"Lips of an Angel" 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
Hinder
Hinder is an American rock band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, formed in 2001 by lead singer Austin John Winkler, guitarist Joe "Blower" Garvey, and drummer Cody Hanson with bassist Mike Roden and guitarist Mark King joining in 2003, solidifying ...
, produced and co-written by Brian Howes and Joseph Lombardo. It was released in July 2006 as the second single from their 2005 debut album, ''
Extreme Behavior
''Extreme Behavior'' is the debut studio album by American Rock music, rock band Hinder. It was released in 2005 by Universal Records to generally negative reviews, before going platinum in September 2006. All songs were co-written by Brian Howes, ...
''. It was their breakthrough hit, charting within the top ten on several US ''
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 ...
'' genre charts, reaching number three on the all-genre
''Billboard'' Hot 100, and peaking at number one in Australia and New Zealand. It has sold 3.6 million copies in the US as of January 2015, making it one of the most downloaded rock songs.
Jack Ingram
Jack Owen Ingram (born November 15, 1970) is an American country music artist formerly signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, and 19 singles. Although ...
released a cover of the song in 2006, which reached number 16 on the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart.
Content
The lyrics deal with the singer describing his feelings when his favored girlfriend from his past calls late at night, somewhat pleasantly interrupting his current relationship. More than once, a reference to the call being secret is made, and the singer expresses concern of a fight ensuing as a result. The song concludes just as it began, with the singer questioning to why she is calling so late. However, at the end, it is less literal and more figurative, with the underlying meaning of "so late" not at night, but too late in life, perhaps adding an element of sadness to the song, as it ends with the plot unresolved.
Drummer Cody Hanson said the lyrics were based on an experience singer
Austin John Winkler
Austin John Winkler (born October 25, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician best known for being the former lead singer of the American rock band Hinder. Since his departure from Hinder, Winkler has continued his career, but as a s ...
had:
Chart performance
The song experienced the most success in Australia. On the chart date of February 4, 2007, the song debuted atop Australia's
ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, replacing
Evermore's "
Light Surrounding You
"Light Surrounding You" is the second single by alternative rock band, Evermore, taken from their second studio album, ''Real Life'' (June 2006). It was written by Dann Hume, the group's drummer. The record is co-produced by Jon Hume. The song ...
" and keeping the peak position for seven weeks before being replaced by "
Straight Lines" by
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian Rock music, rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Newcastle, New South Wales, with Ben Gillies on drums, Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars, and Chris Joannou on bass guitar. The group got thei ...
. On February 12, it reached the top spot on New Zealand's
RIANZ Singles Chart
Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...
and stayed there for one more week before being dethroned by "
This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race
"This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" is a song by American rock band Fall Out Boy and the second single from their commercially successful third studio album ''Infinity on High'' (2007). The song officially debuted on November 21 at the Ame ...
" by
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
. In the United States, the song reached number one on the ''
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 ...
''
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 Top 40
Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...
charts, and number three on the ''Billboard''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
and
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 ...
charts, in November 2006. It was also their only top-ten single on the
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 ...
(now Alternative Songs) chart, reaching number eight. Elsewhere, the song had limited chart success and remains Hinder's only hit in most countries in which it charted.
Formats and track listings
Digital download
# "Lips of an Angel" – 4:21
CD single
# "Lips of an Angel" – 4:21
# "By the Way" (acoustic) – 3:34
# "Bliss (I Don't Wanna Know)" (acoustic) – 3:45
# "Oye there you go"
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
In popular culture
The song is featured in the music-related video games ''
Lips
The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...
'' (as downloadable content), ''
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore'', ''
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party
, known as ''Dancing Stage Hottest Party'' in the European and Oceanic regions, is a video game released by Konami in 2007 and 2008 to several countries for the Wii console. Konami took the game beyond the traditional setup of ''Dance Dance Revol ...
'', and ''
Band Hero
''Band Hero'' is a spinoff video game as part of the ''Guitar Hero series'' of music rhythm games, released by Activision on November 3, 2009, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS consoles. The game is structu ...
''.
On June 12, 2020, the Canadian
Blink-182
Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
podcast 'Blink-155' released a compilation, consisting of 65 covers of "Lips of an Angel", recorded by the members of the Blink-155 fan base (known as the 'Nation' or 'Naysh') as well as the hosts of the podcast, Sam Sutherland & Josiah Hughes.
The compilation is titled "It's Really Good to Hear Your Voice", in reference to one of the lyrics of the song. The compilation was mastered by Dan Birch and the artwork was done by Kyle Mabson. All proceeds from the compilation get donated to charities related to the
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement. Hinder drummer
Cody Hanson
Cody Hanson (born May 24, 1982) is an American musician, songwriter and producer who is best known for being the drummer and one of the founding members in the American rock band Hinder. He also co-owns the production company Back Lounge Product ...
said of the compilation, "Whether people are making fun of it or not, I think it's awesome either way."
Jack Ingram version
Country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
artist
Jack Ingram
Jack Owen Ingram (born November 15, 1970) is an American country music artist formerly signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eleven studio albums, one extended play, six live albums, and 19 singles. Although ...
released a version of the song in December 2006. Ingram's version, the lead-off single to his 2007 album ''This Is It'', reached a peak of number 16 on the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart in April 2007. Ingram's version does not include the last stanza where the singer once again asks why she is calling so late.
Background
Regarding his cover of this song, Ingram gave an explanation in the liner notes of ''This Is It'':
Music video
Premiering in early 2007, the music video for "Lips of an Angel" was directed by
Shaun Silva
Shaun Silva is a music video director who works primarily in the country music field. He has directed a number of music videos for many country music artists, including many of Kenny Chesney's music videos. His other clients include Jason Aldean, ...
and largely follows the narrative of the song's lyrics, focusing on a late night phone call between the raconteur (
Austin Winkler) and his former lover (
Emmanuelle Chriqui
Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her performance on HBO's ''Entourage'' as Sloan McQuewick, Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'', Dalia in ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'', Lorelei Mar ...
).
Charts
See also
*
List of number-one singles in Australia in 2007
The ARIA Singles Chart ranks the best-performing singles in Australia. Its data, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association, is based collectively on each single's weekly physical and digital sales. In 2007, 14 singles claimed ...
*
List of number-one singles in 2007 (New Zealand)
In New Zealand, the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) compiles the top forty singles chart each week. Sales of songs determined 75% of the sorting information, and radio airplay figures were responsible for 25%. From 18 April ...
*
List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2006
This is a list of songs which reached number one on the '' Billboard'' Mainstream Top 40 chart in 2006.
During 2006, a total of 15 singles hit number-one on the charts.
Chart history
See also
* 2006 in music
References
External linksCurren ...
References
{{Authority control
2005 songs
2006 singles
Big Machine Records singles
Hinder songs
Jack Ingram songs
Music videos directed by Shaun Silva
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in New Zealand
Songs about telephone calls
Songs written by Brian Howes
Songs written by Cody Hanson
Universal Republic Records singles
Song recordings produced by Jeremy Stover