"Can't Slow Down" is a song recorded by Canadian pop rock band Hedley for their sixth studio album ''Hello'' (2015). It was written by lead singer

Jacob Hoggard Jacob William Hoggard (born July 9, 1984) is a Canadian former musician who was the lead singer for the pop rock band Hedley. Hoggard competed on the second season of ''Canadian Idol'' in 2004, where he placed third. In 2018, Hoggard was arr ...

with Jarrett Holmes and

Brian Howes Brian Howes, also known as Howes, is a Canadian songwriter and record producer who has found success within a wide range of genres, including his work with Puddle of Mudd and Simple Plan. Career Howes played in a British Columbia band, Young Gu ...

, and was produced by Howes, Hoggard, and Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen with additional production from Holmes. The song was first released to digital retailers on October 2, 2015 as the record's first

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

and was later serviced to radio on August 25, 2016 as the fourth and final official single. Upon its initial release, "Can't Slow Down" entered the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

at number 94. After its release as a single, it reached a new peak of 43 and has also impacted multiple airplay charts. It has been described as the band's "most personal" song to date.

Content

"Can't Slow Down" is an

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

song with a "chilled vibe" and "deeply personal" lyrics that describe "the dark side of fame." Inspired by Hoggard's struggle to balance his personal relationships with his celebrity status, the song is "the most personal, honest look at the realities of life in the fast lane," according to a statement Hoggard made to

Postmedia Network Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in En ...

. ''Toronto Paradise'' magazine labelled the song a "stand out track" on the album for being highly produced without coming across as "too try hard."

Commercial reception

"Can't Slow Down" debuted at number 94 on the

chart dated October 24, 2015 from digital sales and streaming following the song's promotional release. Following its release as a single, the song reached a new peak of 43 on the chart dated January 21, 2017. It has surpassed the peak position of previous single "Lost Control" at

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

radio, reaching 11 on the

Canada AC The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

chart and earning the band their second AC top-20 from ''Hello''. "Can't Slow Down" has also reached 11 and 8 on the

Canada CHR/Top 40 The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

and

Canada Hot AC The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

airplay charts, respectively, so far.

Music video

An audio visualizer for the song was uploaded to the band's

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

account on October 2, 2015 accompanying the song's digital release. The official music video for "Can't Slow Down", co-directed by Jacob Hoggard and Matt Leaf, premiered August 31, 2016. Hoggard told

ET Canada ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...

that the video represents "a contrast between two worlds" and that this duality is meant to convey "what life can be like being pulled from opposite ends, needing to be a lot of different things a lot of the time." This video marks the third collaboration between Hoggard and Leaf, following the videos for "

Heaven in Our Headlights "Heaven in Our Headlights" is a song by recorded by Canadian pop rock band Hedley for their fifth studio album, '' Wild Life''. The song was issued to radio as the third official single from the album on June 17, 2014, while the music video premi ...

" and "

Hello Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich Cou ...

". An acoustic video for the song premiered September 23, 2016.

Awards and nominations

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''Hello'' album liner notes. ;Recording * Recorded and mixed at Van Howes Studio (

Studio City, CA Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 19 ...

) * Mastered at Sterling Sound (

New York City, NY New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

) ;Personnel * Vocals –

Background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

– Chris Crippin,

, Tommy Mac, Dave Rosin * Guitars – Jacob Hoggard, Brian Howes, Dave Rosin * Bass – Tommy Mac * Drums – Chris Crippin * Piano – Jacob Hoggard * Keyboards – Jacob Hoggard, Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen *

Programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

– Jacob Hoggard, Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen * Percussion – Jacob Hoggard * Production – Jacob Hoggard, Brian Howes, Jason "JVP" Van Poederooyen ** Additional production – Jarrett Holmes * Songwriting – Jacob Hoggard, Jarrett Holmes, Brian Howes

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2015 songs 2016 singles Hedley (band) songs Universal Music Group singles Songs written by Jacob Hoggard Songs written by Brian Howes