Remember "Bad Day" by the Canadian musician Daniel Powter? It is a happy, positive-sounding song about having a bad day and was a massive hit back in 2005/2006. "Bad Day" was the biggest single in the United States in 2006, it charted in numerous countries, was the most played song in the United Kingdom during the 2003-2008 period, and earned Powter numerous nominations and awards.
Despite the enormous success of "Bad Day", every single that Powter has released since has flopped. None have reached the Billboard Hot 100, and outside the United States they have struggled to chart...and when they did they reached abysmal positions. His lack of chart success after "Bad Day" was remarkable enough for Billboard to declare him the top one-hit wonder of the 2000s, a feat in itself, but not one that any musician wants to be saddled with.
It is a shame that Powter's work since "Bad Day" has been unsuccessful, but it is even more of a shame that he turned to substance abuse for a period stemming from difficulties handling his sudden fame and being burnt out from constantly having to sing "Bad Day". Fortunately, he has since recovered and moved on from the habit, and is now engaged and has a daughter who is four months old, but it is still saddening and disappointing that he did have an addiction to alcohol and drugs for a time.
Powter is currently working on a new album and has recently released a new single titled "Cupid". Time will tell if his new work will elevate him out of one-hit wonder status, but I hope it does. In the meantime, we can listen to "Bad Day": it is still a brilliant song six years later, will certainly put you in a good mood when you hear it, and will remain in your head for days afterwards (when my brother and I were listening to Heart Cambridge last year, it was the first time we had heard "Bad Day" on the radio frequently since 2006, and that did please us).
No comments:
Post a Comment