"It's Been Awhile" is a song by American rock 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, an ...

. It was released on March 27, 2001, as the lead single from their third studio album, ''

Break the Cycle ''Break the Cycle'' is the third studio album by American rock band Staind, released through Elektra Entertainment and Flip Records in 2001. It is Staind's most successful album to date and was the album that broke them into the mainstream. It ...

'' (2001). The song is Staind's most successful and is their best-known song, becoming a number five hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in October 2001—their only song to reach the top 10. It spent a second-best 20 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard''

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chart Whitburn, Joel (2004). ''The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits'', 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 595. (behind "

Loser Loser or Losers may refer to: *A person who experiences failure *The unsuccessful social class in winner and loser culture Film and television * ''Loser'', a 1996 film directed by Kirk Harris * ''Loser'' (film), a 2000 movie starring Jason B ...

" by 3 Doors Down) and a then-record 16 weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. Worldwide, the single became a top-20 hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The song was featured as a playable track on the

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video game ''

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''.

Background

Aaron Lewis originally wrote this song around 1996 along with " Outside" 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 ''

''.

Reception

Eric Aiese of '' Billboard'' 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 had its world premiere on MTV's Total Request Live 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. The video was directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst.

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 and certifications

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