What Hurts the Most
Encyclopedia
"What Hurts the Most" is the title of a song written by American songwriter Jeffrey Steele
Jeffrey Steele
Jeffrey LeVasseur is an American country music singer and songwriter, more commonly known by the name Jeffrey Steele...

 and English songwriter Steve Robson
Steve Robson
Steve Robson is an English songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist.-Career:He was nominated for a Grammy Award for the song, "What Hurts the Most" co-written with Jeffrey Steele and recorded by Rascal Flatts as well as winning a Brit award and Ivor Novello award for the song "Shine"...

. Initially recorded by country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 artist Mark Wills
Mark Wills
Daryl Mark Williams is an American country music artist, best known professionally as Mark Wills. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label — Mark Wills, Wish You Were Here, Permanently, Loving Every Minute and And the Crowd Goes Wild — as well...

 in 2003 on his album And the Crowd Goes Wild
And the Crowd Goes Wild
And the Crowd Goes Wild is the fifth studio album, and sixth album overall, by American country music artist Mark Wills. Released in 2003 as his last album for Mercury Nashville Records, the album produced two top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts: the title track...

, it was covered by Bellefire
Bellefire
Bellefire was an Irish girl group, best known for their 2002 cover of the U2 song "All I Want Is You". They originally consisted of Kelly Kilfeather , Tara Lee , Cathy Newell and Ciara Newell and a fifth-member named Paula O'Neill. They mostly performed pop and adult contemporary music...

 a year later. However, the first version to be released as a single was by pop singer Jo O'Meara
Jo O'Meara
Joanne Valda O'Meara is an English singer-songwriter, television personality and actress. Formerly one of the lead singers of pop group S Club, she launched a solo single after the group's split in 2003, which cut short the production of a proposed album following an appearance on Celebrity Big...

 in 2005, from the album Relentless
Relentless (Jo O'Meara album)
Relentless is the debut album from former S Club 7 lead singer Jo O'Meara and was released two and a half years after the pop outfit split in May 2003...

. Later that year, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 band Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...

 covered the song as well, releasing it as the first single from the 2006 album Me and My Gang
Me and My Gang
Me and My Gang is the fourth studio album from the American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released on April 4, 2006. The album sold more than 721,747 units and went double platinum in the first month of release...

, topping the U.S country and adult contemporary charts with it. German band Cascada
Cascada
Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

 later had international chart success with the song in 2007.

Content

Jeffrey Steele
Jeffrey Steele
Jeffrey LeVasseur is an American country music singer and songwriter, more commonly known by the name Jeffrey Steele...

 co-wrote the song with Steve Robson
Steve Robson
Steve Robson is an English songwriter, record producer and multi-instrumentalist.-Career:He was nominated for a Grammy Award for the song, "What Hurts the Most" co-written with Jeffrey Steele and recorded by Rascal Flatts as well as winning a Brit award and Ivor Novello award for the song "Shine"...

, with whom he also co-wrote Rascal Flatts' 2002 single "These Days
These Days (Rascal Flatts song)
"These Days" is the title of a song written by Jeffrey Steele, Steve Robson, and Danny Wells, and recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts on their 2002 album Melt...

". 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
Mark Wills
Daryl Mark Williams is an American country music artist, best known professionally as Mark Wills. Signed to Mercury Records between 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label — Mark Wills, Wish You Were Here, Permanently, Loving Every Minute and And the Crowd Goes Wild — as well...

 was the first artist to record the song, doing so on his 2003 album And the Crowd Goes Wild
And the Crowd Goes Wild
And the Crowd Goes Wild is the fifth studio album, and sixth album overall, by American country music artist Mark Wills. Released in 2003 as his last album for Mercury Nashville Records, the album produced two top 40 hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts: the title track...

. Jo O'Meara
Jo O'Meara
Joanne Valda O'Meara is an English singer-songwriter, television personality and actress. Formerly one of the lead singers of pop group S Club, she launched a solo single after the group's split in 2003, which cut short the production of a proposed album following an appearance on Celebrity Big...

, a pop singer, released the song in 2005 and had chart success with it in the United Kingdom. Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...

 had also intended to include the song on her 2005 album Fireflies
Fireflies (Faith Hill album)
-String section on "Paris":*Bruce Dukov, Charlie Bisharat, Darius Campo, Roberto Cani, Susaan Chatman, Mario DeLeon, Armen Garabedian, Berj Garabedian, Endre Grant, Songa Lee-Kitto, Michael Markman, Robert Matsuda, Sara Parkins, Robert Peterson, Michele Richards, Anatoly Rosinsky, Josefina Vergara,...

