannot move on. Moody, meanwhile, spends the video looking somber, perhaps reflecting on the separation from Lee. Indeed, one has to wonder if he knew his departure from the band was imminent.
Earlier this year, the music video hit a milestone: One billion views as of October 2, 2024. This follows the music video to Bring Me to Life, which hit the same milestone in early 2022.
Live Performances
Evanescence performs My Immortal at virtually every concert, usually as an encore piece. In 2021 when I saw Evanescence perform in Fort Worth Lee sat at the piano for the encore. She told us she knew we would not let her leave without playing “you-know-what.”
Lee often precedes the song with a reflection of the band’s history.
Evanescence performs their hit song My Immortal in 2022 in The Woodlands, TX. This concert was part of Evanescence’s late summer 2022 with Korn.
Lee acknowledges the song has come to mean so much to her now than it did in the early days. In a way, the song represents the history of the band.
Often during performances of My Immortal, Lee asks the audience “light it up.” In the old days, that meant those with cigarette lighters would light them to create a nice visual effect. These days, the audience turns on their phone lights. This creates a nice visual, as seen in the photo below from Evanescence’s concert with Korn in The Woodlands Texas in September 2022.
Concert attendees “light it up” during a performance of My Immortal by Evanescence. The result is hundreds of cell phones lit up with the flash functions on.
Legacy
After 21 years, the song has come a long way. Aside from serving as a song that allows Lee (and indeed, the fans) to reflect on the band’s history, it has also had a storied history with various releases.
There is of course the demo version featured on Fallen. Even with the Fallen remaster in 2023, that version does not impact like other versions. Then of course, there is the so-called band version, which is the most often played.
As part of the 2023 Fallen remaster, the band released a new version. This one features vocals and piano that sound similar to the “band version.” Rather than the band kicking it during the finale, strings play the familiar melody that leads to the final chorus.
However, the best version played on 2017’s Synthesis. This album featured several of Evanescence’s songs with the rock elements largely removed and replaced with an orchestra. Evanescence re-recorded My Immortal with a full orchestra.
This version contains Lee’s strongest vocals of all the recordings with a powerful orchestra backing her up. The song functions as Lee’s throne ascension, with the only thing missing being a crown thrust upon her head, showing her reign as a Queen of Rock.
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