"Anything" is a song recorded by Canadian

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band Hedley for their fifth studio album, '' Wild Life'' (2013). The song was written and produced by Jacob Hoggard and Brian Howes, with additional writing by Jason Van Poederooyen. It was released to Canadian radio on August 19, 2013, through Universal Music Canada as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

. "Anything" was serviced to

alternative radio Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

in the US through

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

in November 2013 as the band's fifth American single. Upon release, "Anything" was met with mixed reviews from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s, but performed well commercially. The song peaked at number 5 on the

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and reached the top 10 on three national airplay charts. It also charted at 18 in New Zealand. In September 2016, "Anything" was certified 4× Platinum by

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, making it the band's fastest and best-selling single to date. The group performed the song at the 2013

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half-time show.

Composition

"Anything" is an upbeat pop song with a duration of three minutes and eleven seconds. It is composed in the key of G and set to a BPM of 76. Its lyrics convey a message of defiance and believing that one can do anything they set their mind to, regardless what people may tell them or expect of them. With its anthemic nature, "Anything" expands upon themes found in previous Hedley singles including " Invincible" and "One Life". Lead singer and co-writer Jacob Hoggard explained that the song is, to him, about finding the strength to rise above life's hardships.

Critical reception

Emma Garland at ''Alter The Press!'' gave the song a mixed review, feeling that although "Anything" is "insanely catchy", the "''uh-uh, fuck that''"

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

is "awkward" and "quickly gets irritating". Philip Lickley at UK music blog ''All-Noise'' described the song as "a stadium-friendly chanting song... with a strong message" that "screams out for radio play", and rated it a 7 out of 10. The single was nominated for two awards at the 2014 Juno Awards: Video of the Year and Producer of the Year.

Music video

The music video for "Anything" was directed by JP Poliquin and was shot at The Great Hall in

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. It premiered on the band's

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channel on September 10, 2013. Speaking about the video, Hoggard stated, "In the spirt of the concept of the song, we were like, 'Hang on, f--k, this, let's just do whatever the f--k we want. I think that would almost be the truest form of expressing the sentimentality of that song in video form.'"

Awards and nominations

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2013 singles Hedley (band) songs Universal Music Group singles Capitol Records singles Songs written by Jacob Hoggard Songs written by Brian Howes