"It's Been Awhile" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and ...

, released on March 27, 2001, as the lead single from their third studio album, '' Break the Cycle'' (2001). The song is Staind's most successful, becoming a number-five hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in October 2001. It spent a second-best 20 weeks at number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...

chart (behind " Loser" by

3 Doors Down 3 Doors Down is an American Rock music, rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi that formed in 1996. The band's music is described as post-grunge, alternative rock, and hard rock. The band's 2000 debut single "Kryptonite (3 Doors Down song), Kr ...

) and a then-record 16 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. Worldwide, the single became a top-20 hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Background

Aaron Lewis Aaron Francis Lewis (born April 13, 1972) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the alternative metal band Staind, with whom he released eight studio albums. Since 2010, he has p ...

originally wrote this song around 1996 along with "

Outside Outside or Outsides may refer to: * Wilderness Books and magazines * ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras * ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, theatre and TV * Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a television network * '' ...

" slightly prior to the release of '' Dysfunction'' and performed it with a short-lived acoustic side project called J-CAT, before abruptly shelving it until 2000 during the recording sessions of '' Break the Cycle''.

Reception

Eric Aiese of ''

'' reviewed the song favorably, saying that the group handles the ballad well and packs "a lot of punch into the cut." Aiese said that the song "may be the group's greatest splash yet."

Music video

The music video was directed by

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American nu metal band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto (drummer), John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers (bassist), Sam ...

frontman

Fred Durst William Frederick Durst (born Frederick Allen Mayne III; August 20, 1970) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, and director. He is the frontman and lyricist of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, formed in 1994, with whom he has release ...

. It had its world premiere on MTV's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...

'' program on April 13, 2001. The music video begins with Aaron Lewis going through some old photographs, one of which is a picture of his wife. The video switches between him writing a letter to his wife and the band performing in a room full of candles. There are brief shots of Aaron alone in the streets and looking at himself in the mirror while having second thoughts. Throughout the video, Aaron is seen smoking cigarettes. At the end of the video, one of those cigarettes falls onto the floor and burns down his apartment.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "It's Been Awhile" (clean edit) – 3:51 # "Suffocate" – 3:17 # "It's Been Awhile" (album version) – 4:25 # "It's Been Awhile" (enhanced video) UK CD2 # "It's Been Awhile" (live version) – 4:40 # "Spleen" – 4:40 # "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 European CD single # "It's Been Awhile" (edit) – 3:56 # "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 Australian maxi-CD single # "It's Been Awhile" (edit) – 3:56 # "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 # "Suffocate" – 3:17

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2001 singles 2001 songs Elektra Records singles Flip Records (1994) singles Music videos directed by Fred Durst Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Josh Abraham Songs written by Aaron Lewis Songs written by Mike Mushok Staind songs