Format Digital download Length 4:08 | Recorded March–July 2008 Label Roadrunner | |
Released November 11, 2008 (iTunes)
November 2008 (CAN radio)
March 31, 2009 (U.S. Radio)
June 15, 2009 (UK) Studio Mountain View Studios, Abbotsford, British Columbia | ||
"If Today Was Your Last Day" is the third single from Nickelback's sixth studio album Dark Horse. It was originally planned as the first single, to hit all U.S. radio formats September 30, 2008, but was scrapped as the first single in favour of "Gotta Be Somebody". Instead it was released on March 31, 2009. It was produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who produced the entire album. The song was released as a digital download in the U.S. on November 11. "If Today Was Your Last Day" was released in the UK on June 15. The song was performed live for the very first time on May 22 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.
Contents
In the U.S., the song has sold over 1,500,000 downloads, as of February 2010. According to Roadrunner Records UK, the song is "dynamically swelling our bank accounts". The song has also apparently been around with Nickelback for a while, but had never been finished. The song received Gold certification in Australia.
Lead vocalist/guitarist Chad Kroeger has mentioned the song as his personal favorite from Dark Horse. He had described the middle part of the song as "very motivational, and very positive".
The song was used for promotional videos in the Winter Olympics in 2010, and was used as the closing song during NHL Tonight's 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs coverage.
Music video
The music video was shot with director Nigel Dick in March 2009. Performance portions of the video were shot at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska and in New York City. The other portion was shot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The music video premiered on 23 April. In the beginning, two trashy teenage boys dressed in black seem to be up to some sort of shady business in Philadelphia. They record their journey on a camcorder. They carry mysterious black bags with them which seem to be filled with illegal stuff. In the end, they stand on top of a bridge ready to carry out their plan. They open the bags, but only harmless colorful pieces of paper with quotes from the song such as "forgive your enemy" and "live each moment" fall over the people beneath them. This inspires two women to hand out coats with messages similar to those on the colored paper, a wealthy-looking man to hand money to everyone he meets, an arguing couple make up and a man arguing with presumably his boss to quit. All of the quotes refer to lines in the song "If Today Was Your Last Day."
Track listing
Charts
On October 2008, "If Today Was Your Last Day" debuted at #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. based on downloads only. After its release as an official single, it re-entered the Hot 100 and reached a new peak at #19. It is their second top twenty hit on the Hot 100 from Dark Horse, and their ninth top twenty hit on the chart overall. In Canada, it debuted at #91 on the Canadian Hot 100 also based on just downloads, and after its physical release in Canada and receiving airplay it made a re-entry on the chart at #67 and would go on to reach #7.