Two Is Better Than One

"Two Is Better Than One" is a song by the American rock band Boys Like Girls from their second studio album '' Love Drunk'' (2009). The song features American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was written by Martin Johnson and Swift. It was released for digital download on September 8, 2009, and was sent to mainstream radio in the United States on October 19, as the band's second official single from the album. On some advanced copies of the album sent to reviewers and members of the press, the song does not feature Swift, rather, Johnson handles all vocals.

The track was a commercial success. By December 2011, "Two Is Better Than One" had sold 1,508,000 copies in the United States alone. It additionally received significant international airplay, reaching number 18 on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100.

Composition

"Two Is Better Than One" was written by Martin Johnson and Taylor Swift, while production was handled by Brian Howes. The song is written in the key of C major with a swift tempo of 128 beats per minute.

Music video

The music video directed by Meiert Avis and Jeremy Alter, was released on December 10, 2009. The video features Erik Huffman from '' Survivor: China'' and Mika Combs from '' The Amazing Race 15''. Swift does not appear in the video, but her vocals are still heard. It shows the story of a couple's relationship (the couple being played by Huffman and Combs). The band are shown performing in an empty hall, starting with Johnson playing guitar alone before the rest of the band members walk in and join.

A music video e-Card was also released for the song.

Reception

"Two Is Better Than One" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. A positive response came from Michael Menachem of ''Billboard'' who stated, "Martin Johnson's falsetto complements Swift's sweet tone, and producer Brian Howes builds an orchestral arrangement around their vocals that would be well-suited to a climactic movie moment." However, a negative review came from Tim Sendra of AllMusic, which he described the track as "terrible" and "something Diane Warren would have shelved for being too trite and formulaic." Another negative response came from Gregory Robson of AbsolutePunk.net who felt that Swift's "contributions aren't as promising as one would expect." Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' remarked, "For some reason, they decided to delay her entrance until a minute into the song, arguably the worst decision in the history of decisions."

Accolades

Chart performance

"Two Is Better Than One" debuted at number 92 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It fell off the following week but re-entered at number 79 and rose the following week to number 64. For the week of January 9, 2010, the song then reached its peak at number 18 on the chart. It became Boys Like Girls' first top 20 single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming their biggest hit single to date, and Swift's eleventh top 20 single.

By December 2011, "Two Is Better Than One" had sold 1,508,000 copies in the U.S. alone, outselling other big Taylor Swift hits such as "Tim McGraw" and " Fifteen".Ask Billboard: What Are Your 2011 Favorites?
". billboard.com By Gary Trust. December 12, 2011. As of November 2017, the song has sold 1.7 million copies in the United States.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

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2009 songs
2009 singles
Boys Like Girls songs
Taylor Swift songs
Male–female vocal duets
Pop ballads
Rock ballads
Music videos directed by Meiert Avis
Songs written by Martin Johnson (musician)
2000s ballads
Songs written by Taylor Swift