"It's Been Awhile" 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

Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and dr ...

. It was released on March 27, 2001, as the lead single from their third studio album, ''

Break the Cycle ''Break the Cycle'' is the third studio album by American rock band Staind, released through Elektra Entertainment and Flip Records in 2001. It is Staind's most successful album to date and was the album that broke them into the mainstream. It ...

'' (2001). The song is Staind's most successful and is their best-known song, becoming a number five hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in October 2001—their only song to reach the top 10. It spent a second-best 20 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 595. (behind " Loser" by 3 Doors Down) and a then-record 16 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. Worldwide, the single became a top-20 hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The song was featured as a playable track on the

Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

video game ''

Donkey Konga 2 is a GameCube rhythm video game series starring the ape Donkey Kong, developed by Namco and published by Nintendo. The series' games are intended to be played with a special controller called the DK Bongos that resemble two small bongo dru ...

''.

Background

Aaron Lewis Aaron Lewis (born April 13, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the nu metal band Staind, with whom he released seven studio albums. Since 2010, he has pursued a solo ca ...

originally wrote this song around 1996 along with " Outside" slightly prior to the release of ''

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'' and performed it with a short-lived acoustic side project called J-CAT, before abruptly shelving it until 2000 during the recording sessions of ''

''.

Reception

Eric Aiese of ''

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 ...

'' reviewed the song favorably, saying that the group handles the ballad well and packs "a lot of punch into the cut." Aiese said that the song "may be the group's greatest splash yet."

Music video

The music video had its world premiere on MTV's

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

program on April 13, 2001. The music video begins with Aaron Lewis going through some old photographs, one of which is a picture of his wife. The video switches between him writing a letter to his wife and the band performing in a room full of candles. There are brief shots of Aaron alone in the streets and looking at himself in the mirror while having second thoughts. Throughout the video, Aaron is seen smoking cigarettes. At the end of the video, one of those cigarettes falls onto the floor and burns down his apartment. The video was directed by

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

frontman

Fred Durst William Frederick Durst (born August 20, 1970) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and director. He is the frontman and lyricist of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, formed in 1994, with whom he has released seven studio albums. He ap ...

Track listings

UK CD1 # "It's Been Awhile" (clean edit) – 3:51 # "Suffocate" – 3:17 # "It's Been Awhile" (album version) – 4:25 # "It's Been Awhile" (enhanced video) UK CD2 # "It's Been Awhile" (live version) – 4:40 # "Spleen" – 4:40 # "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 European CD single # "It's Been Awhile" (edit) – 3:56 # "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 Australian maxi-CD single # "It's Been Awhile" (edit) – 3:56 # "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 # "Suffocate" – 3:17

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2001 singles 2001 songs Elektra Records singles Flip Records (1994) singles Music videos directed by Fred Durst Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Josh Abraham Songs written by Aaron Lewis Songs written by Mike Mushok Staind songs