Released August 3, 2007 Genre Pop rock
teen pop Label Hollywood | Format CD
digital download Length 2:33 | |
B-side "Year 3000" (Album Version) | ||
"S.O.S" is a song by American pop band Jonas Brothers. The song was released as the band's second single from Jonas Brothers, their second studio album, in 2007. It was also their debut single in Europe in May 2008 and in United Kingdom in early June 2008.
Contents
Background and composition
In an interview with Elvis Costello, Nick said that "S.O.S" was one of the songs that came to him in the middle of the night. He wrote the song in only ten minutes.
Chart performance
In August 2007, "S.O.S" debuted at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the week following its debut, the song rose to number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first single to reach the top 20.
The single sold very well digitally, having peaked at number four on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart for two consecutive weeks in September 2007. It has sold 1.5 million copies in the US.
In Australia, "S.O.S" debuted inside the top 50 at number 48 on the ARIA Charts on April 13, 2008. It has thus far peaked at number 47.
On January 3, 2008, the single gained a dramatic rise from number 85 to number 40 increasing album sales in the past few weeks. The video was also premiered on Disney Channel Asia on February 13, 2008.
"S.O.S" premiered on the German charts for the week of June 17, 2008. It was the number 38 song in Germany.
In the UK, "S.O.S" was a moderate success, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 16 and rose the next week to number 13. However, despite large amounts of video airplay, it fell 11 places to number 24 the following week. In the fourth week on the UK Singles Chart, the single dropped another eight places to number 32. The song sold 2,000,000 copies worldwide becoming one of the best-selling songs of 2007. The song was later used as the B-side to "When You Look Me in the Eyes".
Music video
The video was filmed in June 2007 on the RMS Queen Mary a superliner believed by some to be haunted, located in Long Beach, California. It premiered in early August on the Disney Channel. It also features a cameo by Moises Arias. The Jonas Brothers have said that the boat was "kind of creepy" and that they liked to try to scare each other while aboard it. The song is about having troubled relationships with girlfriends. In the video, Moises Arias appears and waves to Joe's ex-girlfriend. He then joins her and they walk off.
The band and crew said the ship was peaceful and calm during the day shots, but when it came time for the performance shots at night, things got eerie. The performance was supposed to be shot completely at dusk, but extras were complaining of being hit, pushed, and even having their hair pulled out of nowhere, but never seeing who did it. A camera man's lens cracked suddenly while filming the boat's deck and he never found an explanation for it. Joe recalls feeling a hand drag along his shoulder blades as he was taking a break in the ship's dining room, but withheld it until they were done shooting. The giant "S.O.S." behind the band kept flickering and would go completely out for 5–10 minutes, but the technicians could never find any problems with the circuitry. Fans who took pictures during the performance scenes claimed to see floating orbs of lights all around. Upon packing up and leaving the set, crew members claimed that the ship's horn sounded numerous times, but when they went to check the control room no one was there.
Track listing
US and Europe maxi CD single
- "S.O.S" (Album Version) – 2:33
- "Hello Beautiful" (Live) – 3:22
- "Year 3000" (Album Version) – 3:21