It's Been Awhile
| "It's Been Awhile" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Staind | ||||
| from the album Break the Cycle | ||||
| Released | April 14, 2001[1] | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | 2001 | |||
| Genre | Post-grunge | |||
| Length | 4:24 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Staind | |||
| Staind singles chronology | ||||
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"It's Been Awhile" is the title of a song by American alternative metal band Staind. It was released in April 2001 as the lead single from their album, Break the Cycle.
The song is probably the band's best-known song, becoming a number 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100,[2] their only song to reach the pop Top 10. The song spent a second-best 20 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart[2] (behind only "Loser" by 3 Doors Down) and a then-record 16 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart,[2] beaten in 2007 by Foo Fighters with "The Pretender". The song is stylistically different from the other tracks on the album, which are nu metal/alternative metal songs and is considered by many critics and fans to be the first sign of Staind's transition from a nu metal to post-grunge band which would evolve on the band's next three albums.
Contents |
[edit] Content
In "It's Been Awhile", singer Aaron Lewis sings of someone who takes stock of his life. He makes references to his previous drug addiction problem and failed relationships. Lewis mentions his father, though he believes he has only himself to blame for his problems.
[edit] Track listing
- "It's Been Awhile" (LP Clean Edit)
- "It's Been Awhile" (Acoustic Version)
- "Suffocate" (LP Version)
[edit] Music video
The music video begins with Aaron Lewis going through some old photographs, one which happens to be an old girlfriend. The video then switches between him writing a letter to his girlfriend and the band performing casually in a room full of candles. There are brief shots of Aaron alone in the streets and looking at himself in the mirror while having second thoughts. Throughout the video, Aaron is seen continuously smoking cigarettes. At the end of the video, one of those cigarettes falls onto the floor and burns down his apartment.
The video was directed by Limp Bizkit frontman, Fred Durst.
[edit] Chart and sales
| Chart (2001-2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[3] | 24 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[4] | 54 |
| Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[5] | 46 |
| Germany (Media Control AG)[6] | 43 |
| Irish Singles Chart[7] | 18 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[8] | 23 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[9] | 79 |
| UK Singles Chart[10] | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks[11] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[11] | 1 |
[edit] Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia [12] | Gold | 2002 | 35,000 + |
| United States [13] | Gold | 2001 | 500,000 + |
[edit] Chart successions
| Preceded by "Duck and Run" by 3 Doors Down |
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one single April 28, 2001 – September 8, 2001 |
Succeeded by "How You Remind Me" by Nickelback |
| Preceded by "Drive" by Incubus |
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number-one single April 28, 2001 – August 11, 2001 |
Succeeded by "Fat Lip" by Sum 41 |
[edit] References
- ^ "It's Been Awhile Lyrics (Pop-Up Version)". http://www.lyricsondemand.com/popuplyrics/s/staindlyrics/itsbeenawhilelyrics.html. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
- ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 595.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – Staind – It's Been Awhile". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ "Staind – It's Been Awhile – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ "Youth of the Nation" peaks
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ Search for Irish peak positions
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Staind – It's Been Awhile". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ "Staind – It's Been Awhile – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Staind (UK)". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=29096. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ a b c "Staind > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/staind-p366456/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2002.htm.
- ^ "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
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