"Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)" is a song by American rock band All Time Low and is the second single taken from their third studio album, Nothing Personal (2009). It was released by Hopeless Records as a digital download on June 16, 2009. It became All Time Low's first US Billboard Hot 100 charting song, debuting and peaking at No. 67, and was their only song to chart until "Monsters" in early 2021.
| "Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by All Time Low | ||||
| from the album Nothing Personal | ||||
| Released | June 16, 2009 | |||
| Recorded | 2009 | |||
| Genre | Pop punk | |||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | Hopeless | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| All Time Low singles chronology | ||||
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Lyrical meaning
editIn an exclusive acoustic session with Real Magic TV, Alex Gaskarth (lead vocalist of All Time Low) explained the meaning of this song by stating, "It's a fun little tune about, uh, about charades that one may have with another individual. I'll leave the rest up to you."[2] [citation needed]
Track listing
edit- "Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)" – 3:11
Music video
editIn the first week of July, three videos for the making of "Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)" were posted on Buzznet. It shows lead singer Alex Gaskarth in a school bench with a teacher walking around him. It was shot with a green screen, which Rian Dawson (drummer for All Time Low) explained would mean that the editors would create the background during the production process.
The video was directed and animated by Matthew Stawski, who also directed All Time Low's video for "Weightless" and Fall Out Boy's "America's Suitehearts" video. The artwork for the video was done by Joshua Clay, who also did the artwork for Fall Out Boy's "America's Suitehearts" along with Serge Gay, Jr.
Some behind the scenes photos were posted on a Glamour Kills blog on September 8, 2009, stating that the music video will premiere the following week.
The video itself premiered on September 11, 2009.
The video mainly revolves around lead singer Alex Gaskarth. It is set on a talk show called "Damned If I Do Ya, Damned If I Don't". The video opens with Alex and the host, Nika "Nothing Personal" Jones, as she talks about Alex's affair with his school teacher. The video displays distractions Alex has with his classes and at his band practices due to this affair. At the end of the bridge of the song, after Alex sings "but I never promised you", the song comes to a halt. Jack, Zack, Rian, Alex's parents, and the school teacher come out, and a full out brawl is started. The chorus of the song comes back in as everyone is beating each other up. As the song continues, the fight continues as well, and eventually Alex defeats everyone. He and the school teacher kiss and the video ends with the audience clapping.
Charts
edit| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Indie (OCC)[3] | 28 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[4] | 67 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[5] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
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‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "Ascap Ace Search". ASCAP. 2010-04-16. Retrieved 2010-04-16.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: All Time Low - "Damned if I Do Ya" Acoustic (RMTV Official). YouTube.
- ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ "All Time Low Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ "American single certifications – All Time Low – Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don't)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 19, 2021.