Hanging by a Moment
Encyclopedia
"Hanging by a Moment" is a song by American alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...

 band Lifehouse
Lifehouse (band)
Lifehouse is an American rock band from Los Angeles. The band came to mainstream prominence in 2001 with the hit single "Hanging by a Moment" from their debut studio album, No Name Face. The single won a Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year, beating out Janet Jackson and Alicia...

. It was the first single released from their debut studio album, No Name Face
No Name Face
No Name Face is the debut album by the rock band Lifehouse. It was released on October 31, 2000, and it produced the hit "Hanging by a Moment" which went on to be the most played song on radio the following year. This album launched Lifehouse into the limelight, and produced many radio-friendly hits...

(2000). The track was written by Lifehouse lead singer Jason Wade
Jason Wade
Jason Michael Wade is the lead vocalist, main songwriter, and guitarist of the American alternative rock band Lifehouse.-Biography:...

, who said that he wrote the song in about five minutes without thinking about what would happen to it. It was produced by American record producer Ron Aniello
Ron Aniello
Ron Aniello is an American; Grammy Award nominated, multi-award–winning, multi-platinum record producer. Some of the noteworthy artists that he has worked with include; Lifehouse, Barenaked Ladies, Guster, Jars of Clay, Days of the New, Sixpence None the Richer, Leigh Nash, Ashley Tesoro, Patti...

 and was mixed by Brendan O'Brien
Brendan O'Brien (music producer)
Brendan O’Brien is a record producer, mixer, engineer, and musician.At age 14, O'Brien played guitar for the Atlanta-based cover band Pranks. In the late 1970s, he moved on to writing, performing and recording with the Samurai Catfish band...

. Musically, "Hanging by a Moment" is a pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

-rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

 song that contains adult alternative
Adult album alternative
Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats....

. The song was first released in the United States on April 24, 2001 by DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...

.

The song received positive reviews from critics, who applauded its instrumentation. It became a commercial success, charting in the top ten in the United States and Australia, and also charting in the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. In 2001, the song was certified 2x Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

 (ARIA) and also became the most played radio track of that year in the United States. The official music video for the song premiered on Vh1.com
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 on December 7, 2000. In the video, Wade is seen singing the lyrics of the song in many locations around a town. The band went on tours with Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995...

 and 3 Doors Down
3 Doors Down
3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa formed in 1996. The band consists of Brad Arnold , Matt Roberts , Todd Harrell , Chris Henderson , and Greg Upchurch ....

 as an opening act
Opening act
An opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...

 before going on their first headline tour that featured American rock band The Calling
The Calling
The Calling is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, best known for their hit single, "Wherever You Will Go." The group formed in 2000 and have released two albums. They have been on an indefinite hiatus since 2005.-Band history:...

 and American singer-songwriter Michelle Branch
Michelle Branch
Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums, The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper, and was subsequently nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2003...

.

Background and composition

The song was written by Lifehouse lead singer Jason Wade. It was produced by American record producer Ron Aniello and was mixed by Brendan O'Brien. When asked about the song in an interview with Billboard
Billboard (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...

, Wade said, "It was the most uptempo, radio-friendly song. We all decided it was the right choice to release it as the first single." He went on to describe his expectations when writing songs, saying, "My ultimate goal in writing songs is to connect with people. In the lyrics, you don't tell the whole picture: You give a road to start on that people can relate to. We're honest, nice guys and I hope that comes across in everything we do." After being asked how he wrote the song in an interview with Launch, Wade explained, "I wrote that song without thinking about what was gonna happen to it and then it just kinda took over from there." He also admitted in the interview that he wrote "Hanging by a Moment" in about five minutes.

"Hanging by a Moment" was described as a pop rock song that contains adult alternative. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing
Sony/ATV Music Publishing is a music publishing company co-owned by The Michael Jackson Family Trust and Sony. The organisation was originally founded as Associated TeleVision in 1955 by Lew Grade. In 1957, ATV acquired Pye Records as a wholly owned subsidiary...

, the song is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...

 with a "moderate rock" tempo of 124 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....

 with Wade's vocal range spanning from the low-note of A3 to the high-note of G5. In an interview with Billboard
Billboard (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...

