Iris (Goo Goo Dolls song)

Commercial performance

Upon its release, "Iris" became second of a string of hits from the film's soundtrack, City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture. (The first was Alanis Morissette's "Uninvited" and the third was Sarah McLachlan's "Angel"). The song debuted at #66 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart on April 18, 1998, and eventually spent a record of 18 weeks at number one in Hot 100 Airplay. However it was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 because no commercial single had been released. In December 1998, just after the song airplay has peaked, the rules changed to allow airplay-only songs onto the chart. As a result, the song debuted and peaked at number 9 and stayed on the chart for 14 weeks. On the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, "Iris" peaked at number eight. The song was the band's 2nd number one hit on the Modern Rock Tracks chart since their 1995 hit "Name" and Iris stayed at number one for five weeks and the song also hit number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart for four weeks. The song spent a then-record 17 weeks at number one on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart (beating No Doubt's 15-week run at number one with "Don't Speak" in 1996–97). The Goo Goo Dolls performed the song on October 20, 2001 at Madison Square Garden as part of The Concert for New York City to raise money for victims of the September 11 attacks.

The song was also a major international hit. "Iris" spent 31 weeks on the charts and peaked at number five on the Irish Singles Chart; it is the nineteenth biggest-selling single there.

"Iris" initially peaked at number 50 in the UK in August 1998. On 2 October 2011, following performances by auditionees on The X Factor, the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at number three. In May 2013, the song charted at number 12 after it was covered by Britain's Got Talent contestant Robbie Kennedy.

Accolades

This song was also used in the production of The Bear by Anton Chekov performed by Rebecca Gove and Ioannis Bakogeorgos. Besides the song's success on the charts, "Iris" enjoyed critical acclaim. At the 41st Grammy Awards, "Iris" received nominations for "Record of the Year" and "Pop Performance by a Duo or Group." The song also garnered Johnny Rzeznik a "Song of the Year" nomination. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on August 18, 2008. The song was used frequently in the British comedy Gavin and Stacey.

The song was ranked at number 39 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest pop songs.

In October 2012, "Iris" was ranked number one on Billboard's "Top 100 Pop Songs 1992–2012" chart, which ranked the top songs of the first 20 years of the Mainstream Top 40/Pop Songs chart. The list also featured the Goo Goo Dolls' hits "Slide", ranking at number nine, and "Name" at number 24. The Goo Goo Dolls are the only musicians to have three songs on the list, two breaking the top 10 and all three falling within the top 25. They are also the only musicians that have back to back singles (Iris, 1998 and Slide, 1999) featured on the list.

Track listing

1. "Iris" (Edit) – 4:49
2. "Lazy Eye" – 3:45
3. "I Don't Want To Know" – 3:37

1. "Iris" – 4:51
2. "Slide" – 3:34
3. "Iris" (acoustic version) – 3:26
4. "Slide" (acoustic version) – 3:15

Cover versions and appearances in media