"It Ends Tonight" 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

The All-American Rejects The All-American Rejects (often abbreviated as AAR) are an American rock band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1999.Move Along ''Move Along'' is the second studio album by the American rock band the All-American Rejects, released on July 12, 2005, by Interscope Records. It spawned three top 15 singles, which helped the album ship 3 million units to be certified triple ...

''. It was released on September 17, 2006, as the third and final single from the album.

Background and composition

"It Ends Tonight" was written by Nick Wheeler and

Tyson Ritter Tyson Jay Ritter (born April 24, 1984) is an American musician and actor. He is the lead vocalist, bassist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band The All-American Rejects. As an actor, Ritter appeared as himself on the seventeenth episode o ...

. Along with the title track, it was one of the last songs written for ''Move Along'' and as revealed by the band in an interview on ''

Soundstage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

'' is about a "dude" rather than addressed to a female love interest. The song utilizes a string section, with an arrangement by composer

Deborah Lurie Deborah Ruth Lurie (born March 9, 1974) is an American composer, arranger, and music producer. She has scored several films such as ''Sleepover (film), Sleepover'' (2004), ''An Unfinished Life'', ''Mozart and the Whale'', (both 2005), ''Sydney Wh ...

Reception

Critical reception

The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics.

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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."

Chart performance

"It Ends Tonight" peaked at No. 8 on the ''

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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, making it The All-American Rejects' highest charting song in the U.S and Australia, until the release of their single "

Gives You Hell "Gives You Hell" is a song by American rock band the All-American Rejects, released as the lead single from their third studio album, '' When the World Comes Down'' on September 30, 2008. The song is The All-American Rejects' most successful ...

" in 2008 which reached position No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in early 2009.

Music video

The music video for "It Ends Tonight" was directed by

Wayne Isham Wayne Isham (born December 2, 1958) is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists. Early life and education Isham was born on December 2, 1958 in Vinita, Oklahoma. He at ...

and shot in July 2006 in Moapa Indian Reservation in the

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, before premiering on ''

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 ...

'' 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.

Appearances in popular culture

"It Ends Tonight" is featured in the television shows '' Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County'' and ''

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'' as well as various commercials for TV shows such as '' One Tree Hill'' and ''

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''. The song has also made an appearance in the video game '' Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore''. The song is also used as the background music for the Surface Studio commercial, with

Julie Delpy Julie Delpy (; born 21 December 1969) is a French and American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, including '' Europa Eur ...

and

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

. The band performed the song on an episode of ''

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''. "It Ends Tonight" has also been covered by bands such as Overboard and

Joy Electric Joy Electric is the brand label for a series of electropop/synthpop productions by Ronnie Martin. Martin began producing music under the Joy Electric name in 1994, after the demise of Dance House Children, a band Ronnie was in with his brothe ...

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2005 songs 2006 singles 2000s ballads The All-American Rejects songs Song recordings produced by Howard Benson Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Rock ballads Interscope Records singles Songs written by Tyson Ritter Songs written by Nick Wheeler