"Long Shot" is a song by American singer

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

, from her fourth studio album, '' All I Ever Wanted'' (2009). The song was written by

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album ''Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Grammy Award fo ...

, and

Matt Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. Wit ...

, it was originally recorded by Perry (along with the single "

I Do Not Hook Up "I Do Not Hook Up" is a song recorded by American singer Kelly Clarkson for her fourth studio album, '' All I Ever Wanted'' (2009), released as the second single from the album. It was written by Kara DioGuardi, Greg Wells and Katy Perry. Perry h ...

") for an unreleased album and was later re-recorded by Clarkson. It is a pop song about taking a chance on pursuing a flawed relationship in spite of it being a "long shot." The song received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who found it to be a "fun" pop song but also generic and unmemorable. In early 2010, the song was played on Canadian radio and entered that country's

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

airplay chart despite no official

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

release or promotion from Clarkson's label.

Background and recording

The song was written by

, and

as a track for an unreleased album by Perry conceived sometime between the recording of '' Katy Hudson'' (2001) and ''

One of the Boys ''One of the Boys'' is the second studio album by American singer Katy Perry. It was released on June 17, 2008, by Capitol Records. She collaborated with producers Greg Wells, Dr. Luke, Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart, Max Marti ...

'' (2008). When Perry was dropped from the

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

label and the project was scrapped, "Long Shot" and "

" were given to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

for Clarkson to record for her then-upcoming album, ''All I Ever Wanted''. Clarkson's rendition was recorded by Mike Plotnikoff in 2008 at Bay7 Studios, Sparky Dark Studio, and

Sunset Sound Studios Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. Background The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a collec ...

, all located in

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California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Composition

"Long Shot" is a pop song with a duration of three minutes and thirty-six seconds (3:36). According to the digital sheet music published by MusicNotes.com through Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., it is composed in the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

and is set to a moderately fast tempo of 114 BPM. Clarkson's

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

spans from C₄—C₅. The song's instrumentation consists of

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, which were performed by

Howard Benson Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008. Early life and education Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philadel ...

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having forme ...

, Paul Bushnell, and

Phil X Theofilos Xenidis (born March 10, 1966), better known as Phil X, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Since 2013, he has played lead guitar with Bon Jovi and officially replaced former lead guitarist Richie Sambora in 2016. Career Early ...

, respectively. The song's lyrics explore the inherent risk of starting or continuing a romantic relationship. Some critics have suggested the song implies a flawed relationship, which Clarkson is fighting to keep together. Elements in the lyrics such as the lines "The chance is we won't make it / But I know if I don't take it there's no chance" deliver a message of perseverance and taking risks to reach your goals.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

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 ...

praised the cover for "illustrating why larksons a better pop star" than co-writer

, writing that the former sounds "impassioned and invested" in her performance, but "better still... relatable." Ann Powers of ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' also noted that Clarkson "removes the cartoon mannerisms" characteristic of Perry's songs in her version of "Long Shot". On the other hand, Claire Lobenfeld of ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' was critical of Clarkson for what he deemed to be her mimicking Perry's "silly and saucy" style. Daniel Brockman of ''

The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' a ...

'' and Evan Sawdey of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' both cited "Long Shot" as a highlight of the album, with the latter describing the song as a "sturdy, memorable pop number" that succeeds at playing it safe in a "fun" way.

Commercial performance

In February 2010, two Hot AC stations in Canada began playing "Long Shot" as a potential radio single, leading it to enter the New and Active category for the week ending March 6, 2010 with 82 plays. The album's fourth official single, " All I Ever Wanted", impacted Hot AC radio on March 6, 2010. "Long Shot" reached a peak airplay position of 33, in May 2010, before "All I Ever Wanted" entered the chart.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''All I Ever Wanted''

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

. Personnel * Lead vocals – Kelly Clarkson * Production, keyboards, programming – Howard Benson * Assistance (with production) – Graham Hope * Drums – Josh Freese * Bass – Paul Bushnell * Guitar – Phil X * Production manager – Sam Watters * Recording – Mike Plotnikoff * Digital editing – Paul Decarli * Mixing – Serban Ghenea * Assistance (with mixing) – Tim Roberts * Songwriting – Katy Perry, Glen Ballard, Matt Thiessen

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 2009 songs Katy Perry songs Kelly Clarkson songs Songs written by Katy Perry Songs written by Glen Ballard Songs written by Matt Thiessen Song recordings produced by Howard Benson