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| "It Ends Tonight" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byThe All-American Rejects | ||||
| from the albumMove Along | ||||
| Released | September 17, 2006 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Howard Benson | |||
| The All-American Rejects singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "It Ends Tonight" onYouTube | ||||
"It Ends Tonight" is a song by Americanrock bandThe All-American Rejects from their second studio albumMove Along. It was released on September 17, 2006, as the third and final single from the album.
"It Ends Tonight" was written by Nick Wheeler andTyson Ritter. Along with the title track, it was one of the last songs written forMove Along and as revealed by the band in an interview onSoundstage is about a "dude" rather than addressed to a female love interest.
The song utilizes a string section, with an arrangement by composerDeborah Lurie.
The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics.About.com commented:"'It Ends Tonight' will provide a suitably dreamy sounding late evening mood for the band's eager fans, but it fails to reach the distinctiveness of their previous hits 'Dirty Little Secret' and 'Move Along'. The lyrics kick off in intriguing fashion with 'Your subtleties / They strangle me,' but that is as good as it gets. Ultimately, it's a grandly ambiguous tune about the end of a generic relationship."
Contactmusic.com responded positively to the track, saying that they loved hearing the band "take a break from the perfect guitar power-pop of recent singles and show their softer side with a piano-led ballad. The track shows off singer Tyson Ritter's powerful vocals and has provided their legion of fans with a perfect lighters-up pause in the set."
"It Ends Tonight" peaked at No. 8 on theBillboardHot 100, making it The All-American Rejects' highest charting song in the U.S and Australia, until the release of their single "Gives You Hell" in 2008 which reached position No. 4 on theBillboard Hot 100 in early 2009.
The music video for "It Ends Tonight" was directed byWayne Isham and shot in July 2006 inMoapa Indian Reservation in theNevada desert, before premiering onTotal Request Live a month later on August 28. The video portrays the band throwing an impromptu concert/fireworks show near a truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Prior to the performance, a road-weary Tyson Ritter is seen shopping at a nearby fireworks store, stocking up on a huge supply before hauling them out to the desert in his shopping cart and releasing them. The fireworks also serve as a backdrop for the concert, and the audience joins in setting them off, including an attractive brunette Ritter had met at the fireworks shop earlier that night. Morning breaks as the band sings the lyric "When darkness turns to light," and the band members are seen walking off into the distance.
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"It Ends Tonight" is featured in the television showsLaguna Beach: The Real Orange County andAll My Children as well as various commercials for TV shows such asOne Tree Hill andBattlestar Galactica. The song has also made an appearance in the video gameKaraoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore. The song is also used as the background music for theSurface Studio commercial, withJulie Delpy andScarlett Johansson.
The band performed the song on an episode ofSmallville.
"It Ends Tonight" has also been covered by bands such asOverboard andJoy Electric.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "It Ends Tonight" (radio edit) | 3:43 |
| 2. | "Dirty Little Secret" (live from the Wiltern) | 3:10 |
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 17, 2006 | Contemporary hit radio | Interscope | [15] |
| September 19, 2006 | CD | |||
| United Kingdom | September 25, 2006 | Polydor |
