THE ANIMAL IN THE GARDEN
from Columbia's Daily Dish 2/1/99

"The Animal Song," the feverishly-awaited new single from songwriting/performing duo Savage Garden, is the featured song in Touchstone Pictures' upcoming bittersweet romantic comedy "The  Other Sister," starring Juliette Lewis, Diane Keaton, Tom Skerritt, and Giovanni Ribisi.  The film, directed by Garry Marshall ("Lost In America," "Pretty Woman," "A League Of Their Own"), opens nationwide March 5.  "The Animal Song" single hits the stores on February 23, and can be heard on The Other Sister soundtrack on Hollywood Records (in stores March 2) as well as on Savage Garden's upcoming sophomore album, which the duo will begin recording in the spring.

"The Animal Song" is Savage Garden's first new recording since the phenomenal success (11 million copies worldwide and counting!) of the Australian duo's self-titled debut album.  When vocalist Darren
Hayes and guitarist/keyboardist Daniel Jones were asked to write a song for the film's soundtrack, they weren't even in the same country.  Daniel wrote and recorded the music in his home studio in Brisbane and had computer disks couriered to Darren in New York to write his lyrics and melody and create his vocals.  They demoed the song in this transglobal high-tech manner before going to San
Francisco to record the final version at Wallyworld and Andora Studios with the legendary producer Walter Afanasieff.

The new Savage Garden single follows an extraordinary year for the duo. Last December, Savage Garden won the Billboard Music Awards for Adult Contemporary Single Of The Year and Hot 100 Singles Airplay Of The Year (both for "Truly Madly Deeply").  In Billboard magazine's "The Year In Music" issue (December 26, 1998), Savage Garden was in the Top 10 of multiple year-end charts: Top Pop Artists (#3), Top 200 Album Artists (#10), Top 200 Albums (#9), Top 200 Album Artists - Duo/Group (#4), Hot 100 Singles Artists (#4), Hot 100 Singles (#4) and Hot 100 Singles Artists - Duo/Group (#3).  These awards are all based on sales and radio airplay.

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