"Have a Nice Day" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

. Written, composed and produced by

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

Richie Sambora Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwri ...

, and

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. Early life and education John Matthew Shanks was born in New York City. Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was in a ban ...

, "Have a Nice Day" was the first single released from the band's 2005 album of the same name. The overall message of the song can be taken several ways, but reflects an overall theme of both tolerance and defiance, and its title has a discordant effect from its message. Musically, the song features a propulsive blast of power chords, drum beats, and sneering vocals, as well as choruses and hooks similar to Bon Jovi's previous material. It received a positive reception from critics, some of whom praised the song's arrangement and message; both favorable and unfavorable comparisons were made to the band's previous hit " It's My Life". "Have a Nice Day" was released to radio on August 8, 2005, and as a physical and digital single on August 30, 2005. It peaked in the top ten in eleven different countries, appearing on year-end charts in five of them as well. Although it only peaked at number 53 in the United States on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Have a Nice Day" peaked at number six on the

Adult Pop Songs The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen B ...

chart and at number 38 on both the

Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...

and

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

charts; it also peaked at number 6 on the

European Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

chart. "Have a Nice Day" has been

certified Gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, signifying sales of 500,000 units in the United States and shipments of 35,000 units in Australia. Bon Jovi has performed "Have a Nice Day" live, and included the song on their greatest hits album ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'', as well as on several of their video albums. The music video for "Have a Nice Day" was designed by ad agency

Deutsch Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to: *''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places *''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym *Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic ve ...

as part of a broader ad campaign to promote the album ''Have a Nice Day'', and focuses on what the creative director of Deutsch describes as a 'pissed-off smiley face'.

Background

"Have a Nice Day" was written, composed, and produced by

, and

.igital Single />D Single />mport Single />ermany CD #1 />ermany CD #2 /> The message of "Have a Nice Day" was intended by Jon Bon Jovi to be able to be taken multiple ways; one can take the term literally, or take it differently. Jon Bon Jovi regarded the overall point of the song as to promote tolerance between those of different beliefs. Bon Jovi commented in an interview that "You can take

he message of the song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

literally... or the way it's taken here, 'have a nice day' – end of conversation. That's really the point of the song. In order to not seem on a moral high ground, the best way to say is you have a difference of opinion is to end the conversation. We all can live in the world together.... everybody should get along." However, the song is also a sarcastic and defiant reaction to Jon Bon Jovi's disappointment over

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

in 2004.

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing Company Inc., "Have a Nice Day" is set in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

of common time written in the key of

E Major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

with a "driving rock"

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 130

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

. Jon Bon Jovi's vocal range in the song spans from B₃-C₅. The sheet music lists the musical style of the song as

arena rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

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 ...

, and

album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...

. It features "trademark big Bon Jovi choruses and catchy hooks" and has a message that can be taken in different ways. It has also been described as 'defiant' and as containing a "propulsive blast of power chords, drum beats, and sneering vocals". The song's defiant message is intentionally discordant from its "smilely-face sounding" title, and its chorus "counsels renewed conviction in the face of setbacks, optimism against opposition, standing your moral ground regardless of the consequences".

Release and promotion

"Have a Nice Day" was released to radio on August 8, 2005, and physical and digital singles were released in various regions on August 30, 2005.igital Single />D Single />mport Single />ermany CD #1 />ermany CD #2 /> Two days later,

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

released the song as a CD single in Japan. In Australia, the song was issued as a CD single on September 5, 2005, while in the United Kingdom, it was released on the same format on September 12. Bon Jovi performed the song live on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...

'', and ran a promotion on

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

in September 2005 which gave a full-length

video stream Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

of the music video for "Have a Nice Day". Bon Jovi also allowed the video for "Have a Nice Day" to be viewed on their website.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Have a Nice Day" met with positive critical reception. Wayne Parry of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

noted the song "has those trademark big Bon Jovi choruses and catchy hooks that have hit single written all over them", while Katie Moten of

RTÉ Ten (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

argued the song is "no

Livin' on a Prayer "Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi, and is the band's second chart-topping single from their third album '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in ...

, but does have that same positive message that Bon Jovi deliver so well". Dennis Mahoney of ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

'' was more critical, calling the track "unremarkable" and "so similar to 2000's " It's My Life" that I kept hearing the older, better (but not that much better) song". In his review of Bon Jovi's album of the same title, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

selected "Have a Nice Day" as a track pick from the album. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine gave the song a positive review, crediting it as having a "pounding beat" and "catchy guitar riffs", also comparing the song to the group's previous hit "It's My Life".

Kitty Empire Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''The Observer''. Early life Empire says that she was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britai ...

of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stated in her review of ''Have a Nice Day'' that " ohnKerry supporter Jon Bon Jovi takes a snarky stance in Have a Nice Day' reportedly in response to the re-election of George W Bush. Unlike

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

's 'Sweet Neo-Con', though, his ire is sufficiently fuzzy for it to work".

