"100 Bad Days"
Single by AJR
from the album Neotheater
ReleasedJanuary 29, 2019 (2019-01-29)
Recorded2018
GenrePop
Length3:32
LabelS-Curve
Songwriter(s)
  • Jack Met
  • Adam Met
  • Ryan Met
Producer(s)Ryan Met
AJR singles chronology
"Pretender"
(2018)		 "100 Bad Days"
(2019)		 "Birthday Party"
(2019)
Music video
"100 Bad Days" on YouTube

"100 Bad Days" is a song by American pop band AJR. It was released on January 29, 2019 via S-Curve Records as the lead single from the band's third studio album Neotheater.[1]

Background

After AJR released their second studio album, The Click (2017), they faced severe writer's block.[2] In an interview, Ryan Met tells Billboard "We were at Columbia University [and] we were having a tough time because we had terrible writer's block, and "100 Bad Days" was actually the song that solved that writer's block". The song's writing began from a note on Jack's phone: "A million bad days make a million good stories". The band then tweaked it into a more unique idea, turning the line into the song's hook.[3]

Jack Met explained the inspiration for the type of song to Billboard, which they summarize "they had written both pre-game songs and mid-party songs for when everyone is comfortable and having a great time, but they had never written a song for the party comedown".[4] AJR created the song in the living room of their apartment in New York.[5]

Composition

"100 Bad Days" is composed in 4
4 common time in the key of B-sharp major, with a tempo of 144 beats per minute (bpm).

Music video

On March 7, 2019, an official music video directed by Tim Nackashi was released,[6] featuring the band performing the song on drums in an empty room.[7] The video heavily uses visual effects produced by London Alley, using chroma key to create surreal futuristic imagery and dismember the band as floating heads with disappearing and reappearing hands.[8] During production, AJR favored creating a "visually compelling" and eerie music video in contrast to their previous story-driven videos. Nackashi abstractly conveys the song's meaning through this, stating that it's "a visual metaphor for [the band] being formed out of these rough experiences and memories they have, building the character of who they are".[9] As of January 2024, the music video on YouTube has received over 29 million views.

Critical reception

The song has received positive reception with Rolling Stone describing "100 Bad Days" as "a catchy song, blending motivational pop vibes, light orchestral flourishes and more into a smooth whirl".[10] Billboard comments that "the brother[s] sing about drunken foolishness, heartbreak and empty audiences at their gigs, all of which are sure to cause some sadness but are masked by a catchy pop melody and soaring instrumentation".[1] The band performed the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 12, 2019, re-creating some of the visual effects used in the song's music video.[11][12]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[13]

  • Adam Met – vocals, instruments, composer
  • Jack Met – main vocals, instruments, composer
  • Ryan Met – vocals, instruments, composer, producer
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering engineer
  • Drew Allsbrook – audio mixing
  • Joe Zook – mixing engineer
  • Bruce Healey – arranger
  • Chris Berry – drums
  • JJ Kirkpatrick – trumpet
  • Emelia Suljic – violin

Nominations

At the 2019 Teen Choice Awards, AJR received a nomination in the Choice Rock Song category for "100 Bad Days", ultimately losing to Panic! at the Disco's "Hey Look Ma, I Made It".[14]

Nominations for "100 Bad Days"
Year Organization Award Result
2019 Teen Choice Awards Choice Rock Song Nominated

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "100 Bad Days"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Gold 35,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Platinum 80,000‡
United States (RIAA)[26] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 Aniftos, Rania (January 30, 2019). "AJR Laugh About Their Failures In New Single '100 Bad Days'". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ Nattress, Katrina (April 30, 2019). "AJR Talk About How '100 Bad Days' Cured Their Writer's Block". iHeartRadio. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ Widran, Jonathan (July 30, 2019). "Ryan Met Of Indie Pop Band AJR, Talks About Their Hit Songs "100 Bad Days" and "Burn The House Down," And Their Album, Neotheater". Songwriter Universe. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  4. ↑ Schiller, Rebecca (April 30, 2019). "AJR Explain How '100 Bad Days' Cured Their Writer's Block & Why It's a Song About Staying Positive". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ Greene, Andy (May 17, 2019). "How I Wrote This: AJR Break Down Their Single '100 Bad Days'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  6. ↑ "AJR Drop Intergalactic, Futuristic Video For Single '100 Bad Days'". MusicMayhemMagazine. March 11, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ Nattress, Katrina (March 8, 2019). "AJR Become Disembodied Heads In Trippy '100 Bad Days' Video: Watch". iHeartRadio. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  8. ↑ Legaspi, Althea (March 7, 2019). "See AJR's Trippy Video For '100 Bad Days' Featuring Disembodied Heads". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  9. ↑ AJR (2019). "AJR - 100 Bad Days (Behind the Scenes)". YouTube. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  10. ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (January 30, 2019). "AJR Return With Catchy, Goofy, Happy Single '100 Bad Days'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ Legaspi, Althea (March 12, 2019). "AJR Bring Exuberant '100 Bad Days' Performance to 'Kimmel'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  12. ↑ Acevedo, Angelica (March 12, 2019). "AJR Give Debut Performance Of '100 Bad Days' On 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!': Watch". Billboard. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Credits / 100 Bad Days / AJR". Tidal. January 29, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2023.
  14. ↑ Yang, Rachel (August 11, 2019). "Teen Choice Awards 2019: See the full list of winners and nominees". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  15. ↑ "AJR Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  16. ↑ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 11, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  17. ↑ "AJR Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Alternative Digital Song Sales". Billboard. February 16, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  19. ↑ "AJR Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  20. ↑ "AJR Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Rock Digital Song Sales". Billboard. February 16, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. 2 January 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. 13 December 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  24. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – AJR – 100 Bad Days". Music Canada. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  26. ↑ "American single certifications – AJR – 100 Bad Days". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
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