"So Called Life" is a single by the Canadian

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

Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 originally as "Groundswell" and played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1995 and regrouping in 1997. ...

. It was released on November 29, 2021 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the band's seventh studio album ''

Explosions An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

''. The song was available digitally on music streaming services on December 1, 2021. "So Called Life" was the most played song on rock radio in 2022.

Composition and lyrics

"So Called Life" has been described by critics as a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

song. The track runs at 160 BPM and is in the key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

. It runs for three minutes and 26 seconds. The song was written by Matt Walst,

Brad Walst Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario in 1992 originally as "Groundswell" and played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1995 and regrouping in 1997. Based in T ...

Barry Stock Barry Stock (born April 24, 1974) is the lead guitarist of the Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. Biography Stock joined Three Days Grace in 2003, shortly after the band's self-titled debut studio album was released. Stock's addition in Thre ...

Neil Sanderson Neil Christopher Sanderson (born December 17, 1978) is the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. He cites his influences as John Bonham, Danny Carey, and Stewart Copeland. He is also the co-founder ...

and

Ted Bruner TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

while

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 ...

handled the production of the song. The song was written around March 2020 and according to bassist

, the song was originally suppose to be a "cool kind of party song." Brad Walst spoke about "So Called Life" in an interview with Jave Patterson of ''Two Doods Reviews'' explaining about how the song was written.

Music video

The music video for "So Called Life" premiered on November 29, 2021 and it was directed by Jon Vulpine. Speaking about the music video, director Jon Vulpine explained how the video came together. As of November 2022, the music video for "So Called Life" has over 10 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Chart performance

"So Called Life" debuted on the

Canada Rock The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart at number 41 and later peaked at number 7 on the chart. The song also reached 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 ...

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart at number one, topping the chart for four consectutive weeks, and on the

Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

chart at number 29. This marks the band's 16th number-one song on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, tying the record for the most number-ones with

Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of Dreve, his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original l ...

and earned 796,000 streams in the US. It also peaked at number 11 on the

Alternative Digital Song Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

chart.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Awards and nominations

Release history

References

{{Three Days Grace 2021 songs 2021 singles Three Days Grace songs RCA Records singles Song recordings produced by Howard Benson Songs written by Barry Stock Songs written by Neil Sanderson Songs written by Ted Bruner Songs about the COVID-19 pandemic