Since U Been Gone
Encyclopedia
"Since U Been Gone" is a song written and produced by Max Martin
and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
for American singer Kelly Clarkson
. The song was released as the second single from her second album, Breakaway in the US and Australia and was released as the first single in Europe. Its lyrical concept
concerns a failed relationship in which the protagonist
later expresses relief about the breakup. Clarkson, who sought interest in a more rock-oriented image, wanted to alter the song's original composition to allow more drums
. The song has a pop punk
influence in drums and guitar riffs. The song was going to be offered to Pink
and Hilary Duff
.
The song was successful during 2005, and was the second US digital download
to sell over one million copies. It reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100
and the Canada airplay chart. In the UK it reached number five and remained on the chart until the second quarter of 2006. The song earned Clarkson the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 48th Grammy Awards. "Since U Been Gone" charted at 97 in Blender
magazine's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born. In August 2009, the song was ranked at number 21 in "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" by Pitchfork Media
. In December 2009, the song was listed as number 18 in Rolling Stone
s "100 Best Songs of the Decade". In 2009, Billboard ranked it as the sixth most successful pop song of the decade (Mainstream Top 40) and the 47th most successful song overall. Rolling Stone later ranked it #482 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
in 2010. In October 2011, NME
placed it at number 135 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
The song was included as the opening track of the American Idol 10th Anniversary - The Hits compilation album
.
had originally written for Pink
. According to Gottwald, Duff's team passed on the song because some of the notes were too high for Duff's voice. "Since U Been Gone" was later recorded by Kelly Clarkson
.
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Can anyone do bitter better? Nothing packs more romantic rage than the original Idol's 2004 kiss-off to a coldhearted ex." Rolling Stone ranked it #482 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
in 2010.
charts, including the Pop 100
, Hot Dance Airplay
and the Top 40 Mainstream. It peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
but was held off the top spot by "Candy Shop
" by 50 Cent
. It stayed in the top ten for 20 weeks, in the top 40 for 43 weeks and on the chart for 46 weeks. The RIAA
certified "Since U Been Gone" Gold
in March 2006 for selling over 500,000 digital download
s. As of September 2010, "Since U Been Gone" has sold over 2,067,000 downloads. It was also certified gold in June 2006 for over 500,000 ringtones sold. It ranked fourth on the 2005 Billboard year-end chart. Similar to "Breakaway", "Since U Been Gone" took a while to become popular on radio. Released in the U.S. in late November 2004, the song spent three weeks steadily climbing the charts. In late March, after over 4 months of being on the charts, the popularity of "Since U Been Gone" suddenly began to surge. By April 2005, the song had finally peaked at number one on the Pop 100 chart, where it remained for seven weeks.
The song was also popular worldwide, reaching number one in Canada
for two weeks and remaining on the chart for 29 weeks. It peaked inside the top five in Australia
and the United Kingdom
; in the former country it stayed in the top 40 for 19 weeks, and in the latter 13 (non-consecutive). "Since U Been Gone" performed well in markets where Clarkson's success had previously been limited.
the apartment he shares with his (apparently) new girlfriend. Scenes of Clarkson performing at a concert are also seen. Alex Da Rakoff directed the video. The video won "Best Female Video
" and "Best Pop Video
" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards
.
Compact Disc
CD Maxi single
Digital download AUS/U.S. remixes EP
Released March 22, 2005.
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
for American singer Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
. The song was released as the second single from her second album, Breakaway in the US and Australia and was released as the first single in Europe. Its lyrical concept
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
concerns a failed relationship in which the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
later expresses relief about the breakup. Clarkson, who sought interest in a more rock-oriented image, wanted to alter the song's original composition to allow more drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
. The song has a pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
influence in drums and guitar riffs. The song was going to be offered to Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
and Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff
Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress, singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, and author. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, she achieved fame playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She also reprised her role in...
.
The song was successful during 2005, and was the second US digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
to sell over one million copies. It reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and the Canada airplay chart. In the UK it reached number five and remained on the chart until the second quarter of 2006. The song earned Clarkson the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 48th Grammy Awards. "Since U Been Gone" charted at 97 in Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
magazine's 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born. In August 2009, the song was ranked at number 21 in "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" by Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
. In December 2009, the song was listed as number 18 in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s "100 Best Songs of the Decade". In 2009, Billboard ranked it as the sixth most successful pop song of the decade (Mainstream Top 40) and the 47th most successful song overall. Rolling Stone later ranked it #482 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
in 2010. In October 2011, 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...
placed it at number 135 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
The song was included as the opening track of the American Idol 10th Anniversary - The Hits compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
.
Background
"Since U Been Gone" was written and produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke. Duff's management team considered for recording a song titled "Since U Been Gone", which Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald and Max MartinMax Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
had originally written for Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
. According to Gottwald, Duff's team passed on the song because some of the notes were too high for Duff's voice. "Since U Been Gone" was later recorded by Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
.
Critical reception
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Can anyone do bitter better? Nothing packs more romantic rage than the original Idol's 2004 kiss-off to a coldhearted ex." Rolling Stone ranked it #482 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" was the cover story of a special issue of Rolling Stone, issue number 963, published December 9, 2004, a year after the magazine published its list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"....
in 2010.
Chart performance
"Since U Been Gone" topped several U.S. BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts, including the Pop 100
Pop 100
The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...