, lead singer and guitarist of Lifehouse, Jason Wade, described the song as an "uptempo, radio-friendly song". Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

 called the song "one of the biggest pop hits ever by a Contemporary Christian band crossing over into secular pop. The song was the biggest hit of summer 2001 and was eventually named the most played song of the year on the radio." The song was described by John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout
Jesus Freak Hideout
Jesus Freak Hideout is a Christian music website. The website specializes in reviewing, previewing, and selling Christian albums. The website is known for its album reviews, independent music, artist interviews, concert dates and ministry through devotionals and prayer...

 as "a song [that is] clearly a cry out to God". Sean Rizzo of Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...

 says that the song "presents one of the best with the guitar’s plucking during the verses and a chorus infectious enough to infiltrate your brain for a few days."

Chart performance

"Hanging by a Moment" debuted at number seventy-six on the 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...

 for the week of February 10, 2001. It gradually ascended on the chart and eventually peaked at number two, just behind the 2001 cover version of "Lady Marmalade" by Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

, Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....

, Lil' Kim
Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones , better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and actress who was a member of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A.....

, and Mýa
Mya
-A person:* Bo Mya , Chief Commander of the Karen National Union* Mýa , American R&B singer-songwriter and actress** Mýa , a 1998 album by Mýa-A code:* Burmese language, ISO 639-3 code is mya* Moruya Airport's IATA code...

. After its peak, it gradually descended and left the chart after fifty-five consecutive week on February 16, 2002. On the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, the song debuted at number thirty-six for the week of October 28, 2000 and eventually peaked at number one after it stayed on the chart for thirty-six non-consecutive weeks. The song debuted at number thirty-two on the Billboard Pop Songs chart during the week of March 3, 2001. After moving around the chart for thirty-seven consecutive weeks, the song managed to peak at number two. On the Billboard Radio Songs chart, "Hanging by a Moment" debuted at number seventy for the week of February 10, 2001. After moving around the chart for fifty-five consecutive weeks, the song eventually peaked at number one. The song debuted at number thirty-seven on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart for the week of February 24, 2001. It eventually peaked at number one after it spent seventy-four consecutive weeks on the chart. "Hanging by a Moment" became the most played song of 2001 and made Lifehouse the first male rock group to make the annual recap since Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...

 did in 1989 with "Look Away
Look Away
"Look Away" is the name of a 1989 #1 Billboard Hot 100 Chart hit written by Diane Warren. It was recorded by the band Chicago for their 1988 album Chicago 19, with Bill Champlin singing lead vocals. When released as a single that year, the song proved successful, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for...

."

The song also achieved international success. In Australia, the song debuted at number thirty-six on the ARIA Charts
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

 during the week of June 17, 2001. It has since peaked at number one, after being on the chart for twenty-four consecutive weeks. Because of its success in Australia, "Hanging by a Moment" was certified 2x Platinum by the ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

 in 2001. It debuted on The Netherlands' Mega Single Top 100
Mega Single Top 100
The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is...

 chart at number ninety-five for the week of June 9, 2001. The song has since peaked at number thirty-one. On the New Zealand Singles Chart, "Hanging by a Moment" debuted at number forty-eight for the week of March 11, 2001. After being on the chart for thirty-one consecutive weeks, it eventually peaked at number six. The song debuted at number twenty-five on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 for the week of September 8, 2001, which became its peak position after it spent one week on the chart.

Music video

The music video, directed by Gavin Bowden, was first released December 7, 2000 on Vh1.com
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

. It served as an official video for the song, after an unofficial version was released by DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...

 as a "temporary video" that was played on MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...

. In an interview with MTV Radio
MTV Satellite Radio
MTV Satellite Radio was a part of the XM Satellite Radio service from 2001 until September 30, 2005. The studios were located in Times Square in the Paramount Plaza building at the corner of Broadway and 50th Street in New York City....

, Wade explained the process of making the music video, and said, "We shot the video at this really cool place in Crenshaw, in L.A., that was a bowling alley upstairs and a roller rink downstairs. It had this really weird, retro vibe to it. When they were setting up the different sets, we'd have to stop every 10 seconds because a bowling league would walk in. It was the coolest thing. At night, we got all of our friends to come down."

