Everything You Want (Vertical Horizon song)
| "Everything You Want" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Vertical Horizon | ||||
| from the album Everything You Want | ||||
| Released | November 30, 1999 | |||
| Format | CD single | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, post-grunge | |||
| Length |
4:17 (Album version) 4:06 (Radio Mix) | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Writer(s) | Matthew Scannell | |||
| Producer(s) | Mark Endert, Ben Grosse | |||
| Vertical Horizon singles chronology | ||||
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"Everything You Want" is a song by American alternative rock band Vertical Horizon and the eponymous second single from their third studio album Everything You Want. Released in 1999, the single reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 after a 26-week climb on July 15, 2000. "Everything You Want" is Vertical Horizon's best-known single.
Composition
Lead vocalist Matt Scannell has cited "Everything You Want" as a great example of honest songwriting and added, "I still experience joy singing it because I know it came from a true place."[1] The song's main theme deals with unrequited love,[2] which Scannell discussed in a 2010 interview:
- "...I was in love with this girl, and she was just a broken person. She kept turning to everyone except me for love and acceptance, and I wanted so much to help her. I wanted to be the one to give her everything she wanted, but I couldn't. She just couldn't accept it from me, and it was that pain, that led me to creating the song."[3]
Appropriately, the pop-friendly, tightly produced track features a particularly sullen and moody atmosphere with an airy song structure. The acoustic guitar rhythm lies under a melody of delayed electronic notes, and its chorus swells with an anxious vocal harmony over rumbling guitar. An aggressive bridge suddenly ignites the mood with angst wailing before returning to a more placid verse.
Music video
A music video for the single was directed by Clark Eddy and gained significant airplay. It features dreary, grey tones and cloudy skies corresponding with the song's gloomy nature. Band members, principally Matt Scannell, are seen walking down streets and in a restaurant. Scannell frequently stops to read a business card which contains different text at each glimpse. Throughout the video, a split screen effect depicts two versions of Scannell acting differently in mirror environments. Lyrics flash across the screen as the band performs the song in a bright, illuminated room with black, vertical pinstripes. Couples are shown arguing with various messages appearing across the screen such as "every six seconds you think about sex" and "there are two sides to every story." Finally, the view blurs with a message reading "everything you want is not everything you need" as the video comes to a close.
In January 2000, the video was chosen as "Inside Track" of the month by VH1.[4]
Appearances
The song is featured acoustically on the 2008 album Duo which features both Matt Scannell and pop rock singer/songwriter Richard Marx.
As a major radio hit, "Everything You Want" was included on various compilation albums such as Buzz Balads, Vol. 2, Totally Hits, Vol. 3, and Now That's What I Call the 1990s.
Fictional music group Alvin and the Chipmunks covered this song as a playable track for the 2007 video game Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Success
"Everything You Want" would be one of the most heavily-played singles of 2000 and the 2000s decade. It became a staple of many alternative rock and pop-oriented radio stations. Its success was further manifested when Lead vocalist Matt Scannell's brother went backpacking in Nepal. During the trip, he visited numerous villages and came across a small hut where an old man was inside knitting sweaters. To his surprise, the old man was listening to a tiny radio playing Vertical Horizon's hit song.[3]
Performances
Vertical Horizon performed the song live on nearly every major American late-night talk show. They played on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in April 2000[4] before performing for The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn the following month. In April, "Everything You Want" was performed on both Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, both of which were filmed in New York.
Awards
2000 Billboard Music Awards - Top 40 Track of the Year
Track listing
- US CD single
- "Everything You Want" (Radio Mix) - 4:06
- "The Man Who Would Be Santa (Live)" - 5:33
- US 45 single
- "Everything You Want" (Radio Mix) - 4:06
- "You're A God" (Radio Mix) - 3:48
- Europe CD Single
- "Everything You Want" (Radio Mix) - 4:06
- "The Man Who Would Be Santa (Live)" - 5:33
- "Heart In Hand (Live)" - 5:46
Chart performance
Peak positions
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Singles Chart | 6 |
| Canadian RPM Alternative 30 | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 42 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (2000) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[5] | 5 |
| Preceded by "Be with You" by Enrique Iglesias |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single July 15, 2000 |
Succeeded by "Bent" by Matchbox Twenty |
| Preceded by "Otherside" by Red Hot Chili Peppers |
Canadian RPM Rock/Alternative 30 number-one single May 1, 2000 |
Succeeded by "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down |
References
- ↑ Widran, Jonathan Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon Talks About The Band's Album, Burning The Days SongWriterUniverse.com (2009). Retrieved on 6-30-11.
- ↑ "Duo". richardmarx.com. Retrieved 2008-08-10.
- 1 2 Interview with Lead Singer of Vertical Horizon Matt Scannell Out and About in Jax (November 18, 2010). Retrieved on 6-30-11.
- 1 2 Rogovoy, Seth Vertical Horizon: Pittsfield native cracks Billboard's Top 20 by Seth Rogovoy The Beat (March 31, 2000). Retrieved on 6-30-11.
- ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 2000". Retrieved 2010-08-31.
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