"Say" is a song by John Mayer written for the

Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performanc ...

film ''

The Bucket List ''The Bucket List'' is a 2007 American buddy adventure comedy-drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The main plot follows two terminally ill men on their road t ...

'' in 2007. The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was released as a single on November 20, 2007, and was the first commercial single in Mayer's career that was not originally released on one of his albums but added to the special edition re-release of his album ''

Continuum Continuum may refer to: * Continuum (measurement), theories or models that explain gradual transitions from one condition to another without abrupt changes Mathematics * Continuum (set theory), the real line or the corresponding cardinal number ...

''. In the US, it is Mayer's highest-charting single, reaching number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 2008. The song earned Mayer his record-tying fourth and final

Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

Overview

The music video for "Say" was directed by music video director Vem. The song is also referred to as "Say (What You Need to Say)" as this is the main line from the chorus of the song.Mayer, John (November 15, 2007)
"Say"
JohnMayer.com Retrieved November 19, 2007. The song was also the first "assignment" song that Mayer had ever written. He notes that when writing the song "I don't know how much harder it gets than to see a beautiful, bittersweet movie and then have to write a song that matches the tone." Mayer posted the song on his official blog on November 16.

Critical reception

Chuck Taylor of ''Billboard'' called "Say" a "lilting, bittersweet

" and said that it "is bound to be another staple for the AC.html" ;"title="Adult_contemporary_music.html" ;"title="nowiki/> AC">Adult_contemporary_music.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Adult_contemporary_music">ACformat." In_2009,_the_song_won_a_Grammy_Award.html" ;"title="Adult contemporary music">AC">Adult_contemporary_music.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Adult contemporary music">ACformat." In 2009, the song won a Grammy Award">Adult contemporary music">AC">Adult_contemporary_music.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Adult contemporary music">ACformat." In 2009, the song won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards. It was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Commercial and chart performance

In the US, "Say" peaked at number twelve in May 2008 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chartThe Billboard Hot 100: Say
''Billboard''. July 26, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008. and number eight on the

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally starte ...

chart, surpassing his debut single, " No Such Thing", as his highest-peaking Hot 100 single. It was certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, and has sold over 2 million copies in the US. It also peaked at number seventeen on the

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 ...

chart Pop 100: Say ''Billboard''. July 26, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008. and number six on the

Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

chart.Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
''Billboard''. May 24, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2008. "Say" debuted on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number fifty-six, and climbed to its peak of number forty-seven the following week.Top 50 Singles Chart – Australian Record Industry Association
/ref> On the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...

, it peaked at number twenty-seven.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2007 singles 2007 songs Columbia Records singles Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance John Mayer songs Songs written by John Mayer Songs written for films