"Anything" is a song recorded by Canadian

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band Hedley for their fifth studio album, '' Wild Life'' (2013). The song was written and produced by

Jacob Hoggard Jacob William Hoggard (born July 9, 1984) is a Canadian convicted sex offender and former singer-songwriter who was the lead singer for the pop-rock band Hedley. Before Hedley was formed, Hoggard competed on the second season of ''Canadian Ido ...

and

Brian Howes Brian Howes, also known as Howes, is a Canadian songwriter and record producer. Career Howes played in a British Columbia band, Young Guns, and later fronted the group DDT which blended punk, ska, and rap. The band was signed to Metallica drumme ...

, with additional writing by Jason Van Poederooyen. It was released to Canadian radio on August 19, 2013 through

Universal Music Canada Universal Music Group owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to UMG official site, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Bravado, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammopho ...

as the album's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

. "Anything" was serviced to

alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

in the US through

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

in November 2013 as the band's fifth American single. Upon release, "Anything" was met with mixed reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s, but performed well commercially. The song peaked at number 5 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

and reached the top 10 on three national airplay charts. It also charted at 18 in New Zealand. In September 2016, "Anything" was certified 4× Platinum by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

, making it the band's best-selling single to date.

Composition

"Anything" is an upbeat pop song with a duration of three minutes and eleven seconds. It is composed in the key of G and set to a BPM of 76. Its lyrics convey a message of defiance and believing that one can do anything they set their mind to, regardless what people may tell them or expect of them. With its

anthemic "Anthemic" is a song by live electronic music project Magnetic Man. It is the fourth single to be released from the debut album ''Magnetic Man'' and was released as a digital download on 22 July 2011. For its release, grime rapper P Money was adde ...

nature, "Anything" expands upon themes found in previous Hedley singles including "

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...

" and "One Life". Lead singer and co-writer Jacob Hoggard explained that the song is, to him, about finding the strength to rise above life's hardships.

Critical reception

Emma Garland at ''Alter The Press!'' gave the song a mixed review, feeling that although "Anything" is "insanely catchy", the "''uh-uh, fuck that''"

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

is "awkward" and "quickly gets irritating". Philip Lickley at UK music blog ''All-Noise'' described the song as "a stadium-friendly chanting song... with a strong message" that "screams out for radio play", and rated it a 7 out of 10.

Music video

The music video for "Anything" was directed by JP Poliquin and was shot at The Great Hall in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. It premiered on the band's

VEVO Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

channel on September 10, 2013.

Awards and nominations

Track listings

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2013 singles Hedley (band) songs Universal Music Group singles Capitol Records singles Songs written by Jacob Hoggard Songs written by Brian Howes