Who Knew
Encyclopedia
"Who Knew" is a pop rock
song written by Pink
, Max Martin and Dr. Luke for Pink's fourth album, I'm Not Dead
(2006
). It was released as the album's second single
worldwide in 2006, and was re-released to U.S. radio as the album's fourth single in the United States in 2007, after the success of "U + Ur Hand
".
Pink has stated that "Who Knew" is her favorite song from her first compilation, Greatest Hits... So Far!!!, as it can be about almost everyone. Lyrically, it is about losing a friend because of drugs. The music video shows Pink singing in a county fair, with a storyline about two young lovers who end up being separated after the guy begins using drugs. The song is Pink's longest chart runner on the Hot 100, spending 36 weeks before dropping out.
on 26 May 2006, Pink said this song is about losing a loved one to drugs: "My life was insane, I was [in her youth] out of control and doing lots of stupid things. Some of my friends were selling crack, and I got into drugs too. I've always been honest about that, although I don't like going into details. I've got lots of young fans and I wouldn't want to give them any ideas. I found a friend dead from a drug overdose when I was 14. He was a male friend, not a boyfriend. Most of the people at the funeral were just children. It should have been a wake-up call for me, but it wasn't."
Billboard
magazine, in its second review of the song (to accompany the U.S. re-release), called it "another cool, smart, plenty passionate melodic jewel about the death of a friend and/or friendship, with an instantly identifiable, quick-to-the-point, singalong track—maintaining Pink's stance as the smartest female millennium-era singer/songwriter, dazzling in star quality as alterna-pop's premier princess."
The song features acoustic guitar
, keyboards
, drums
, and electric guitar
s. Gottwald, Martin and Pink co-wrote another song on the album, "U + Ur Hand
".
in 2006 (see 2006 in music
) and was very popular in Australia
, where it reached number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and is certified platinum for sales of over 70,000 copies. It was ranked at number nine on ARIA
's Top 100 singles of 2006. "Who Knew" entered the UK Singles Chart
at #19 in early June, 2006 and ascended to a peak of #5 the following week. It is her joint fifth highest charting single in the UK and her second longest charting behind only "So What!". With a total of 26 weeks inside the top 100 songs it beats her #1 hit "Just Like A Pill".
When the single was originally released in North America
, "Who Knew" was less successful. Though it peaked at number nineteen on the BDS Airplay Chart in Canada
, it was virtually ignored by American radio. In the U.S.
, where it was released to mainstream radio on May 8, 2006, it failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100
, initially reaching number 18 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
chart (which comprises the most popular songs yet to enter the Hot 100). Billboard
magazine credited the poor performance of the single on radio with significantly reducing momentum of initial sales of I'm Not Dead.
In March 2007 the song was used in promotion for the ABC
television show October Road
, after which download
sales of the song increased; as a result, it debuted at number ninety-five on the Hot 100 at the end of the month. During the same period, "U + Ur Hand", the third single from I'm Not Dead, had achieved major success on pop radio and was credited with "reviving" Pink's career in the U.S. Pink performed "Who Knew" on the May 9, 2007, episode of American Idol
. It was re-released to mainstream radio in the United States on June 26, 2007, although it had already been receiving minor airplay on CHR
/top 40 and hot AC/adult top 40 stations earlier in the month. In week twenty-five of 2007 "Who Knew" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety-four; it eventually climbed to number nine, giving Pink her eighth top ten single on the chart and matching the peak position of "U + Ur Hand".
was directed by Dragon, a team comprising Sam Bayer, Robert Hales
and Brian Lazzaro. It was filmed in the weekend beginning April 15, 2006 in Los Angeles
, United States, and it was released to the internet and to UK music channels in early May 2006. The video reached number one on MTV Germany
's top ten and on TRL Italy. "Who Knew" was voted number one on TRL Germany twenty times, allowing Pink to earn the "Golden Tape". In the U.S. Total Request Live
broadcast a "First Look" of the video on May 22, and it debuted on the show's top ten countdown the following day; it spent eight non-consecutive days on the countdown (until June 9), peaking at number seven.
