"Can't Deny Me" is a song by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

. The song was released on March 10, 2018, as a digital download exclusively on Pearl Jam's ''Ten Club'' fan club, and was released as a single via

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

and digital download on March 12, 2018. "Can't Deny Me" peaked at No. 11 on ''

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 advertis ...

''s

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 a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

chart. Originally announced as a track from the band's then-untitled forthcoming album, the song was left off ''

Gigaton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the shor ...

'' (2020).

Release

Pearl Jam posted a 25-second preview of "Can't Deny Me" on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

on March 10, 2018. The song was released as a surprise download to Pearl Jam's Ten Club members on the same day. It was also streamed on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...

's Pearl Jam Radio. On March 12, 2018, the single was made available for streaming and digital download. The song was uploaded to the band's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on March 14, 2018. Bassist

Jeff Ament Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, ...

created the single's artwork in collaboration with Pearl Jam's longtime videographer, Kevin Shuss.

Live performances

Pearl Jam performed the song for the first time during their concert at

Movistar Arena Movistar Arena refers to: * Movistar Arena (Madrid), an indoor arena in Spain * Movistar Arena (Bogotá), an indoor arena in Colombia ** Movistar Arena (TransMilenio), a bus rapid transit station near the arena * Movistar Arena (Buenos Aires), an ...

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

on March 13, 2018. Lead singer

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

, speaking in Spanish, dedicated the song to "the incredible students in Florida and the United States, who survived a terrible tragedy. We will all be protesting tomorrow throughout the United States," Vedder said about the nationwide school walkout in protest of gun violence that took place on March 14, 2018. While introducing the song at Pearl Jam's concert in Amsterdam on June 13, 2018, Vedder sarcastically told the crowd that the song "has nothing to do with

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

", and "I wouldn't want to waste my breath."

Personnel

– lead vocals *

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season (band), Ma ...

– lead guitar *

Stone Gossard Stone Carpenter Gossard (born July 20, 1966) is an American musician and songwriter who serves as the rhythm guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the ...

– rhythm guitar *

– bass *

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986, appearing on each of the ...

– drums

Chart positions

References

External links

* *
"Can't Deny Me"
on Setlist.fm {{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Pearl Jam songs Songs written by Eddie Vedder Songs written by Mike McCready Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Monkeywrench Records singles