"When I'm Gone" is the first single from

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...

's self-titled third studio album, ''

''. It was released via

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

and lala.com on October 29, 2007, in conjunction with a live webchat from the band.

History

A 25-second preview of the song was premiered on October 24, 2007 on simpleplan.com. The full song was premiered on simpleplan.com on October 29, 2007. It was done so in conjunction with a

webchat Online chat is any direct text-, audio- or video-based (webcams), one-on-one or one-to-many (group) chat (formally also known as synchronous conferencing), using tools such as instant messengers, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), talkers and possibly ...

with the band members, who answered fan questions during the chat. The song was made available on

the same day and the album was available for preorder on lala.com the following day (with a download of the single immediately available).

Music video

The band flew to

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on November 8, 2007 and filmed the video. It was filmed on

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and then in a

soundstage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

outside

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filmed a cameo. A 40-second pre-production preview of the video was aired on '' TRL'' and added to Simple Plan's website on November 6, 2007. The video was premiered on MTV.com on December 10, 2007, and

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

on December 11. Frank Borin and the band directed the video. The music video has been available through the band's official channel on

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since December 13, 2007 and has since gotten over 17 million views as of December 2013 The music video is about a young woman, played by Zoe Myers, who drives around town to cope with her recent breakup with a former lover, played by Bouvier. She has not got over him, which makes her see him everywhere she goes. In the end, she freaks out and calls Bouvier. Bouvier sees who is calling and ignores the call and continues to enjoy his bottle of beer. Scenes with the band playing against a black backdrop are shown throughout the video.

Reception

The song received a lot of airplay in 2007, making it the most successful single from the album. The song also received positive reviews from critics. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' called it "a seize-the-day anthem with a cathartic refrain". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' in their review of the album recommended downloading "When I'm Gone".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Track listing

References

{{Authority control 2007 singles Simple Plan songs Songs written by Danja (record producer) Song recordings produced by Danja (record producer) Songs written by Pierre Bouvier Songs written by Chuck Comeau Songs written by Arnold Lanni 2007 songs Lava Records singles Atlantic Records singles