Remember When (Push Rewind)

"Remember When (Push Rewind)" is a song by American recording artist Chris Wallace, taken from his debut studio album, ''Push Rewind'' (2013). It was released as the album's lead single on June 12, 2012.

Background

Prior to his solo recording, Wallace was the frontman of The White Tie Affair, a Chicago-based pop-punk band. They toured with Lady Gaga and reached number 22 on the US pop chart with their single " Candle (Sick and Tired)", but management changes within their label prevented the group from releasing a follow-up album, and they were released from their contract. Wallace, who had received little money from the band's success, moved back in with his parents, before relocating to San Diego and signing with an independent record label.

In summer 2012, The White Tie Affair publicly announced that they were disbanding. Wallace worried that he would lose momentum if he waited for a long time before releasing solo material, so he released "Remember When" within a month of the band's breakup.

Composition

The song is about looking back and wanting to relive one's past. Wallace's inspiration for the song was an ex-girlfriend who broke up with him after his band began experiencing success. In an interview with ''USA Today'', he said that he hadn't spoken with the woman who inspired the song in three or four years, and that all he knew was that she was now married with a child.

The song's lyrics are characterized by an optimistic tone, focusing on the positive aspects of the relationship, with the first verse including the lyrics "As my future got bright, we started losing light, and I couldn't see that you were the one". He told ''USA Today'' that he considers the song to be a "celebration of that relationship, like 'remember when everything was amazing' and questioning why we ever said goodbye". In an interview with ''Beatweek'', he elaborated that the underlying message of the song is positive in that "Even if things don’t work out and I can't change them, I'm still glad it happened. And the worst case scenario is that you learn a lesson." Wallace played every instrument on the song, as well as co-producing it.

Reception

Critical

MTV has said that, “critics are going so far as to call him the male Katy Perry, a compliment if we ever heard one. Actually, we totally agree!” and called him a "one man dance party". iTunes listed the song among the best songs of 2012.

Commercial

The song entered the US Pop Airplay chart dated September 29, 2012, before attaining a peak position of number 25 on the chart dated March 2, 2013. It ultimately spent 22 weeks within the top 40, as well as four weeks on the Mainstream Top 40 Recurrents chart. On the chart dated March 16, 2013, it peaked at number two on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, an extension of the Billboard Hot 100. The song was regarded as more commercially successful than Wallace's work as part of The White Tie Affair.

Live performances

Wallace performed the song on VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live on November 13, 2012. It was also his national television debut. On January 23, 2013, he performed the song, along with "Keep Me Crazy", on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. On February 20, 2013, he performed the song on ''Live! with Kelly and Michael''.

Music video

The music video for the song was released on June 20, 2012. The music video was directed and produced by Justin Baldoni. In the music video, Wallace is performing at a house party. The story shows the aftermath of the party and Chris pushes rewind and tries to change the past to win back his ex-girlfriend. Much of the video includes footage played backwards. As of February 2013, the video had 1.27 million views on YouTube.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{Reflist, 30em

2012 debut singles
2012 songs
Songs written by Matt Rad