The video begins with Wade singing and playing his guitar in a hotel room. While singing, Wade is seen packing his clothes into a suit case in separate camera shots. He then leaves the hotel room and it shows a time-lapse
Time-lapse
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing...

 scene of a car going down a highway. Then, the video cuts to a restaurant, where Wade is seen lying on a restaurant booth and singing the lyrics of the song. After this, Wade is seen with the rest of Lifehouse in a concert setting in a restaurant. It then splits to shots of Wade singing the lyrics of the song to the camera. Toward the end of the video, it switches to Lifehouse playing the song in front of a crowd while showing shots of Wade in a car going down a highway. It ends with the scene of Lifehouse in a restaurant and then switches to a camera shot of all of the band members with the video fading out on Wade.

Promotion

On January 10, 2001, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 confirmed that Lifehouse would serve as an opening act
Opening act
An opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...

 on a fourteen-day tour for Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995...

, who were promoting their album Mad Season
Mad Season (album)
Mad Season, also known as Mad Season by Matchbox Twenty, is the second studio album from American rock band Matchbox Twenty, released in May 2000...

 (2000). The tour started February 27, 2001 in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

 and ended on March 29, 2001 in Universal City
Universal City, California
Universal City is a community in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, that encompasses the 415 acre property of Universal Studios...

. While on tour with Matchbox Twenty, Lifehouse went on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...

for the first time and performed "Hanging by a Moment" on March 28, 2001. Several months later, the band performed the song at the River Rave Festival in Foxboro Stadium
Foxboro Stadium
Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts...

 on May 26, 2001. In July 2001, Lifehouse went on tour with 3 Doors Down
3 Doors Down
3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa formed in 1996. The band consists of Brad Arnold , Matt Roberts , Todd Harrell , Chris Henderson , and Greg Upchurch ....

 as an opening act on twelve select dates, and performed songs from No Name Face, including "Hanging by a Moment".

Credits and personnel

  • Songwriting – Jason Wade
  • Production
    Record producer
    A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

     – Ron Aniello
  • Mixing
    Audio mixing (recorded music)
    In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

     – Brendan O'Brien
  • Engineering
    Audio engineering
    An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...

     – Bob Kearny, Marc Green, Paul Hayden


Credits and personnel adapted from Allmusic.

Track listing

  • US CD single
  1. "Hanging by a Moment" — 3:36
  2. "Fairytales Sandcastles" — 3:52
  3. "What's Wrong With That" — 3:54
  4. "Fool" — 4:21

  • Australian CD single
  1. "Hanging by a Moment" — 3:36
  2. "Fairytales Sandcastles" — 3:52
  3. "What's Wrong with That" — 3:54
  4. "Fool" — 4:21

  • European CD maxi single
  1. "Hanging by a Moment" — 3:36
  2. "Fairytales Sandcastles" — 3:52
  3. "Hanging by a Moment" (Acoustic Version) — 3:30
  4. CD-ROM "Hanging by a Moment" Music Video


  • Australasia CD maxi single
  1. "Hanging by a Moment" — 3:36
  2. "Fairytales Sandcastles" — 3:52
  3. "What's Wrong with That" — 3:54
  4. "Fool" — 4:21

  • European promo single
  1. "Hanging by a Moment" — 3:36

  • UK CD single
  1. "Hanging by a Moment" — 3:36
  2. "Fairytales Sandcastles" — 3:52
  3. "Hanging by a Moment" (Acoustic Version) — 3:30
  4. CD-ROM "Hanging by a Moment" Music Video

Charts

> > > > > > > > >
Chart (2001–2002) Peak
position

Certification

Region Provider Certification(s)
Australia ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...

2× Platinum

Year-end charts

Chart (2001) Position
Australian Singles Chart 5
New Zealand Singles Chart 4
US Billboard Hot 100 1

Decade-end charts

Charts (2000–09) Position
Australian Singles Chart 80
US Billboard Hot 100 26

Release history

Region Date Format
United States April 24, 2001 CD single
Australia June 5, 2001
United Kingdom November 27, 2001

External links

  • "Hanging by a Moment" Music Video on Yahoo! Music
    Yahoo! Music
    Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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