Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)

"Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)"
Single by Simple Plan
from the album Still Not Getting Any...
Released April 1, 2005
Format CD single
Recorded 2004
Genre Alternative rock[1]
Length 4:00
Label Lava
Writer(s) Pierre Bouvier, Chuck Comeau
Producer(s) Bob Rock
Simple Plan singles chronology
"Shut Up!"
(2005)		 "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)"
(2005)		 "Crazy"
(2005)

"Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)" is a song by Canadian pop punk group Simple Plan. It was released in April 2005 as the third single from their second studio album, Still Not Getting Any.... The song's official title, when the CD was released, was simply "Untitled".

Music video

The music video of this song tells a story of a car accident on a rainy evening where a young male drunk driver crashed his sedan head-on into a Trans Am driven by a female, resulting in her death. The drunk driver, however, stayed alive relatively uninjured, and ended up captured by the FBI and BATF. It was filmed near the famous tunnel in Griffith Park.

The video also shows the victim's family doing things such as: her brother is seen playing video games in his bedroom, her sister is doing her homework in her bedroom, their mom is in her house's kitchen washing dishes and their dad is working in his office. Then abruptly just as the two cars collide, the entire family is violently thrown into the walls surrounding them as the boy falls out of his bedroom window and the dad lands on his computer. In a joint letter with MADD, Simple Plan explained the events in the video:[2]

“ This song is a very personal look at what happens when tragedy hits close to home and we wanted to make a video that was as powerful and as special as the song was to the five of us.

Over the last few years, a lot of people we know have been involved in tragic accidents caused by drinking and driving. One of the students at our high-school crashed his car driving back from a weekend trip and killed his best friend. It was a very sad time that none of us will ever forget.

This is the story we wanted to tell with this video: the story of all the innocent victims caused by drinking and driving. We hope you will take the time to watch the video. Thanks for all your support.

 ”

Live performances

When performed live, the guitar solo in the middle of the song is performed by Bouvier. Lead guitarist Jeff Stinco plays a semi-acoustic guitar until the end of the solo, while rhythm guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre and drummer Chuck Comeau come in at the beginning of the solo. Bassist Desrosiers' main role in this song is backing vocals, with his bass easing back a bit.

Track listing

  1. "How Could This Happen to Me?" - 3:28
  2. "Welcome to My Life" (Live) - 4:13
  3. "Jump" (Live) - 3:48

In other media

The song has since been used in Mothers Against Drunk Driving anti-drunk driving campaigns.[3] And in the fourth season episode of Smallville called "Recruit".

Charts

Chart (2005–06) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 9
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[5] 17
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) 3
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[6] 52
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 36
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 20
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 7
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 183
US Billboard Adult Top 40 26
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 49
US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 16

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[13] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[14] Gold 10,000^
Sweden (GLF)[15] Gold 10,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

External links

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