Bad Day (Daniel Powter song)
"Bad Day" is a pop song by Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Powter from his self-titled second studio album (2005). It was written by Powter and produced by Jeff Dawson and Mitchell Froom. Powter and Dawson recorded the song in 2002, but were initially unable to find a record label to release it. The song was first used in a French Coca-Cola television advertisement in Christmas 2004 before its official release. Tom Whalley, Warner Bros. Records' chairman and CEO, offered Powter a contract after hearing a demo tape of it. This track ended up being released as the aforementioned album's lead single in Europe in early 2005.
"Bad Day"
- "Stupid Like This"
- "Lost on the Stoop"
January 9, 2005[a]
2003
3:55
Daniel Powter
- Mitchell Froom
- Jeff Dawson
The song was received with a generally mixed reception from critics. While some praised its lyrics for their "universal appeal", others felt they were too broad. Despite this, it was a commercial success. In 2005, the single charted in the top five in more than ten countries worldwide and became the most played song on European radio. After its European success, it was released in the United States where it topped the Billboard Hot 100, Pop 100, Adult Top 40, and Adult Contemporary charts. In 2006, it became the first song ever to sell two million digital copies in the United States, as well as being measured by Billboard as the most popular song of the year inside of the United States, and the first under its new system. After another million were sold, it was certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2009. It was certified double platinum in the United Kingdom, platinum in Australia and Canada, and gold in Denmark and Germany.
The accompanying music video for "Bad Day" was directed by Marc Webb and became the eighth most-watched music video on the Internet in 2006, reaching 9.8 million views one year after its release. The video depicts two downcast people sharing a similar routine until they meet each other at the end of the video. The song was used for advertisements and television programs, most prominently as American Idol's elimination song. Different shows and artists covered and parodied "Bad Day", including Saturday Night Live and Alvin and the Chipmunks. Powter has also performed the song on television shows including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and during his concert tours in North America and Europe. The song's success made it Powter's "anthem" and would be included on his later compilation albums B-Sides (2007) and Best of Me (2010).
Background and release[edit]
After leaving MacEwan University in Edmonton at 20, Powter moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where he played keyboards before he started composing songs.[1][2] In 1997, he partnered with music producer Jeff Dawson; they recorded "Bad Day" in 2002.[1] For two weeks,[3] Powter had a melody that "wouldn't go away" from his mind.[1] Thinking of a lyric that would fit the melody, he thought an "up and poppy" lyric would make it "the cheesiest song of all time".[3] He then thought "bad day" would be a good choice for the chorus,[1] and wrote the lyrics partly based on his life as "a struggling musician".[3] It was the last song to be composed for his album,[4] with Powter writing it in an hour during a ferry journey between Victoria and Vancouver.[5] Powter said it was not a lyrically elaborate song, but that: "mostly it's about phonics. It's about words that sing great. I was mumbling something, and those words came out."[3]
Dawson and Powter included the song on a disc that was offered to record labels that asked Powter to audition in New York, but his lack of stage presence led to the labels turning him down. Disappointed, he returned to Vancouver to move on because: "once a record company says no, it's difficult to come around again".[1] After this failure, his new representative, Gary Stamler, played a demo tape for Tom Whalley, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records.[1][6] Whalley offered Powter a contract but he was reluctant to sign it because he considered himself primarily a songwriter.[1] He accepted the offer in April 2003 and, along with Dawson and producer Mitchell Froom, worked on his album and the song in Los Angeles, California.[1] The album was originally recorded in Powter's Vancouver apartment but Warner Bros. asked that it be rerecorded.[2] However, because Froom wanted to keep its "original feel[ing]",[7] in Powter's words it was just "touch[ed] up".[2]
"Bad Day" was first released to three French radio stations—RTL, NRJ, and Europe 2—in early 2005.[a] On February 8, Barnes & Noble released it on an exclusive extended play (EP), which also contained "Free Loop", "Lie to Me", and "Song 6".[10] In the United States it was digitally released on February 22, 2005.[11] In 2005, Warner Bros. Records released it as a CD single in Switzerland on March 4,[12] in France on March 22,[13] in Italy on May 18,[14] in Germany on May 30,[15] in Australia on June 27,[16] in the United Kingdom on July 25,[17] and in Canada on July 28.[18] The Swiss and Canadian release also included "Stupid Like This", a non-album track,[12][18] while the Italian, German, and Australian versions included "Stupid Like This" and "Lost on The Stoop".[14][15][16] In France and the United Kingdom, both versions were released,[19][20][21][22] and the British release also contained the music video for "Bad Day".[22] A live-recorded version for Austrian radio station Hitradio Ö3 was included on the 2005 EP Free Loop.[23] On August 6, 2008, an EP live from Tokyo was released exclusively on iTunes and it included "Song 6", "Free Loop", "Best of Me", "Love You Lately" and "Bad Day".[24] "Bad Day" was also included on Powter's compilation albums B-Sides (2007) and Best of Me (2010).[25]
Chart performance[edit]
