"Moral of the Story" is a song by American singer Ashe, featured on her second EP ''Moral of the Story: Chapter 1'' (2019) and her debut studio album '' ''Ashlyn'''' (2021). The song gained popularity after it was featured in the

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teen rom-com film '' To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You'' (2020). The song is co-written and co-produced by American producer Noah Conrad and Finneas O'Connell. The song reached number 71 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Ashe's first Hot 100 entry among many other countries including United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Canada, Netherlands and New Zealand.

Background and commercial performance

"Moral of the Story" was originally released on Valentine's Day 2019 ahead of the release of Ashe's second EP, ''Moral of the Story: Chapter 1'' (2019). The song was co-written and co-produced by five-time

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-winner Finneas O'Connell, and also features an uncredited lyrical contribution from his sister, Billie Eilish. The song made its world radio airplay premiere on

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on 21 February 2020. The song also became popular on the video-sharing platform

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, where it has been used in over 900 thousand videos as of June 2020. By the time the song had debuted at number 71 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it had gained 9.7 million US

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and 4 thousand downloads. As a result of the song's success, Ashe debuted at number six on the ''Billboard'' Emerging Artists chart.

Composition and lyrics

In terms of music notation, "Moral of the Story" was composed using common time in the

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of B-flat major with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. Ashe's vocal range spans from the low note F3 to the high note of G5, giving the song two octaves and one note of range. In 2018, Ashe wrote "Moral of the Story" after filing for divorce, in an attempt to try and make sense of why the relationship failed. She told Earmilk:

Critical reception

"Moral of the Story" was described by Gregory Castel of '' Earmilk'' as a "sobering love ballad with attention-grabbing lyrics" which Ashe has written with "captivating satire and vulnerability".

Music video

The song's music video, which has gained over 36 million views on YouTube, was released with the single and was noted to have a

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-inspired aesthetic.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Niall Horan version

A version of the song featuring vocals from Irish singer

Niall Horan Niall James Horan ( ; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition ''The X Factor''. The group released five albums and went ...

was released on June 17, 2020. It was included on Ashe's debut studio album ''Ashlyn'' (2021).

Charts

References

{{authority control Songs about divorce 2010s ballads 2019 singles 2020 singles 2019 songs Niall Horan songs Satirical songs Song recordings produced by Finneas O'Connell Songs written by Finneas O'Connell Songs written by Niall Horan