It features a young couple visiting a fairground
and going on the rides, and at one point the boy puts a necklace on the girl. The video flashes back to the boy secretly injecting himself with drug
s on a previous night while the girl is sleeping. At the carnival, when the girl is playing a game, the boy walks away. The girl realizes he's gone and follows him, but when she tries to get him to stay with her he gets violent. He goes to the back of the fairground to inject himself with drugs and breaks into a sweat. His girlfriend wanders around looking for him, and finds him unconscious; he has overdosed. She gives him a kiss, gives back the necklace and phones for an ambulance; after it has arrived, she walks away crying. The video is inter-cut with shots of Pink singing the song at the entrance to the fairground.
In Pink's 2008 album Funhouse
, she compares life to a carnival, because carnivals are supposed to be enjoyable, but in actuality, they're not. The setting for the music video with the fairgrounds provides a false sense of security for the girl in the music video.
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
song written by Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
, Max Martin and Dr. Luke for Pink's fourth album, I'm Not Dead
I'm Not Dead
I'm Not Dead is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Pink. The album was released on April 4, 2006 in the United States....
(2006
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
). It was released as the album's second single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
worldwide in 2006, and was re-released to U.S. radio as the album's fourth single in the United States in 2007, after the success of "U + Ur Hand
U + Ur Hand
"U + Ur Hand" is a song by American singer and songwriter Pink. It was lined up as the third single from her fourth studio album I'm Not Dead . It was released in August, 2006 to ignite controversy due to its explicit lyrical content and strong language.The song was written by Pink, Max Martin and Dr...
".
Pink has stated that "Who Knew" is her favorite song from her first compilation, Greatest Hits... So Far!!!, as it can be about almost everyone. Lyrically, it is about losing a friend because of drugs. The music video shows Pink singing in a county fair, with a storyline about two young lovers who end up being separated after the guy begins using drugs. The song is Pink's longest chart runner on the Hot 100, spending 36 weeks before dropping out.
Background
In an interview for the Daily MailDaily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
on 26 May 2006, Pink said this song is about losing a loved one to drugs: "My life was insane, I was [in her youth] out of control and doing lots of stupid things. Some of my friends were selling crack, and I got into drugs too. I've always been honest about that, although I don't like going into details. I've got lots of young fans and I wouldn't want to give them any ideas. I found a friend dead from a drug overdose when I was 14. He was a male friend, not a boyfriend. Most of the people at the funeral were just children. It should have been a wake-up call for me, but it wasn't."
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...
magazine, in its second review of the song (to accompany the U.S. re-release), called it "another cool, smart, plenty passionate melodic jewel about the death of a friend and/or friendship, with an instantly identifiable, quick-to-the-point, singalong track—maintaining Pink's stance as the smartest female millennium-era singer/songwriter, dazzling in star quality as alterna-pop's premier princess."
The song features acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, and electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s. Gottwald, Martin and Pink co-wrote another song on the album, "U + Ur Hand
U + Ur Hand
"U + Ur Hand" is a song by American singer and songwriter Pink. It was lined up as the third single from her fourth studio album I'm Not Dead . It was released in August, 2006 to ignite controversy due to its explicit lyrical content and strong language.The song was written by Pink, Max Martin and Dr...
".
Chart performance
It was released as the album's second singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 2006 (see 2006 in music
2006 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....
) and was very popular in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where it reached number two on the ARIA Singles Chart and is certified platinum for sales of over 70,000 copies. It was ranked at number nine on 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...
's Top 100 singles of 2006. "Who Knew" entered 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 ...
at #19 in early June, 2006 and ascended to a peak of #5 the following week. It is her joint fifth highest charting single in the UK and her second longest charting behind only "So What!". With a total of 26 weeks inside the top 100 songs it beats her #1 hit "Just Like A Pill".
When the single was originally released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, "Who Knew" was less successful. Though it peaked at number nineteen on the BDS Airplay Chart in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, it was virtually ignored by American radio. In the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where it was released to mainstream radio on May 8, 2006, it failed to chart 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...
, initially reaching number 18 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
chart (which comprises the most popular songs yet to enter the Hot 100). 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...
magazine credited the poor performance of the single on radio with significantly reducing momentum of initial sales of I'm Not Dead.
In March 2007 the song was used in promotion for the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television show October Road
October Road (TV series)
October Road is an American television drama that debuted on ABC on March 15, 2007 following Grey's Anatomy. It follows Nick Garrett , who after a decade returns to his hometown, the fictional Knights Ridge, Massachusetts.The series is produced by ABC Studios and GroupM Entertainment; the latter is...
