It's Not Over (Daughtry song)

"It's Not Over"
US single cover
Single by Daughtry
from the album Daughtry
Released	November 21, 2006 (see Release history)
Recorded	2006
Genre	Post-grunge[1]
Length	3:35 (Album Version) 3:27 (Radio Edit)
Label	RCA
Writer(s)	Chris Daughtry, Ace Young, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson
Producer(s)	Howard Benson
Daughtry chronology "It's Not Over" (2006) "Home" (2007) Alternative cover UK and CD single cover

"It's Not Over" is the first official single from Daughtry's self titled debut studio album. The song was used as a teaser to the second season fall finale of Prison Break. It was certified Platinum in April 2007. As of August 2007 it was in the top ten digital selling songs of the year.^[2]

Background

The song was written by Chris Daughtry, Ace Young (who was on American Idol with Daughtry), Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson and produced by Howard Benson.

Music video

Production and reception

After much speculation on when and even if a video would be released, the video was finally released on AOL on January 10, 2007.^[3] The video was co-directed by Dean Karr and Jay Martin (Karr directed the performance scenes while Martin did the narrative scenes).

Plot

It begins with a man lying in bed while he has a flashback of himself gathering his personal effects upon release from prison. A woman is then shown picking him up after his release; they hug and hold hands along the way. After a time they stop at a store. While he is inside, she has a flashback to when she first heard the news of his arrest, and we see that she was pregnant at the time. The man gets back in the car with a stuffed rabbit. They then arrive at the woman's home, and there is a young girl inside, presumably the couple's daughter. The woman is seen explaining something to the girl while the man waits outside. He then enters and gives the toy to his daughter, whom he has never met before. After a reluctant moment, the two hug.

The video cuts back to the couple lying in bed, and they seem to be distant; when he attempts to touch her, she pulls away. Intercut with this scene is the man looking for a job, which proves to be unsuccessful. He walks by and enters several stores, none of which is hiring. He passes a jewelry store, and all the recent positive events flash before him: his release, his daughter, and a rosary. He then notices a "Help Wanted" sign and inquires inside the garage; he gets the job as a car mechanic. He again passes the jewelry store, and sees brief flashes of the couple making love, his booking photos and a cross. He is then seen working in the shop, apparently now employed. One night, as his girlfriend waits for him — visibly upset — he is shown entering the jewelry store, looking at first as if he is going to rob it. When he finally arrives home, his girlfriend opens the door wondering where he's been, he drops to one knee and presents the ring; the girlfriend is overjoyed, and the video ends with the two embracing.

Intercut throughout the video are scenes with scenes of the band playing the song in an immaculate looking grand room, it is of the main atrium of the Surrogate's Courthouse in New York City.

Reception

Critical

Most critics found "It's Not Over" to be catchy and a solid first single. Billboard magazine called "It's Not Over" a "tight, focused and ready to rock your face off" single that "overflows with harmonies and axe leads that suck you in out of the box."^[4] Entertainment Weekly found the song "ridiculously catchy".^[5] Daniel Wolfe of About.com said the band does "a great job of telling the story of a relationship gone wrong," ultimately giving the song three and a half out of five stars.^[6] There has been some talk of the single's similarity to the Fuel's song, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)", which Chris Daughtry performed on American Idol.

On December 6, 2007, the song was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

Commercial

The single debuted fairly high on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 65 in late November 2006,^[7] partly due to the song already reaching the top 40 on iTunes. It has since gone on to become a top 5 single for the band, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.^[8] It has also become a number one single for the band on the Adult Top 40 chart and on the American Top 40 countdown. The main version of the song has sold 2,103,000 copies in the United States as of April 2010,^[9] and the combined sales of different versions of the song exceeded 3 million.^[10]

On the international scene, the song, along with the album, appeared in the New Zealand RIANZ Top 40 Charts, the song debuting at number 38 on the Singles Chart, and the album debuting at number 17 on the Album Chart.^[11] The single made the top 10 in New Zealand. The single was to be released in the UK on August 6, 2007, but was deleted at the last minute.^[12] In the Philippines, the single placed number 2 in the 2007 Magic 89.9 Yearender Countdown after spending more than a month at the top spot in the weekly countdown, behind Elliot Yamin's Wait For You.

In the August 2007 issue of Guitar World magazine, a full transcription as well as pedal settings was featured for this song. The pedal settings, for the BOSS CE-5 Chorus Ensemble, ML-2 Metal Core & CS-3 Compression/Sustainer, allow readers to get the actual sound of the song as it appears on the Daughtry record.

Release history

Region	Date	Label
United States	November 21, 2006	RCA Records
United Kingdom	August 6, 2007

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (2006–07)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[13]	22
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14]	65
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[15]	9
Germany (Official German Charts)[16]	38
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17]	22
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18]	8
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19]	77
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20]	128
US Billboard Hot 100[21]	4
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[22]	18
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[23]	1
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[24]	17
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[25]	5
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[26]	1

Year-end charts

Charts (2007)	Position
Australian Singles Chart (ARIA)[27]	80
US Billboard Hot 100[28]	17
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[29]	40
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[30]	2
US Digital Songs (Billboard)[31]	23
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[32]	22
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[33]	29

Track listing

1. It's Not Over (Album Version)
2. It's Not Over (Acoustic)

References

1. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1069760
2. "User account". The Official Daughtry Website.
3. http://mp.aol.com/video.index.adp?mxid=1810326&_AOLFORM=w708.h344.p7.R1 mp.aol.com
4. M. B. (December 2, 2006)"It's Not Over". Billboard. 118 (48):46
5. Gundersen, Edna (March 21, 2007), "It's just beginning for Chris Daughtry". USA Today.:1d
6. Wolfe, Daniel (2006). "Daughtry - It's Not Over" About.com. Retrieved September 20, 2007
7. Jonathan Cohen, "'Smack' Attack: Akon Adds More No. 1s To His Arsenal", Billboard.com, November 30, 2006.
8. Katie Hasty, "Beyonce Stays Ahead Of Fall Out Boy Atop Hot 100", Billboard.com, February 1, 2007.
9. "Yahoo Music". yahoo.com.
10. "USA TODAY Idol Chatter: Candid commentary on American Idol performances". USATODAY.COM.
11. http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp Rianz.orf.nz
12. America’s biggest selling band ‘Draughty’ to play London show : Celebrity News and Gossip
13. "Australian-charts.com – Daughtry – It's Not Over". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
14. "Austriancharts.at – Daughtry – It's Not Over" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
15. "Daughtry – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Daughtry. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
16. "Offiziellecharts.de – Daughtry – It's Not Over". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
17. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Daughtry search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
18. "Charts.org.nz – Daughtry – It's Not Over". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Daughtry – It's Not Over". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
20. "CHART: CLUK Update 1.09.2007 (wk34)". zobbel.de via Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
21. "Daughtry – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Daughtry. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
22. "Daughtry – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Daughtry. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
23. "Daughtry – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Daughtry. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
24. "Daughtry – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Daughtry. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
25. "Daughtry – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Daughtry. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
26. "Daughtry – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Daughtry. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
27. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2007". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
28. "Billboard Hot 100 Year-End 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2012-04-15.
29. "Adult Contemporary Songs: Year End 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
30. "Adult Pop Songs: Year End 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
31. "Digital Songs: Year End 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
32. "Mainstream Rock Songs: Year End 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
33. "Radio Songs: Year End 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 22 September 2016.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics