"Uninvited" is a song by Canadian-American recording artist and songwriter

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two ...

, released as a single from the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

of '' City of Angels'' in February 1998, becoming Morissette's first new recording since her international debut album, '' Jagged Little Pill'' (1995). Morissette wrote the song and co-produced it with

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

. "Uninvited" is driven by four piano notes and builds to an instrumental climax, and haunting atmosphere accompanied by cryptic lyrics. Because the song was not released as a physical single in the United States, it was not allowed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 due to rules in place at the time. It instead appeared on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart, peaking at number four in June 1998. In Canada, "Uninvited" reached number seven on the '' RPM'' Top singles chart. Elsewhere, the single peaked at number one in El Salvador and number six in Iceland. In 1999, the song won two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Best Female Rock Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for works (songs or albums) conta ...

and Best Rock Song.

Background and release

After the massive success of her breakthrough album, '' Jagged Little Pill'' (1995) (which spawned the worldwide hits, "

You Oughta Know "You Oughta Know" is a song by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released as the lead single from her third studio album, ''Jagged Little Pill'' (1995) on July 6, 1995. After releasing two studio albums, Morissette left MCA Records Canada and ...

", "

Ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into d ...

", "

Head over Feet "Head over Feet" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, taken from her third (and first outside Canada) studio album '' Jagged Little Pill'' (1995). Written by Alanis and Glen Ballard, and produced by Ballard, it was release ...

" and "

You Learn "You Learn" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette from her third studio album, ''Jagged Little Pill'' (1995). It was written by Morissette and Glen Ballard, the album's producer. Maverick and Warner Bros. Records released th ...

"), Morissette was considered one of the biggest music stars in the world, and many fans anxiously awaited a follow-up album. That would be '' Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie'', released in November 1998; however, she released "Uninvited" as the lead single from the '' City of Angels''

prior to that. "Uninvited", was released to American radio stations in March 1998 and was still receiving substantial radio airplay by the following August.Rosen, Craig
"'City' A Set-Up For New Alanis, Goo Goo Dolls Albums"

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds o ...

. August 27, 1998. Retrieved November 11, 2006. An internet and radio leak of "Uninvited" in early March forced Warner Bros. to release the entire soundtrack to radio before it became available in stores. According to a publicity manager for Warner Music Canada, the measure was "an inconvenience" taken to stop radio stations from playing low-quality versions of the song downloaded from the internet. Following the song's leak, the

Recording Industry Association of America 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/ ...

(RIAA) took down several websites featuring the song. "Uninvited" was due for release on March 31, but was leaked to radio on March 6. ''Newsbytes'', a computer industry news service, reported that fast-working fans in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, upon hearing the song on KROQ, taped the track and uploaded it onto their websites. Several sites were involved, according to ''Newsbytes'', including ones based in Los Angeles,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. The unauthorized material was removed, and in several cases, the whole site was shut down. The action was part of a campaign by the RIAA to stop unauthorized reproductions of recordings on the internet. "Uninvited" was not included on ''Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie'', but a demo version was included as a bonus track on the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

n and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

ese releases of the album as well as a B-side in the UK

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any s ...

for "

Thank U "Thank U" is a song by Canadian-American recording artist and songwriter Alanis Morissette from her fourth studio album, ''Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie'' (1998). The song was written by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, who produced her ...

". The compilation '' Alanis Morissette: The Collection'' (2005) was Morissette's first album to include the song in its original studio format; she had performed an acoustic version of the song during her 1999 ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' appearance, which was released as the album '' Alanis Unplugged''. An acoustic version of the song was also included on the video album '' Live in the Navajo Nation''.

Composition

"Uninvited" is driven by four piano notes and builds to an instrumental climax. According to one critic, "Uninvited" is a moody song that contains an "indelible melody and haunting atmosphere" accompanied by cryptic lyrics. It is written in the key of D mixolydian with a tempo of 66 beats per minute.

Reception

"Uninvited" was nominated for three

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, Best Rock Song and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television, winning the former two categories. It also won an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

Award for Most Performed Song from Motion Pictures and received a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. Additionally, the song entered '' About.coms "Top 10 Alanis Morissette Lyrics" list at number 10, with Bill Lamb picking the lyrics, ''"Like anyone would be, I am flattered by your fascination with me, Like any hot blooded woman, I have simply wanted an object to crave"'' as the best. Although never officially released as a single to retail outlets (which prevented it from charting on 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 adverti ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

), the song became a hit for Morissette. "Uninvited" was Morissette's fourth number-one single on the ''Billboard''

Top 40 Mainstream Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart and it reached the top five on the

Adult Top 40 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 ...

and the top 40 on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. It became a success in El Salvador, peaking at number one, becoming Morissette's first chart-topper there. Worldwide, "Uninvited" was a commercial success selling over 7 million copies.

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

accompanied the single's release, but three videos of performances of "Uninvited" were released: the first one at the 1999 Grammy Awards, another on the '' Feast on Scraps'' (2002) release, and another on the extended cut of '' VH1 Storytellers: Alanis Morissette''. This performance was not included in the original ''Storytellers'' broadcast in 1999.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notable covers

Freemasons version

English band

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

recorded a version of "Uninvited" featuring British singer and songwriter

Bailey Tzuke Bailey Tzuke (born Bailey Jean Muggleton-Tzuke; 28 June 1987) is an English singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of the singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke and record producer Paul Muggleton. Tzuke has toured with and performed backing vocals for ...

for their 2007 album, ''

Unmixed ''Unmixed'' is the second album by house production duo Freemasons. It was released on 29 October 2007, with the lead single "Uninvited" being released one week earlier. The album is unique, as unlike most DJ/Producers, the tracks are all unmi ...

''. This version experienced success in the United Kingdom and European markets. To date, the song is the band's highest-charting single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number eight on the

Official Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for three weeks, topping the

UK Dance Chart The UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synthpop) in record s ...

, and receiving a Silver certification from the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

for selling more than 200,000 copies. The single experienced the most commercial success in the

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

region of Belgium, reaching number two on the

Ultratop 50 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

in February 2008.

Charts

=Weekly charts

=Year-end charts

Certifications

Other covers

Japanese rock band

Coldrain are a Japanese rock band from Nagoya, Japan, who were formed in 2007. The band combines melodic singing with screams typical of the post-hardcore genre. Although the band is Japanese, all of their songs are written in English. The lineup consi ...

recorded a cover of "Uninvited" for their 2017 album, '' Fateless''. It would put an unusual twist on the song, adding in a 45-second guitar solo from the middle, towards the end of the song. Australian singers

Greg Gould ''Australia's Got Talent'' is an Australian reality television show, based on the original UK series, to find new talent. The seventh season aired on the Nine Network from 11 August 2013 until 10 November 2013. Kyle Sandilands returned as a judg ...

and Damien Leith covered the song for Gould's album ''1998''. American rock band Earshot released a cover version on May 15, 2020. American rock band Red Sun Rising released a cover of the song as a single in 2017. American DJ

Dave Audé Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American DJ, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart. He has done prod ...

recorded a cover of this song with singer-songwriter

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chri ...

and released it on September 2, 2022.

References

{{Authority control Alanis Morissette songs 1998 singles 1998 songs 2007 singles Freemasons (band) songs Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy Award for Best Rock Song Maverick Records singles Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs written by Alanis Morissette Songs written for films Universal Records singles