Live performances

Bon Jovi first performed a portion of "Have a Nice Day" at the 2004 American Music Awards, at which the band accepted a special award; Bon Jovi later performed the full version of the song at the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

concert in July 2005. Since its release as a single and inclusion on the album ''

Have a Nice Day Have a nice day is a commonly spoken expression used to conclude a conversation (whether brief or extensive), or end a message by hoping the person to whom it is addressed experiences a pleasant day. Since it is often uttered by service employee ...

'' in 2005, "Have a Nice Day" has been performed live at every full-length Bon Jovi concert. At a concert held at the

Nationwide Arena Nationwide Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Since completion in 2000, the arena has served as the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). It is one of two facilities in Columbus, alon ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

on May 10, 2011, they performed the song, which, according to Kevin Joy of ''

The Columbus Dispatch ''The Columbus Dispatch'' is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and it has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since ''The Columbus Citizen-Journal'' ceased publication in 19 ...

'', "blended well into the mix" of the other songs. At the performance, Jon Bon Jovi wore a vest and leather pants; guitarist Richie Sambora was absent from the concert. At a concert at

FedEx Forum FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association, NBA and the NCAA Division I Memphis Tigers men's basketball, ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

attended by almost 16,000 people, Bon Jovi performed an "underwhelming" version of "Have a Nice Day". "Have a Nice Day" was performed as the seventeenth song on the band's setlist for a concert at the

Philips Arena State Farm Arena (formerly Philips Arena) is a multi-purpose arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Atlanta Hawks. It also served as home to the National Hockey Leag ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Other versions and uses in popular culture

On the sixth season of reality television show ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', contestant

Melinda Doolittle Melinda Marie Doolittle (born October 6, 1977) is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to her appearance on ''American Idol'', Doolittle worked as a professional back-up sin ...

covered "Have a Nice Day". The song was included as

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

for the

rhythm video game Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to pr ...

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on N ...

'' as part of the "Bon Jovi's Greatest Hits: ''Rock Band'' Edition" track pack. It was included on Bon Jovi's greatest hits album ''

'', and live versions of the song were included on the band's

video album A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

s ''Live From the Have a Nice Day Tour'', '' Live at Madison Square Garden'', and '' Greatest Hits – The Ultimate Video Collection''. The song was featured in the film ''

Win Win Win or WIN may refer to: * A victory Arts and entertainment Film * '' Win!'', a 2016 American film Literature * ''Win'' (Coben novel), a 2121 novel by Harlan Coben * WIN (pacifist magazine), published by the War Resisters League * WIN (wres ...

''.

Music video

The music video for "Have a Nice Day" was created by

, an advertising agency. The video centers around what the creative director of Deutsch, Eric Hirshberg, describes as a 'pissed off smiley face', which appears on, among other places, a mobile phone and a crop circle. The video was designed as part of a larger campaign to promote Bon Jovi's album ''Have a Nice Day'' – the album features the smiley face on its cover, and merchandise for the

Have a Nice Day Tour The Have a Nice Day Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi. It took place between November 2005 and July 2006. The tour supported their ninth studio album ''Have a Nice Day (Bon Jovi album), Have a Nice Day''. The tour ...

was designed to feature the face as well. Hirshberg regarded the marketing strategy behind the music video and campaign as "a new model for ad agencies and the music industry". The music video opens with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora pulling up to a small crowd. After signing a few autographs, a person in the crowd hands Jon Bon Jovi an album to sign, but he instead signs it with a smiley face. The person takes his mobile phone and takes a picture of it, sending it to his friends. The smiley face then appears all over the city, on places such as buildings, mailboxes, and traffic cones. The face is stuck onto citizens by other people, appears on T-shirts and necklaces, and is worn as a tattoo. The video closes with Bon Jovi leaving a concert in a helicopter, and noticing the face engraved into a field as a crop circle.

Track listings

Digital singleigital Single> # "Have a Nice Day" — 3:36 CD singleD Single> # "Have a Nice Day" (Album Version) — 3:51 # "The Radio Saved My Life Tonight" — 5:15 # "I Get a Rush" — 3:08 # "Miss Fourth of July" — 8:01 Import singlemport Single> # "Have a Nice Day" (Album Version) # "The Radio Saved My Life Tonight" Germany CD 1ermany CD #1> # "Have a Nice Day" (Album Version) — 3:48 # "Radio Saved My Life Tonight" (Live at Atlantic City 2004) — 5:24 Germany CD 2ermany CD #2> # "Have a Nice Day" (Album Version) # "I Get a Rush" (Live at Atlantic City 2004) # "Miss Fourth of July" (Live at Atlantic City 2004) # "Have a Nice Day"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Have A Nice Day (Bon Jovi Song) 2005 singles Bon Jovi songs Song recordings produced by John Shanks Songs written by John Shanks Songs written by Richie Sambora Songs written by Jon Bon Jovi 2000s Island Records singles 2004 songs