"Human" is an electronic

Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...

 song performed by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 group Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....

. The song was written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp

Alison Goldfrapp

Alison Elizabeth Margaret Goldfrapp is an English singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as the lead singer of the electronic music duo Goldfrapp. Goldfrapp has a soprano vocal range.-Early life:...

 and Will Gregory

Will Gregory

William Owen Gregory is best known as a songwriter, and the lead keyboards/synthesizer player & producer of the electronic music group Goldfrapp. Originally a classical music student at the University of York, Gregory is the son of an actress and an opera chorus-line singer...

 for the duo's debut album Felt Mountain

Felt Mountain

Felt Mountain is the debut album by English electronic duo Goldfrapp. It was released in the United Kingdom on 11 September 2000 by Mute Records...

(2000). It was released as the album's third single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 on 26 February 2001.

Critical response

"Human" received generally positive reviews from pop music critics. Flak Magazine

Flak Magazine

Flak Magazine was a pioneering American online magazine, founded in 1998. The chief editor is James Norton, the managing editor is Joey Rubin. , it reported over 250,000 unique visitors monthly. In 2008, Flak suspended publication....

reviewer Eric Wittmershaus called the song a "surprisingly-daring-yet-easy-to-listen-to genre-bender" that "is easily the disc's standout track." Sacha Esterson of Musicomh.com described the track as "middle eastern-influenced upbeat gem" that is "particularly fantastic." NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

wrote that "Human" "sounds like Shirley Bassey

Shirley Bassey

Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...

, but with none of the dance nous the Welsh warbler brought to her collaboration with the Propellerheads

Propellerheads

Propellerheads were a British big beat musical ensemble, formed in 1995 and made up of electronic producers Will White and Alex Gifford. The term propellerhead is slang for a nerd, and when Gifford and White heard a friend from California use this in a conversation, they thought it the perfect name...

."

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Human".

CD single

(CDMUTE259; Released )

1. "Human" (Single version) – 4:36
2. "Human" (Calexico vocal version featuring John Contreras) – 4:48
3. "Human" (Massey's
   Graham Massey
   Graham Massey was a founding member of the British band, 808 State, formed in 1988 in Manchester, England. Originally a hip-hop group called Hit Squad Manchester, the band shifted to an acid house sound, recording their debut album, Newbuild in 1988 under the new name 808 State.-Music:The band was...
   
   Cro-magnon mix) – 5:55

12-inch single

(12MUTE259; Released )

1. "Human" (Single version) – 3:32
2. "Human" (Calexico Instrumental mix) – 4:48
3. "Human" (Massey's Neanderthal mix) – 7:27

Official remixes

1. "Human" (Radio remix) – 4:00