"Best Song Ever"
Single by One Direction
from the album Midnight Memories
Released22 July 2013
RecordedDecember 2012[citation needed]
GenrePop rock
Length3:22
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Julian Bunetta
  • John Ryan
  • Matt Rad
One Direction singles chronology
"One Way or Another (Teenage Kicks)"
(2013) 		"Best Song Ever"
(2013) 		"Story of My Life"
(2013)
Music video
"Best Song Ever" on YouTube

"Best Song Ever" is a song recorded by English-Irish boy band One Direction. It was released on 22 July 2013 by Syco as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Midnight Memories. The song was written and composed by Wayne Hector, Ed Drewett, Matt Rad, along with the band's regular collaborators Julian Bunetta and John Ryan.

"Best Song Ever" debuted and peaked at number two on both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100, making it their highest-charting single in the United States to date.

Composition

The song is written in the key of C-sharp major with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. It follows a chord progression of F♯-C♯-G♯.[1]

Critical response

Most critics agreed that the song was good, but some claimed that the song did not live up to its title. For example, Will Hermes from Rolling Stone gave "Best Song Ever" a score of 4 out of 5 stars, describing the track as "pretty irresistible".[2] Lewis Corner at Digital Spy also awarded the song 4 out of 5 stars, writing: "Sure the lyrics are cheesier than a 6-pack of Wotsits, and yes the sentiment is cornier than a Disney Channel rom-com, but as far as boyband pop anthems go it skirts dangerously close to fulfilling its title."[3]

In the course of a debate on Twitter, it was noted the song's basic structure was similar to "Baba O'Riley" (1971) by the Who. Fans suggested the "Best Song Ever" was copied from the Who's song. Who guitarist Pete Townshend responded to the claims by denying that the Who were pursuing legal action, and stated that he was a fan of One Direction's single and was happy that One Direction appeared to have been influenced by the Who, just as he had been by his own guitar heroes such as Eddie Cochran.[4]

Music video

The music video for "Best Song Ever" was directed by Ben Winston and written by comedian James Corden.[5] Filmed over two days at The Temple House in Miami Beach, Florida,[6] the video was released on the band's Vevo channel on 22 July 2013.

The video is over six minutes long and features the band arguing with clueless studio executives in a battle over the band's new image. Niall Horan plays studio executive Harvey (Harvey Weinstein), Louis Tomlinson plays studio executive Jonny (modelled after Tom Cruise's character Les Grossman in the movie Tropic Thunder), and Zayn Malik plays "The Sexy Assistant", Veronica. The studio executives are stoked to take the band to the proverbial next level, but they proceed to bring in an under-qualified crew consisting of Marcel, "The Marketing Guy" (Harry Styles) and Leeroy, "The Choreographer" (Liam Payne). Interspersed with scenes from their film One Direction: This is Us, the band are shown wreaking havoc throughout the office and even throwing in a few dance moves for good measure.[7]

The music video won a British Video at the 2014 Brit Awards on 19 February 2014.

The video broke the Vevo 24-hour record with 12.3 million views, surpassing the 10.7 million views of Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" in June, although the record was later broken again by Cyrus' follow-up music video "Wrecking Ball", which garnered 19.3 million views.[8]

The video and song were previewed during the premiere for the Disney Channel Original Movie Teen Beach Movie 3 days ahead of the songs release. The band also filmed promotional videos that aired during the films commercial breaks.[9]

Live performances

The group performed "Best Song Ever" live for the first time on 30 July 2013 at the SAP center in San Jose, California during their Take Me Home Tour concert until their final live at Japan. The song was subsequently added to the set list to all proceeding shows of the American leg. The group's first televised performance of the single was at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards on 11 August. The group also performed the song, along with some of their other hits, on The Today Show on 23 August, on America's Got Talent on 28 August, and again on The X Factor Australia on 27 October. On 15 November, the group performed "Best Song Ever" for the first time on British television at Children in Need 2013. Since its release, the song closed out all concerts for the 2014 Where We Are Tour and the 2015 On the Road Again Tour.

