Should've Said No
Encyclopedia
"Should've Said No" is a country
song written and recorded by American
country-pop singer Taylor Swift
. It is the fifth and final single released from her first self-titled studio album
. It has also become her second Number One single on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs
chart for the week of August 23, 2008, and like her four prior singles, it was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100
. In addition, "Should've Said No" has been certified as a platinum single by the RIAA
. The song was performed by Swift and Jonas Brothers
on the Burnin' Up Tour. It is included in the 3D movie of the tour
, as well as in the soundtrack to the film. As of February 2011, Should've Said No has already sold 1.1 million copies. "Should've Said No" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on September 3, 2008.
Taylor Swift wrote the song when she was sixteen years old. According to Country Weekly
magazine, she was inspired to write it after she discovered that her boyfriend at the time had cheated on her. In several interviews, Swift disclosed that this boyfriend's name was "Sam", which she did not put in the song, but said in every interview. The first line that came to her was the title, and she wrote the chorus in five minutes. Swift has also said that many of the lyrics were based on actual words that she used when confronting her then-boyfriend.
Swift compared this to another one of her songs, Picture to Burn
. Says Swift: "'Picture To Burn' has an 'angry and I'm-done-with-him attitude,' while 'Should've Said No' is "more of a moral statement. It's an 'I love you, we were awesome and great together, but you messed this up and I would still be with you' kinda thing. You said yes, and you should've said no." Taylor Swift also performs this song with The Jonas Brothers in their 3-D movie.
Awards. The performance began with Swift seated on a chair, wearing a breakaway hooded sweatshirt and jeans, playing and singing the first verse as a solo before being joined by the band on the chorus. The performance gained some notoriety due to its last chorus in which Swift, by this time stripped off the breakaway clothes to reveal a short black dress, stood under an on-stage programmed waterfall, which displayed key words from the song as Swift was drenched beneath it. Footage from this performance has been used as the song's music video
.
The performance music video has gone onto reach number one on both CMT
's Top 20 Countdown and Great American Country
's countdown as well.
When performing this song live during her Fearless 2009 tour, Swift also performs this song under a waterfall much like her Academy of Country Music Award performance.
|-
! Country
! Certification
(sales thresholds)
|-
|United States
| Platinum
|-
Country
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
song written and recorded by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
country-pop singer Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
. It is the fifth and final single released from her first self-titled 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...
. It has also become her second Number One single on the 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...
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart for the week of August 23, 2008, and like her four prior singles, it was a Top 40 hit 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...
. In addition, "Should've Said No" has been certified as a platinum single by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. The song was performed by Swift and Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
on the Burnin' Up Tour. It is included in the 3D movie of the tour
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience is a 2009 concert film released in Disney Digital 3-D, Real D 3D and IMAX 3D. It was released in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico on February 27, 2009 with the release in other countries later on. The film stars the American pop trio Kevin, Joe...
, as well as in the soundtrack to the film. As of February 2011, Should've Said No has already sold 1.1 million copies. "Should've Said No" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on September 3, 2008.
Background
The song is an up-tempo in which the central character addresses a former lover who has cheated on her, telling him that he "should've said no" to the female who has taken her place in his life ("You should've said no/You should've gone home/You should've thought twice before you let it all go/You should've known that word 'bout what you did with her would get back to me").Taylor Swift wrote the song when she was sixteen years old. According to Country Weekly
Country Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
magazine, she was inspired to write it after she discovered that her boyfriend at the time had cheated on her. In several interviews, Swift disclosed that this boyfriend's name was "Sam", which she did not put in the song, but said in every interview. The first line that came to her was the title, and she wrote the chorus in five minutes. Swift has also said that many of the lyrics were based on actual words that she used when confronting her then-boyfriend.
Swift compared this to another one of her songs, Picture to Burn
Picture to Burn
"Picture to Burn" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose, and produced by Nathan Chapman. It was released on January 29, 2008 by Big Machine Records as the fourth single from Swift's eponymous studio album, Taylor Swift...
. Says Swift: "'Picture To Burn' has an 'angry and I'm-done-with-him attitude,' while 'Should've Said No' is "more of a moral statement. It's an 'I love you, we were awesome and great together, but you messed this up and I would still be with you' kinda thing. You said yes, and you should've said no." Taylor Swift also performs this song with The Jonas Brothers in their 3-D movie.
Critical reception
Country music blog The 9513 gave the song a "thumbs down" review. Reviewer Matt C. criticized the production as being "too loud," and thought that Swift's vocals were overly reliant on pitch correction and "not amenable" to the song's concept.Live performances
Swift performed the song at the 2008 Academy of Country MusicAcademy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Whereas the Country Music Association, founded in 1958, was based in Nashville, the Academy sought to promote country music in the western states. Among those involved in the...
Awards. The performance began with Swift seated on a chair, wearing a breakaway hooded sweatshirt and jeans, playing and singing the first verse as a solo before being joined by the band on the chorus. The performance gained some notoriety due to its last chorus in which Swift, by this time stripped off the breakaway clothes to reveal a short black dress, stood under an on-stage programmed waterfall, which displayed key words from the song as Swift was drenched beneath it. Footage from this performance has been used as the song's music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
.
The performance music video has gone onto reach number one on both CMT
CMT
- Medicine :* California mastitis test* Certified Massage Therapist* Cervical motion tenderness, a sign of pelvic inflammatory disease* Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease* Chemically modified tetracyclines* Circus Movement Tachycardia...
's Top 20 Countdown and Great American Country
Great American Country
Great American Country , is a Nashville, Tennessee-based country music cable television network.-History:The station launched December 31, 1995 and Garth Brooks' video "The Thunder Rolls" was the first video to air on GAC....
's countdown as well.
When performing this song live during her Fearless 2009 tour, Swift also performs this song under a waterfall much like her Academy of Country Music Award performance.
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| 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... |
67 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 18 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 33 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
1 |
| 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... |
61 |
Certifications
{| class="wikitable"|-
! Country
! Certification
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
(sales thresholds)
|-
|United States
| Platinum
|-