If Today Was Your Last Day
Encyclopedia
"If Today Was Your Last Day" is the second major single (third overall) from Nickelback
's sixth studio album
Dark Horse
. It was originally planned as the first single, to hit all U.S. radio formats September 30, 2008, but was scrapped as the first single in favour of "Gotta Be Somebody
". Instead it was released on March 31, 2009 as the second U.S. single, and it had been released as the third single in Canada from around November 2008. "I'd Come For You
" is being released as the second single in Europe in place of "If Today Was Your Last Day", similar to All the Right Reasons
when "Far Away" was released in Europe and "Savin' Me
" was released in the US and Canada. It was produced by famed rock producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who produced the entire album. The song was released as a digital download in the U.S. on November 11. "If Today Was Your Last Day" was released in the UK on June 15. The song was performed live for the very first time on May 22 at the M.E.N Arena Manchester.
In the U.S., the song has sold over 1,500,000 downloads, as of February 2010. According to Roadrunner Records
UK, the song is "dynamically swelling our bank accounts". The song has also apparently been around with Nickelback for a while, but had never been finished. The song received gold certification in Australia.
The lead vocalist/guitarist Chad Kroeger has mentioned the song as his personal favorite from Dark Horse. He had described the middle part of the song as "very motivational, and very positive".
The song was used for promotional videos in the Winter Olympics in 2010.
in March 2009. Performance portions of the video were shot at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska and in New York City. The other portion was shot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. The music video premiered on 23 April. In the beginning, two trashy teenage boys dressed in black seem to be up to some sort of shady business in Philadelphia. They record their journey on a camcorder. They carry mysterious blacks bags with them which seem to be filled with illegal stuff. In the end, they stand on top of a bridge ready to carry out their plan. They open the bags, but only harmless colorful pieces of paper with quotes from the song such as "forgive your enemy" and "live each moment" fall over the people beneath them. This inspires two women to hand out coats with messages similar to those on the colored paper, a wealthy-looking man to hand money to everyone he meets, an arguing couple to make up and a man arguing with presumably his boss to quit. All of the quotes refer to lines in the song "If Today Was Your Last Day."
in the U.S. based on downloads only. After its release as an official single, it re-entered the Hot 100 and reached a new peak at #19. It is their second top twenty on the Hot 100 from Dark Horse, and their shut ninth top twenty on the chart overall. It also charted on on the Pop 100
debuting at #90 and then peaked at #24 before the chart was discontinued, peaked so far at #2 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
, and also peaked at #32 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. In Canada, it debuted at #91 on the Canadian Hot 100
also based on just downloads, and after its physical release in Canada and receiving airplay it made a re-entry on the chart at #67 and would go on to reach #7.
Nickelback
Nickelback is a Canadian rock band from Hanna, Alberta. Since 1995 the band has included guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, guitarist and back-up vocalist Ryan Peake and bassist Mike Kroeger.. The band's current drummer and percussionist is Daniel Adair who has been with the band since 2005....
's sixth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Dark Horse
Dark Horse (Nickelback album)
Dark Horse is the sixth studio album by the Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on November 17, 2008 in Europe and a day later elsewhere...
. It was originally planned as the first single, to hit all U.S. radio formats September 30, 2008, but was scrapped as the first single in favour of "Gotta Be Somebody
Gotta Be Somebody
"Gotta Be Somebody" is the first official single released from Nickelback's sixth studio album, Dark Horse. Originally, the lead single from the album was set to be "If Today Was Your Last Day" but was changed instead to "Gotta Be Somebody". The song was digitally delivered to all formats on...
". Instead it was released on March 31, 2009 as the second U.S. single, and it had been released as the third single in Canada from around November 2008. "I'd Come For You
I'd Come for You
"I'd Come for You" is the second European single from Nickelback's 2008 album Dark Horse. This was confirmed in January 2009 when the video shoot of the song was announced. The song was written by the band and Mutt Lange. It is a power ballad in the vein of the band's previous hits "Far Away" and...
" is being released as the second single in Europe in place of "If Today Was Your Last Day", similar to All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons
All the Right Reasons is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on October 4, 2005. It is the band's first album with former 3 Doors Down drummer Daniel Adair, who replaced Ryan Vikedal in January 2005...
when "Far Away" was released in Europe and "Savin' Me
Savin' Me
"Savin' Me" is a rock song written by Canadian band Nickelback. It was released as the third major single from their fifth album All the Right Reasons . The song has reached number two on the Canadian Singles Chart and number nineteen on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. It is one of the band's few...
" was released in the US and Canada. It was produced by famed rock producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who produced the entire album. The song was released as a digital download in the U.S. on November 11. "If Today Was Your Last Day" was released in the UK on June 15. The song was performed live for the very first time on May 22 at the M.E.N Arena Manchester.
In the U.S., the song has sold over 1,500,000 downloads, as of February 2010. According to Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
UK, the song is "dynamically swelling our bank accounts". The song has also apparently been around with Nickelback for a while, but had never been finished. The song received gold certification in Australia.
The lead vocalist/guitarist Chad Kroeger has mentioned the song as his personal favorite from Dark Horse. He had described the middle part of the song as "very motivational, and very positive".
The song was used for promotional videos in the Winter Olympics in 2010.
Music video
The music video was shot with director Nigel DickNigel Dick
Nigel Dick is an English music video and film director, writer and musician based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Band Aid video "Do They Know It's Christmas?", as well as over 300 other music videos.Nigel Dick should not be confused with the Australian Dr...
in March 2009. Performance portions of the video were shot at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska and in New York City. The other portion was shot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. The music video premiered on 23 April. In the beginning, two trashy teenage boys dressed in black seem to be up to some sort of shady business in Philadelphia. They record their journey on a camcorder. They carry mysterious blacks bags with them which seem to be filled with illegal stuff. In the end, they stand on top of a bridge ready to carry out their plan. They open the bags, but only harmless colorful pieces of paper with quotes from the song such as "forgive your enemy" and "live each moment" fall over the people beneath them. This inspires two women to hand out coats with messages similar to those on the colored paper, a wealthy-looking man to hand money to everyone he meets, an arguing couple to make up and a man arguing with presumably his boss to quit. All of the quotes refer to lines in the song "If Today Was Your Last Day."
Charts
On October 2008, "If Today Was Your Last Day" debuted at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard 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...
in the U.S. based on downloads only. After its release as an official single, it re-entered the Hot 100 and reached a new peak at #19. It is their second top twenty on the Hot 100 from Dark Horse, and their shut ninth top twenty on the chart overall. It also charted on on 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...
debuting at #90 and then peaked at #24 before the chart was discontinued, peaked so far at #2 on the Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...
, and also peaked at #32 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. In Canada, it debuted at #91 on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
also based on just downloads, and after its physical release in Canada and receiving airplay it made a re-entry on the chart at #67 and would go on to reach #7.
| Chart (2008–2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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... |
19 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
14 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 32 |
| U.S. Billboard 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... |
24 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
7 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart 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... |
26 |
| Dutch Tipparade | 19 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 30 |
| German Singles Chart | 31 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 31 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
32 |
| 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 ... |
64 |
| UK Rock Chart UK Rock Chart The UK Rock Chart usually refers to the Top 40 Rock Singles and the Top 40 Rock Albums Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company from physical record sales in British retail outlets with larger than average genrespecific sales.... |
1 |
| European Hot 100 | 76 |
| Slovak Airplay Chart | 58 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 80 |
| 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... |
70 |