"Long Shot" is a song by American singer

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

from her fourth studio album, All I Ever Wanted (2009). It was written by

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing on Wilson Phillips' debut and sophomore albums, '' Wilson Phillips'' and '' Shadows and Light'', ...

, and

Matt Thiessen Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-born American musician known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released eight full-lengt ...

for inclusion on Perry's debut studio album, ''

One of the Boys ''One of the Boys'' is the second studio album by American singer Katy Perry. It was released on June 17, 2008, by Capitol Records. She collaborated on the album with producers Greg Wells, Dr. Luke, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart, Max ...

'' (2008). The song was ultimately left off the album; however, Clarkson later recorded it alongside the outtake " I Do Not Hook Up". Clarkson's rendition of the song was produced by

Howard Benson Howard Michael Benson (born July 20, 1956) is an American record producer from Havertown, Pennsylvania. He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2007 and 2008, among two wins and 16 total nominati ...

. A

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song, it lyrically discusses a couple's willingness to enter a relationship despite its unlikelihood of success. Music critics praised "Long Shot" as an album highlight and noted the contrast between Perry's original recording and Clarkson's rendition. While it was not released as a single, it received heavy radio airplay in Canada. It reached a peak position of number 33 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 ...

'' Canada Hot AC chart. The song was included on the

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

of Clarkson's 2009 concert tour, the All I Ever Wanted Tour.

Background and recording

The song was written by

, and

as a track for an unreleased album by Perry conceived sometime between the recording of '' Katy Hudson'' (2001) and ''

'' (2008). When Perry was dropped from the

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

label and the project was scrapped, "Long Shot" and " I Do Not Hook Up" were given to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

for Clarkson to record for her then-upcoming album, ''All I Ever Wanted''. Clarkson's rendition was recorded by Mike Plotnikoff in 2008 at Bay7 Studios, Sparky Dark Studio, and

Sunset Sound Studios Sunset Sound Recorders is a recording studio in Hollywood, California, United States, located at 6650 Sunset Boulevard. Background The Sunset Sound Recorders complex was created by Walt Disney's Director of Recording, Tutti Camarata, from a co ...

, all located in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Composition

"Long Shot" is a

song with a duration of three minutes and thirty-six seconds (3:36). According to the digital sheet music published by MusicNotes.com through Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., it is composed in the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

and is set to a moderately fast tempo of 114 BPM. Clarkson's

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

spans from C₄—C₅. The song's instrumentation consists of

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, which were performed by

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American drummer. A member of punk rock band the Vandals since 1989, Freese has also been a member of new wave band Devo since 1996. He was previously a member of hard rock band Guns N' Roses ...

, Paul Bushnell, and

Phil X Theofilos Xenidis (born March 10, 1966), better known as Phil X, is a Canadian musician. Since 2013, he has played lead guitar with Bon Jovi and officially replaced former lead guitarist Richie Sambora in 2016. Career Early bands and session wor ...

, respectively. The song's lyrics explore the inherent risk of starting or continuing a romantic relationship. Some critics have suggested the song implies a flawed relationship, which Clarkson is fighting to keep together. Elements in the lyrics such as the lines "The chance is we won't make it / But I know if I don't take it there's no chance" deliver a message of perseverance and taking risks to reach your goals.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised the song and "I Do Not Hook Up" for "illustrating why larksons a better pop star" than co-writer

." Ann Powers of ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'' also noted that Clarkson "removes the cartoon mannerisms" characteristic of Perry's songs in her version of "Long Shot". On the other hand, Claire Lobenfeld of ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' was critical of Clarkson for what he deemed to be her mimicking Perry's "silly and saucy" style. Daniel Brockman of ''

The Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the now defunct ''Boston Phoenix'', '' ...

'' and Evan Sawdey of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' both cited "Long Shot" as a highlight of the album, with the latter describing the song as a "sturdy, memorable pop number" that succeeds at playing it safe in a "fun" way.

Commercial performance

In February 2010, two Hot AC stations in Canada began playing "Long Shot" as a potential radio single, leading it to enter the New and Active category for the week ending March 6, 2010 with 82 plays. The album's fourth official single, " All I Ever Wanted", impacted Hot AC radio on March 6, 2010. "Long Shot" reached a peak airplay position of 33, in May 2010, before "All I Ever Wanted" entered the chart.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''All I Ever Wanted''

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

. Personnel * Lead vocals – Kelly Clarkson * Production, keyboards, programming – Howard Benson * Assistance (with production) – Graham Hope * Drums – Josh Freese * Bass – Paul Bushnell * Guitar – Phil X * Production manager – Sam Watters * Recording – Mike Plotnikoff * Digital editing – Paul Decarli * Mixing – Serban Ghenea * Assistance (with mixing) – Tim Roberts * Songwriting – Katy Perry, Glen Ballard, Matt Thiessen

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2009 songs Katy Perry songs Kelly Clarkson songs Songs written by Glen Ballard Songs written by Katy Perry Songs written by Matt Thiessen Song recordings produced by Howard Benson