, after which 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...
sales of the song increased; as a result, it debuted at number ninety-five on the Hot 100 at the end of the month. During the same period, "U + Ur Hand", the third single from I'm Not Dead, had achieved major success on pop radio and was credited with "reviving" Pink's career in the U.S. Pink performed "Who Knew" on the May 9, 2007, episode of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. It was re-released to mainstream radio in the United States on June 26, 2007, although it had already been receiving minor airplay on CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
/top 40 and hot AC/adult top 40 stations earlier in the month. In week twenty-five of 2007 "Who Knew" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety-four; it eventually climbed to number nine, giving Pink her eighth top ten single on the chart and matching the peak position of "U + Ur Hand".
Music video
The single's videoMusic 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...
was directed by Dragon, a team comprising Sam Bayer, Robert Hales
Robert Hales (director)
Robert Hales is a graphic designer and music video director from the United Kingdom. Hales has directed music videos by artists such as Jet, The Veronicas, Fuel, Stereophonics, The Donnas, Justin Timberlake, Nine Inch Nails, Miley Cyrus, Gnarls Barkley and Crowded House...
and Brian Lazzaro. It was filmed in the weekend beginning April 15, 2006 in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, United States, and it was released to the internet and to UK music channels in early May 2006. The video reached number one on MTV Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's top ten and on TRL Italy. "Who Knew" was voted number one on TRL Germany twenty times, allowing Pink to earn the "Golden Tape". In the U.S. Total Request Live
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
broadcast a "First Look" of the video on May 22, and it debuted on the show's top ten countdown the following day; it spent eight non-consecutive days on the countdown (until June 9), peaking at number seven.
It features a young couple visiting a fairground
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
and going on the rides, and at one point the boy puts a necklace on the girl. The video flashes back to the boy secretly injecting himself with drug
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
s on a previous night while the girl is sleeping. At the carnival, when the girl is playing a game, the boy walks away. The girl realizes he's gone and follows him, but when she tries to get him to stay with her he gets violent. He goes to the back of the fairground to inject himself with drugs and breaks into a sweat. His girlfriend wanders around looking for him, and finds him unconscious; he has overdosed. She gives him a kiss, gives back the necklace and phones for an ambulance; after it has arrived, she walks away crying. The video is inter-cut with shots of Pink singing the song at the entrance to the fairground.
In Pink's 2008 album Funhouse
Funhouse (Pink album)
Funhouse is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Pink, released by LaFace Records worldwide in October 2008. Upon its release, the album reached number one on the charts in 6 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and United Kingdom, while debuting at number two in...
, she compares life to a carnival, because carnivals are supposed to be enjoyable, but in actuality, they're not. The setting for the music video with the fairgrounds provides a false sense of security for the girl in the music video.
Track listings and formats
- UK CD1
- "Who Knew" (Album Version) - 3:28
- "Disconnected" - 3:58
- UK CD2
- "Who Knew" (Album Version) - 3:28
- "Who Knew" (Sharp Boys' Love Jonathan Harvey Remix) - 8:42
- "Who Knew" (Bimbo Jones Radio Edit) - 3:27
- "Who Knew" (Beat Cult Club Mix) - 6:25
- "Who Knew" (Don Diablo & Jason Nevins Mix) - 7:19
- "Who Knew" (Live In Europe Preview)
- Other Mixes
- "Who Knew" (Bimbo Jones Club Mix) - 7:49
- "Who Knew" (Don Diablo & Jason Nevins Edit) - 5:45
- "Who Knew" (Jason Nevins Radio Edit) - 3:27
- "Who Knew" (Eddie Baez Club Mix) - 9:45
- "Who Knew" (Sharp Boys' Coronation Street Dub) - 8:55
Charts
| Chart (2006-08) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian 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... Singles Chart |
2 |
| Australian Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 11 |
| Belgium Singles Chart | 30 |
| 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... |
46 |
| Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest.... Airplay |
1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 35 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 16 |
| France Singles Chart | 24 |
| German Singles Chart | 12 |
| German Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Hungarian Airplay Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 6 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... Singles Chart |
11 |
| Norway Singles Chart | 17 |
| Sweden Singles Chart | 42 |
| 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 ... |
5 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 9 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop Songs | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Pop Songs | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 4 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | 2x Platinum | 4,200,000 |
End of year charts
| Year | Country | Chart | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Australia | ARIA | 9 |