What Hurts the Most

"What Hurts the Most"
Song by Mark Wills from the album And the Crowd Goes Wild
Genre	Country
Length	3:47
Label	Mercury Nashville
Writer	Jeffrey Steele, Steve Robson
Producer	Chris Lindsey, Mark Wills
And the Crowd Goes Wild track listing
"Prisoner of the Highway" (4) "What Hurts the Most" (5) "What She Sees in Me" (6)

"What Hurts the Most"
Single by Jo O'Meara
from the album Relentless
Released	September 26, 2005
Format	CD single
Recorded	2005
Genre	Pop
Length	3:29
Label	Sanctuary
Writer(s)	Jeffrey Steele, Steve Robson

"What Hurts the Most" is the title of a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele and English songwriter Steve Robson. Initially recorded by country music artist Mark Wills in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild, it was covered by Bellefire a year later. However, the first version to be released as a single was by pop singer Jo O'Meara in 2005, from the album Relentless. Later that year, country band Rascal Flatts covered the song as well, releasing it as the first single from the 2006 album Me and My Gang, topping the U.S country and adult contemporary charts with it. German band Cascada later had international chart success with the song in 2007.

Content

Jeffrey Steele co-wrote the song with Steve Robson, with whom he also co-wrote Rascal Flatts' 2002 single "These Days". Robson presented Steele with an unfinished track, and Steele decided to come up with lyrics to finish the track. Originally, he had wanted to write a song about the loss of his father, but instead went with a more universal theme of lost love. After singing the lyrics, he decided that he liked how sad the song sounded, when Robson suggested that it be recorded in a higher key to sound more emotional.

Mark Wills was the first artist to record the song, doing so on his 2003 album And the Crowd Goes Wild. Jo O'Meara, a pop singer, released the song in 2005 and had chart success with it in the United Kingdom. Faith Hill had also intended to include the song on her 2005 album Fireflies, and although she had recorded the song, her version did not make the final cut. Rascal Flatts then recorded the song as well, and per producer Dann Huff's suggestion, it made their album Me and My Gang. Wills' rendition of the song, though never a single, peaked at number 51 on the U.S. Hot Digital Songs charts in 2006 in the wake of Rascal Flatts' success with it.

Jo O'Meara version

Jo O'Meara released the song in 2005 as her first solo single, becoming the first artist to release it as a single. It was the lead single from her debut album Relentless. O'Meara's version peaked at number thirteen in the UK singles chart.

Chart	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	13
Irish Singles Chart	26

Rascal Flatts version

"What Hurts the Most"
Single by Rascal Flatts
from the album Me and My Gang
Released	January 9, 2006
Format	CD single
Recorded	2005
Genre	Country
Length	3:33
Label	Lyric Street
Producer	Dann Huff
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Rascal Flatts singles chronology
"Skin (Sarabeth)" (2005) "What Hurts the Most" (2006) "Me and My Gang" (2006)

In 2006, country music trio Rascal Flatts released the song as a single from its album Me and My Gang, and it became their fifth number-one single on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. It also peaked at No. 6 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first Top 10 pop hit. In addition, the song reached number 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts. Rascal Flatts also performed the song live with Kelly Clarkson at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2006.

Rascal Flatts' recording earned two nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, in the categories of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Best Country Song.

Music video

The music video starts with a young girl crying over the loss of her boyfriend. Over the course of the video, there are scenes of the band playing, flashbacks of the couple, and the girl trying to go about her life. The music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy in early 2006 who also directed the music video of This Everyday Love and Prayin' for Daylight.

Song information

Rascal Flatts' version of the song is in the key of F minor, with a vocal range of E♭4-A♭5. The main chord pattern is Fm-D♭-E♭-D♭.

Charts

Chart (2006–2007)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	45
US Country Songs (Billboard)	1
US Billboard Hot 100	6
US Billboard Pop 100	11
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)	1
US Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks	9
US Billboard Mainstream Top 40	22
UK Singles Chart	103

Preceded by "Living in Fast Forward" by Kenny Chesney	Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one single April 8–29, 2006	Succeeded by "Who Says You Can't Go Home" by Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles
Preceded by "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" by Hall & Oates	Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single by November 18, 2006 (first run) December 2–16, 2006 (second run) January 13 - February 10, 2007 (third run)	Succeeded by "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield "Jingle Bells" by Kimberly Locke "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield

Cascada version

"What Hurts the Most"
Single by Cascada
from the album Perfect Day
Released	November 21, 2007 (2007-11-21) (see release history)
Format	CD single, digital download
Recorded	2007
Genre	Eurodance, progressive trance
Length	3:39
Label	Zooland
Writer(s)	Jeffrey Steele, Steve Robson
Producer	Manuel Reuter, Yann Peifer
Cascada singles chronology
"Last Christmas" (2007) "What Hurts the Most" (2007) "What Do You Want from Me?" (2008) Music video "What Hurts The Most" (Official video) on YouTube

In 2007, the song was covered by the German dance group Cascada. It was released as the first single of their second album Perfect Day. The single was first released in Sweden and then released on December 4 in the United States, December 10 in the United Kingdom, and finally released January 4, 2008 in Germany.

