Who Knew

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“Who Knew”
“Who Knew” cover
Single by Pink
from the album I'm Not Dead
B-side "Disconnected"
Released May 8, 2006 (U.S. radio)[1]
May 29, 2006 (UK)
June 26, 2007 (U.S. radio re-release)[2]
Format Digital download, CD single, 12" maxi single
Recorded Decibel Studios, Stockholm, SWE; Conway Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA
Genre Rock, Ballad
Length 3:28
Label LaFace
Writer(s) Luke Gottwald, Max Martin, Pink
Producer Luke Gottwald, Max Martin
Certification Platinum (ARIA, RIAA)
Pink 2006 singles chronology
"Stupid Girls"
(2006)		 "Who Knew"
(2006)		 "U + Ur Hand"
(2006)


Pink 2007 U.S. singles chronology
"U + Ur Hand"
(2006)		 "Who Knew"
(2007)

"Who Knew" is a pop rock song written by Luke Gottwald, Max Martin and Pink for Pink's fourth album, I'm Not Dead (2006). It was released as the album's second single worldwide in 2006 (see 2006 in music), and was re-released to U.S. radio as the album's fourth single in the United States in 2007 (see 2007 in music), after the success of "U + Ur Hand".[3]

Contents

[edit] Background

 Audio samples:

Pink has stated that "Who Knew" is about "the death of friendship. You're best friends forever, and then three years later you haven't seen each other in two years — what happened? You grow apart and people come in and out of your life for different reasons, seasons."[4] She said in an interview with The Observer that the song was written about friends who died as a result of drug overdoses.[5] According to her, the song is about more than one person: "There's a couple different people mixed in ... It's just the grieving process. You can look at somebody, he might be right there, and the next Monday he might not be."[6] In an interview with the television station TV3 she said that "...[she] always wanted to write a song about death because [she] came in contact with death at a very young age".[cite this quote]

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."[3]

The song features acoustic guitar, keyboards, drums, and electric guitars. Gottwald, Martin and Pink co-wrote another song on the album, "U + Ur Hand".

[edit] Chart performance

It was released as the album's second single 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. In the United Kingdom the single was also popular, reaching number five; it is Pink's longest running single on the UK Singles Chart, spending twenty-six weeks on the chart. The single made the top ten in a number of other countries in Europe, and it peaked at number eight on the United World Chart.

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,[1] 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.[7]

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.[8][9] 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.[3] 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,[2] although it had already been receiving minor airplay on CHR/top 40 and hot AC/adult top 40 stations earlier in the month.[10] In week twenty-five of 2007 "Who Knew" re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety-four; it has since climbed to number nine, giving Pink her eighth top ten single on the chart and matching the peak position of "U + Ur Hand".[11]

[edit] Video

The music video for "Who Knew".
The music video for "Who Knew".

The single's video was directed by Dragon,[12] 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,[13] 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;[14] it spent eight non-consecutive days on the countdown (until June 9), peaking at number seven.[15]

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 drugs 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 girl wanders around looking for him, and finds him unconscious; he has taken an overdose. 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 intercut with shots of Pink singing the song at the entrance to the fairground and, later, underwater.

[edit] Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Who Knew".

UK CD single
  1. "Who Knew"
  2. "Disconnected"
UK Maxi single
  1. "Who Knew"
  2. "Who Knew" (Sharp Boys' Love Jonathan Harvey remix)
  3. "Who Knew" (Bimbo Jones radio edit)
  4. Live in Europe DVD Preview (CD-ROM video)

(Other official remixes of the song include the Beat Cult club mix and the Sharp Boys' Coronation Street dub.)

[edit] Charts

Chart (2006/2007) Peak
position
Argentina Top 40 Singles[16] 6
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[17] 2
Austrian Singles Chart[17] 11
Belgium Singles Chart[17] 30
Canadian Hot 100[18] 46
Dutch Singles Chart[17] 35
Finnish Singles Chart[17] 16
France Singles Chart[17] 24
German Singles Chart[17] 12
Irish Singles Chart[17] 6
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart[17] 11
Chart (2006/2007) Peak
position
Norway Singles Chart[17] 17
Portugal Singles Chart[17] 6
Sweden Singles Chart[17] 42
UK Singles Chart[17] 5
United World Chart Top 40[17] 8
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40[19] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 9
U.S. Billboard Pop 100[11] 4
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks[20] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Airplay[11] 10
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[11] 4

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Available for Airplay - 2006 - 5/8 Mainstream". FMBQ. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Available for Airplay - 2007 - 6/26 Mainstream". FMBQ. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Taylor, Chuck. "Single Reviews - Who Knew - Pink". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
  4. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer. "Pink: Not Dead, Not Stupid". MTV News. February 17, 2006. Retrieved September 22, 2006.
  5. ^ Ellen, Barbara. "Philly girl". The Observer. June 4, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  6. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer. "Pink Pens An Open Letter To President Bush On New Album" MTV News. January 3, 2006. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  7. ^ "Pink's latest album gets another chance". Reuters/Billboard. March 24, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
  8. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Akon Scores Second No. 1 Hit From 'Konvicted'". Billboard. March 29, 2007. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
  9. ^ Bronson, Fred. "Chart Beat Chat - Suddenly In The Pink". Billboard. March 30, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  10. ^ Caulfield, Keith. "Ask Billboard - Pink's Not Dead". Billboard. June 15, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Pink - Artist Chart History - Singles". Billboard.
  12. ^ "Enter the Dragon". MySpace Blog: pinkspage. April 12, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  13. ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Proof, Game, Pink, White Stripes, Ashanti, Michael Jackson, Great White & More". MTV News. April 17, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  14. ^ "The TRL Archive - Recap - May 2006". ATRL.net. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
  15. ^ "The TRL Archive - Recap - June 2006". ATRL.net. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
  16. ^ Top 40 Argentina
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "P!nk - Who Knew". MusicSquare.
  18. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 - Who Knew". Billboard. November 17, 2007.
  19. ^ www.rockonthenet.com
  20. ^ "Pink - Billboard Singles". Billboard and All Music Guide.
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