, and although she had recorded the song, her version did not make the final cut. Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...

 then recorded the song as well, and per producer Dann Huff
Dann Huff
Dann Huff is an American musician, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. For his work as a producer in the Country music genre he has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award...

's suggestion, it made their album Me and My Gang
Me and My Gang
Me and My Gang is the fourth studio album from the American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released on April 4, 2006. The album sold more than 721,747 units and went double platinum in the first month of release...

. Wills' rendition of the song, though never a single, peaked at number 51 on the U.S. Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...

 charts in 2006 in the wake of Rascal Flatts' success with it.

Jo O'Meara version

Jo O'Meara
Jo O'Meara
Joanne Valda O'Meara is an English singer-songwriter, television personality and actress. Formerly one of the lead singers of pop group S Club, she launched a solo single after the group's split in 2003, which cut short the production of a proposed album following an appearance on Celebrity Big...

 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
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 ...

13
Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

26

Rascal Flatts version

In 2006, country music trio Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...

 released the song as a single from its album Me and My Gang
Me and My Gang
Me and My Gang is the fourth studio album from the American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released on April 4, 2006. The album sold more than 721,747 units and went double platinum in the first month of release...

, and it became their fifth number-one single on Billboard's 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. It also peaked at No. 6 on the all-genre 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...

, 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
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...

 at the Academy of Country Music Awards
Academy 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...

 in 2006.

Rascal Flatts' recording earned two nominations for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards of 2007
The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning September 15, 2005 and ending September 14, 2006 in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday February 11, 2007 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dixie Chicks...

, in the categories of Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:*In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group...

, and Best Country Song
Grammy Award for Best Country Song
The Grammy Award for Best Country Song has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the writer of the song.There have been several minor changes to the name of the award:...

.

Song information

Rascal Flatts' version of the song is in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...

 of F minor
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. The harmonic minor raises the E to E. Its key signature has four flats ....

, 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
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....

45
US 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...

 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...

11
US 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 Adult Top 40 Tracks
Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts...

9
US 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...

 Mainstream Top 40
22
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 ...

103

Cascada version

In 2007, the song was covered by the German dance group Cascada
Cascada
Cascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...

. It was released as the first single of their second album Perfect Day
Perfect Day (Cascada album)
Perfect Day is the second studio album released by German eurodance group Cascada. The entire album was produced by the two disc jockeys from Cascada, Yanou and DJ Manian. Like it's predecessor, the album is comprised heavily of up-tempo eurodance tracks, many of which are cover songs...

. 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
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 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...

 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.

Billboards 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
T-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...

[?]".

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
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring 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
    George Michael
    George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...

    )
    - 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
Bonnier Amigo Music Group
Cosmos Music Group is an independent record company based in Stockholm, Sweden.Bonnier Amigo Music Group was formed in 2001 when record company and distributor Amigo Musik merged with record company Bonnier Music. BAMG claims to be the biggest independent record company in Scandinavia with a...

United Kingdom December 4, 2007 Digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

All Around the World
All Around The World (record label)
All Around the World Productions Limited is a record label from Blackburn, England. The label specialises in Dance Music and most recently R&B.-History:AATW was founded by directors Matt Cadman & Cris Nutall in 1991....

December 10, 2007 CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...

United States November 27, 2007 Digital download Robbins
Robbins Entertainment
Robbins Entertainment is an American dance music record label. It is owned by Cory Robbins and is responsible for releasing and promoting several new artists, such as Cascada, and their hit single "Everytime We Touch". It is also the company responsible for the Dance Party Like It's.... series and...

December 4, 2007 CD single
Germany January 3, 2008 CD single, digital download Zooland

Charts

Chart (2007/2008) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart 63
Austrian Singles Chart
Ö3 Austria Top 40
Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann...

3
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...

54
Czech Airplay Chart 25
Dutch Single Top 100 35
Dutch Top 40 23
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles
The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,...

8
Finland Singles Top 20 18
France Singles Chart 2
German Singles Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...

9
Global Dance Tracks 4
Hungary Dance Top 40 40
Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

6
Slovakia Singles Chart 85
Swedish Singles Chart 5
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 ...

 
10
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 52
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 28
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Airplay 1
Latvia Chart 3


Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Rank
German Singles Chart
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...

 
94

Sales and certifications

Country Sales Certification
United States
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...

500,000+ Gold
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