"Bad Day" topped Nielsen Music Control's Pan European Airplay 100 as the most played song on European radio stations in 2005.[60][61] It was also the third most downloaded song that year in Europe.[62] On Billboard's European Hot 100 Singles it peaked at number two on the weekly chart, while it placed seventh on its year-end chart.[63][64] The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart issue dated August 6, 2005,[65] at number two, its peak position, spending 38 weeks on the chart.[66] "Bad Day" was the eleventh best-selling single and the third most downloaded song in the UK in 2005.[67][68] It was the most played song on UK radio during the period 2003–08.[69] In November 2023, it was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry.[70] The song debuted on the Irish Singles Chart at number 13 on July 28, 2005,[71] and topped it for three weeks, spending 19 weeks on the chart.[66] The song peaked at number three on the French Singles Chart,[66] and was the most played song on French radio in 2005.[72] It was the most played song on the German Airplay Chart in 2005.[60][73] It sold 143,600 copies and was certified silver in France,[13][74] and in Germany it was certified gold for the shipment of over 150,000 copies.[75] It peaked at number one in the Czech Republic,[76] at number three in Italy, at number 5 in Denmark,[66] and reached the top 10 on the singles chart in eight other European territories.[66][77][78][79]
"Bad Day" debuted at number 55 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart issue dated February 25, 2006.[80] On March 30, 2006, it reached the top spot on the chart.[81] A week before, the song had reached the top of the Hot Digital Songs chart.[82] In the following weeks, it reached number one on the Pop 100[81] and the Adult Top 40.[83] It topped the Adult Top 40 for 12 weeks, the longest period a song by a lead male artist had spent on the chart.[84] It remained at number one on the Adult Contemporary chart for 19 weeks, making it the song that spent the most time on the Adult Contemporary chart that year,[85] tying Phil Collins' "You'll Be in My Heart" as the longest-running number-one song by a solo male artist to that date.[86] "Bad Day" became the first song to sell two million digital copies in the United States in December 2006,[87][88] and was the best-selling "digital track" and "digital song" for 2006.[87] "Bad Day" received a three-times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for digital sales of over 3 million in September 2009.[11] It was the seventh most played song on the American radio in 2006,[87] and was the number one song of 2006 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[89] It also performed well on other year-end charts, ranking second on Hot Adult Pop Songs,[90] and third on Hot Adult Contemporary Songs.[91] Media considered its exposure on American Idol as a major factor in its success in the United States.[83][8][92]
In Canada, the song was certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for the sale 20,000 downloads.[93] "Bad Day" peaked at number seven on the Canadian Singles Chart and at number six on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles chart.[94] In Japan, a ringtone version was certified by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipment of over one million copies.[95] Its full-length ringtone version was certified platinum for shipment of over 250,000 copies,[96] while its single track version was certified double platinum for shipment of over 500,000 copies.[97] "Bad Day" was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of over 70,000 copies.[98] The song debuted at number 21 on the ARIA Charts issue dated July 4, 2005,[99] peaked at number three on the issue dated August 15, 2005,[100] and spent 20 weeks on the chart.[66] It was the 18th top single of 2005 in the year-end ARIA Charts,[101] and was the second most-played song in the country in 2006.[102] It peaked at number 7 in New Zealand appearing for 23 weeks, and was on Venezuela's Pop Rock chart for 19.[66][103]
Usage in other media[edit]
"Bad Day" was much used in the media, to the point where Powter declared he felt "quite detached from th[e] song. It's more like it's everybody's song."[118] According to Alan Connor: "...turning off the radio isn't enough to escape the tune. It can be heard everywhere from in shops, on mobiles and especially on TV."[38] During Christmas 2004, the song was used in a Coca-Cola advertisement, which played in France for two weeks.[8][119] It was also featured in a television advertisement for Right Guard deodorant in the United Kingdom,[38][42] and the long-running NFL.com Fantasy Football Playoff Challenge ads in the United States, starting in 2008.[120]
The fifth season of American Idol used "Bad Day" to underscore a montage of each contestant shown when they were eliminated.[83][92] Although it was not his decision to have it on the show,[121] Powter said: "I need every opportunity that I can to get the music out there".[38] "Bad Day" was subsequently used in other shows, including the Brazilian series Malhação in 2005,[122] and TV Asahi's 2006 Japanese drama Regatta: Kimi to Ita Eien.[123] It was featured in the Veronica Mars episode "The Bitch Is Back" in 2007,[124] and in a 2012 episode of the German show Danni Lowinski.[125] In 2014, the song was used as Lestrade's ringtone for Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson in an episode of Elementary, titled "The One Percent Solution".[126] An FX promotional trailer for Fargo featured a muzak version of "Bad Day".[127]
"Weird Al" Yankovic wanted to record a parody of the song in 2006, but Powter refused his proposal.[128] Later, however, Powter decided to give him permission to record the parody, which was to have been called "You Had a Bad Date", but was told by Yankovic that "the train had left the station", as he recorded "White & Nerdy" the day after instead.[128][129] In April 2006, "Bad Day" was parodied on an episode of the television series Saturday Night Live, featuring a montage of former member of the United States House of Representatives Tom DeLay.[3][130] The Daily Show used the song for an American Idol-based montage satirizing the June 2006 death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.[131][132] It was parodied by comedy group Moron Life titled "Overplayed" and was released on MySpace in August 2006.[38][133] "Bad Day" was also covered by the fictional music group Alvin and the Chipmunks for their 2007 film Alvin and the Chipmunks. and also movie 2024 film Twisters.[28] Their version made the charts in January 2008, peaking at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100.[134]