In popular culture

Musicians such as Gabrielle Aplin[10] and The Vamps[11] have covered "Best Song Ever". "Weird Al" Yankovic also covered the song as part of his polka medley "NOW That's What I Call Polka!" for his 2014 album Mandatory Fun.[12] In the 100th episode of Mad, there's a sketch where One Direction watches the show and sings a parody of "Best Song Ever" calling it the worst show ever.[13]

Track listings

CD single[14]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Best Song Ever"
  • Hector
  • Ryan
  • Bunetta
  • Drewett
3:22
2."Last First Kiss" (Live Version from the Motion Picture One Direction: This Is Us)
  • Albin Nedler
  • Kristoffer Fogelmark
  • Rami Yacoub
  • Cark Falk
  • Savan Kotecha
  • Zayn Malik
  • Liam Payne
  • Louis Tomlinson
 
Maxi single[15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Best Song Ever"
  • Hector
  • Ryan
  • Bunetta
  • Drewett
3:22
2."Best Song Ever" (Jump Smokers Remix)
  • Hector
  • Ryan
  • Bunetta
  • Drewett
3:08
3."Best Song Ever" (Westfunk & Steve Smart Remix)
  • Hector
  • Ryan
  • Bunetta
  • Drewett
3:05
4."Last First Kiss" (Live Version from the Motion Picture One Direction: This Is Us) 4:27

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[16]

Charts

Certifications

‹See Tfd›
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[60] 3× Platinum 210,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[61] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[62] Gold 15,000‡
Japan (RIAJ)[63] Gold 100,000*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[64] Platinum+Gold 90,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65] Gold 7,500*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[66] Gold 30,000‡
Sweden (GLF)[67] Gold 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[68] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[70] Platinum 1,275,000[69]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[71] Platinum 1,800,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Australia[72] 22 July 2013 Digital download Sony
Germany[73]
Italy[74]
United Kingdom[75] Syco
United States[76] Columbia
United States[77] 23 July 2013 Mainstream radio
Germany[78] 16 August 2013 Maxi single Sony
France[79] 19 August 2013
United Kingdom[80] Syco
United States[14] 20 August 2013 CD single Columbia
Japan[81] 21 August 2013 Maxi single Sony
Italy[82] 27 August 2013

Awards

"Best Song Ever" won the award for Best Song of the Summer at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.

Year Ceremony Award Result
2013 MTV Video Music Awards Best Song of Summer Won
Rockbjörnen Best International Song Nominated
World Music Awards World's Best Song
World's Best Video

See also

References

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  2. ^ "Best Song Ever". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  3. ^ "One Direction: 'Best Song Ever' review". Digital Spy. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  4. ^ Reed, Ryan (16 August 2013). "Pete Townshend Responds to Furious One Direction Fans". Rolling Stone.
  5. ^ "8 Reasons Why One Direction's Video For 'Best Song Ever' Is The Best Video Ever". HuffPost UK. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  6. ^ "One Direction's "Best Song Ever" Video Filmed at World Famous Temple House". Marketwire. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  7. ^ "One Direction Play Dress-Up in 'Best Song'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  8. ^ Alicia Adejobi. "Miley Cyrus Beats One Direction's VEVO Record After 'Wrecking Ball' Becomes Most-Viewed Video In Less Than 24 Hours". EntertainmentWise. Archived from the original on 17 November 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  9. ^ "One Direction plus Disney Channel's 'Teen Beach Movie'". EW.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Gabrielle Aplin Covers One Direction's "Best Song Ever" On BBC Live Lounge: Watch - idolator". idolator. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
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  12. ^ Mandatory Fun (March 2020), Mandatory Fun
  13. ^ "Cartoon Network's MAD Doubles the Funny for 100th Episode Celebration".
  14. ^ a b "Best Song Ever (Walmart Exclusive)". Walmart.com. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
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