The song peaked at number five on the Swedish singles chart and entered the United Kingdom's singles chart at number 16 before peaking at number ten. In the United States, the song peaked at number 52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified gold for sales of 500,000 almost 23 months after its release on October 28, 2009. At the end of 2008, Billboard ranked the song at number 69 for its year-end Hot Singles Sales chart.

Billboard's Chuck Taylor wrote a positive review of the song saying "wouldn't it be wondrous if American programmers renewed their vow in 2008 to put variety on the airwaves—or do we really need a fifth entry in the top 10 from T-Pain[?]".

Music structure

"What Hurts the Most", covered by Cascada, is an uptempo eurodance song that starts off with guitar plucking and Horler's electropop vocals, then transitions into trance music. It has a moderate trance tempo groove and it is arranged in the key of F-sharp minor with a tempo of 142 beats per minute.

Track listing

1. Yanou's Candlelight Mix (Ballad) - 3:56
2. Radio edit – 3:41
3. Topmodelz Radio Edit - 3:47
4. Spencer & Hill Radio Edit - 3:30
5. Original Extended - 5:17
6. Extended Club Mix - 5:07
7. Spencer & Hill Club Remix - 7:00
8. "Last Christmas" (G. Michael) - 3:53

Versions

• "What Hurts the Most" (Radio Edit) – 3:41
• "What Hurts the Most" (Fugitives Megura Radio Edit) – 3:51
• "What Hurts the Most" (Spencer & Hill Radio Edit) – 3:31
• "What Hurts the Most" (Topmodelz Radio Edit) – 3:47
• "What Hurts the Most" (Yanou's Candlelight Mix) – 3:56
• "What Hurts the Most" (Extended Mix) – 5:18
• "What Hurts the Most" (Spencer Hill Remix) – 7:00
• "What Hurts the Most" (K-Klass Remix) – 6:05
• "What Hurts the Most" (Top Modelz Remix) – 5:35
• "What Hurts the Most" (Fugitives Megura Remix) – 5:58
• "What Hurts the Most" (Ultrabeat Remix) – 5:52
• "What Hurts the Most" (Darren Styles Remix) – 6:16
• "What Hurts the Most" (Riff & Rays Remix) – 8:30
• "What Hurts the Most" (Flip & Fill Remix) – 5:50
• "What Hurts the Most" (Club Mix) – 5:07
• "What Hurts the Most" (Spencer & Hill Dub Mix) – 6:00
• "What Hurts the Most" (2-4 Grooves Remix) – 6:47
• "What Hurts the Most" (Club Radio Edit) – 3:30
• "What Hurts the Most" (DJ Uto Remix) – 3:26
• "What Hurts the Most" (AL Storm Remix) - 4:30 [only on a compilation CD Ultimate Hardcore Volume 3]

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
Sweden	November 21, 2007	CD single, digital download	Bonnier
United Kingdom	December 4, 2007	Digital download	All Around the World
	December 10, 2007	CD single
United States	November 27, 2007	Digital download	Robbins
	December 4, 2007	CD single
Germany	January 3, 2008	CD single, digital download	Zooland

Charts, peaks and certifications

Charts

Chart (2007/2008)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	63
Austrian Singles Chart	3
Canadian Hot 100	54
Czech Airplay Chart	25
Dutch Single Top 100	35
Dutch Top 40	23
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles	8
Finland Singles Top 20	18
France Singles Chart	2
German Singles Chart	9
Global Dance Tracks	4
Hungary Dance Top 40	40
Irish Singles Chart	6
Latvia Chart	3
Slovakia Singles Chart	85
Swedish Singles Chart	5
UK Singles Chart	10
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	52
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs	28
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2008)	Rank
German Singles Chart	94

Sales and certifications

Country	Sales	Certification
United States	500,000+	Gold

Preceded by "Calabria 2007" by Enur featuring Natasja

Billboard Hot Dance Airplay number-one single February 2, 2008

Succeeded by "Let Me Think About It" by Ida Corr vs Fedde le Grand