"What I Wouldn't Do" is a song performed by Canadian singer-songwriter
Serena Ryder, which was released as a single in November 2012. The song was written by Ryder and
Jerrod Bettis for Ryder's fifth studio album, ''
Harmony
In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...
''. The song was released as the second single from the album in Canada. The song was featured in a 2013 episode of ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'' and ''
Rookie Blue
''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police procedural television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, and aired on Global in ...
'', however, release of the single in the United States was delayed due to the success of Serena's previous single "
Stompa".
Lyrics and composition
Lyrically, the track is a
love song
A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...
in which Ryder claims there is nothing she wouldn't do for her lover.
Critical reception
"What I Wouldn't Do" received mixed to favorable reviews, with
Ben Rayner of the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'' praising the track's "crossover appeal", while Aaron Swanbergson of the National Music Center claimed the "catchy pop" song was "destined for radio fame". In contrast, music blog Snob's Music called the song "a blasé mid-tempo number that fails to put any focus on Ryder's growled 'don't piss me off' vocals."
Music video
The official music video for the track premiered on June 22, 2013 on
MTV Canada's website, after a short preview was released the day before.
Artists for Feel Out Loud
In 2023, the song was covered as a
supergroup charity single, to benefit
Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health. The cover also interpolated parts of
Leela Gilday's song "North Star Calling", as well as featuring some lines translated into French.
In addition to both Ryder and Gilday, other artists participating in the Artists for Feel Out Loud recording were
Alessia Cara
Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploading acoustic covers of songs such as " Love Yourself" and ...
,
Roy Woods,
Johnny Orlando,
Boslen,
Tobi,
Jade LeMac,
Crash Adams,
Jon Vinyl, GRAE, Gracie Ella, BLUE WILL, memyself&vi,
Tafari Anthony, Sahara,
Fefe Dobson,
Adria Kain, Baby girl,
Jully Black, LOKRE,
Shawnee Kish,
Stereos,
Billy Raffoul, Katherine Li,
Jessia,
JP Saxe,
MacKenzie Porter,
Ryland James,
Rêve,
Preston Pablo, Ashley Sienna,
Marie-Mai,
Jonathan Roy,
2Frères,
Dominique Fils-Aimé, Izzy S,
Jeanick Fournier,
Naya Ali, Zach Zoya,
The Reklaws,
Wild Rivers,
LOONY,
Haviah Mighty, Nicolina,
Shawn Desman,
Sacha,
TALK, Lilyisthatyou,
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...
,
Donovan Woods,
Jamie Fine and
Tyler Shaw.
[Brent Furdyk]
"Feel Out Loud: Alessia Cara, Serena Ryder & More Canadian Artists Collaborate On New Single Promoting Youth Mental Health Initiative"
'' Entertainment Tonight Canada'', March 2, 2023.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
2012 singles
2012 songs
Serena Ryder songs
EMI Records singles
Songs written by Jerrod Bettis
Songs written by Serena Ryder
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