, Hot Dance Airplay
Hot Dance Airplay
Dance/Mix Show Airplay is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is featured weekly in Billboard magazine. The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic dance music on the radio in the United States and the stations that program it...
and the Top 40 Mainstream. It peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
but was held off the top spot by "Candy Shop
Candy Shop
"Candy Shop" is the second single by rapper 50 Cent from his second commercial album The Massacre . It features R&B singer Olivia, and was written by 50 Cent....
" by 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
. It stayed in the top ten for 20 weeks, in the top 40 for 43 weeks and on the chart for 46 weeks. The RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
certified "Since U Been Gone" Gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
in March 2006 for selling over 500,000 digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
s. As of September 2010, "Since U Been Gone" has sold over 2,067,000 downloads. It was also certified gold in June 2006 for over 500,000 ringtones sold. It ranked fourth on the 2005 Billboard year-end chart. Similar to "Breakaway", "Since U Been Gone" took a while to become popular on radio. Released in the U.S. in late November 2004, the song spent three weeks steadily climbing the charts. In late March, after over 4 months of being on the charts, the popularity of "Since U Been Gone" suddenly began to surge. By April 2005, the song had finally peaked at number one on the Pop 100 chart, where it remained for seven weeks.
The song was also popular worldwide, reaching number one in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for two weeks and remaining on the chart for 29 weeks. It peaked inside the top five in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the United Kingdom
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...
; in the former country it stayed in the top 40 for 19 weeks, and in the latter 13 (non-consecutive). "Since U Been Gone" performed well in markets where Clarkson's success had previously been limited.
Music video
The single's music video depicts Clarkson exacting revenge on a boyfriend by trashingVandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
the apartment he shares with his (apparently) new girlfriend. Scenes of Clarkson performing at a concert are also seen. Alex Da Rakoff directed the video. The video won "Best Female Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Year, and it awarded the artist's whole body of work...
" and "Best Pop Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video was first given out in , as MTV began to put several teen pop acts in heavy rotation. Nominations, however, were not just limited to pop acts, as dance, R&B, pop/rock, and, most recently, reggaeton artists have also received Best Pop Video nominations...
" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
.
Covers and other uses
- American musician Butch WalkerButch WalkerButch Walker is an American recording artist, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the metal band SouthGang from the late 80s to early 90s as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for rock band Marvelous 3 from 1997 until 2001.-Career:Walker grew up in Cartersville,...
recorded "Since U Been Gone" for his 2005 EP of cover versions, Cover Me BaddCover Me BaddCover Me Badd is an EP by Butch Walker, available as a digital download from the iTunes Music Store since October 11, 2005 and on CD since December 13, 2005. It contains six cover versions of songs originally performed by Kelly Clarkson, George Jones, Elvis Costello, Wings, Queen and Sandie Shaw...
. - The band A Day to RememberA Day to RememberA Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida. Founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denny and drummer Bobby Scruggs, the band has released four studio albums, nine singles and eight music videos...
covered "Since U Been Gone" on the 2008 special edition of their second album, For Those Who Have HeartFor Those Who Have HeartFor Those Who Have Heart is the second studio album by A Day to Remember, released on January 23, 2007. The album was re-released on February 19, 2008, with additional tracks and a bonus DVD.- Background :...
. - Girl TalkGirl Talk (musician)Gregg Michael Gillis , better known by his stage name Girl Talk, is an American musician specializing in mashups and digital sampling. Gillis has released five LPs on the record label Illegal Art and EPs on 333 and 12 Apostles....
sampled "Since U Been Gone" for the song "Here's the Thing" on his 2008 album Feed the AnimalsFeed the AnimalsFeed the Animals is the fourth album by Girl Talk , released on Illegal Art in 2008. It is composed almost entirely of samples taken from other artists' songs, plus minor original instrumentation by Girl Talk...
. - Canadian indie rock band Tokyo Police ClubTokyo Police ClubTokyo Police Club is an indie rock band from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It consists of vocalist and bassist David Monks , keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook , and drummer Greg Alsop ....
covered the song for their 2011 covers project, Ten Songs Ten Hours Ten Days Ten Years.
Track listing
7" single- "Since U Been Gone" – 3:08
- "Breakaway" – 3:56
Compact Disc
- "Since U Been Gone" (album version) – 3:08
- "Since U Been Gone" (AOL live version) – 3:16
CD Maxi single
- "Since U Been Gone" (album version) – 3:08
- "Miss Independent" (AOL live version) – 3:16
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason NevinsJason NevinsJason Nevins is an American DJ, producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop dance productions.-Career:In the early 1990s, Nevins began releasing singles under various monikers through various dance labels, but achieved global recognition in 1998 with his production of Run-DMC's...
Club Mixshow) – 5:12 - "Since U Been Gone" (music video) – 3:08
Digital download AUS/U.S. remixes EP
Released March 22, 2005.
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Rock Da Club Edit) – 3:22
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Ambient Candlelight Mix) – 3:29
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Mixshow) – 5:35
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Club) – 7:40
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Dub) – 7:21
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Radio Edit Instrumental) – 3:51
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Radio Edit Acapella) – 3:37
- "Since U Been Gone" (Jason Nevins Reprise) – 5:12
Weekly charts
| Chart (2004-05) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Germany (Media Control AG Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... ) |
6 |
Year-end charts
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 22 |
| UK Singles Chart | 30 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 4 |
Sales and certifications
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Platinum | 2,067,000 |