"Shadow" is the second single by American singer and songwriter Ashlee Simpson, taken from her debut album, Autobiography (2004). The single peaked at number 57 in the United States, becoming Simpson's second Billboard Hot 100 entry; it also peaked at number 31 in Australia.
"Shadow" was written by Ashlee Simpson, Kara DioGuardi and producer John Shanks. It is three minutes and fifty-seven seconds long, and is the third track on Autobiography.
The song is about feelings Simpson had (when she was about 15 or 16 years old), according to one interview[1] of living in the shadow of the dreams and accomplishments of her famous older sister, Jessica, and finding her own identity. Although "Shadow" is noted for having somewhat dark lyrics,[2] it concludes with a positive message, as Simpson sings that "everything's cool now" and "the past is in the past." Simpson has said that it is "about loving yourself and coming to terms with who you are";[3] also, in an interview on Live with Regis and Kelly on September 22, 2004, Simpson explained the song's meaning:
...a lot of people think that 'Shadow' is about my sister, but it's really about dealing with myself and ... dealing with ... the voice in your head that's like, 'Oh, everything has to be so perfect, and I have to be like this,' and ... finding my identity and saying, OK, you know, this is who I am, you know, imperfections and all, and I love myself for me, and here I am!
"Shadow" was called the "best and most personal song" on the album in a People magazine review.[4] There has, however, also been criticism of the song's lyrics for seeming excessively dramatic in light of Simpson's apparently loving family and fortunate circumstances.[5]
Asked in one interview about the unhappiness she expresses in "Shadow" about her childhood, and whether it's "just for the song," Simpson replied:
I was dealing with my inner demons, and my inner voices in my head. It wasn't necessarily my parents being bad parents. It was just things that I battled with in my head. Feeling second best, or feeling that they didn't love me. But the song's saying: 'Guys, I apologize, if I ever put you guys through hell. I love you, and love my life, and thank you for letting me be myself, even though I messed up at times.'
They all bawl whenever they listen to it—my sister, my parents, everybody."[6]
Simpson also related, on another occasion, that "[w]hen my sister heard the song she cried and said, 'That's the most beautiful song I've ever heard!'"[7]
Music videoedit
The music video for "Shadow", directed by Liz Friedlander, also deals with the theme of the song. In the video, Simpson plays two different versions of herself, blonde and brunette, who live in separate "worlds" which exist side by side. The world of the blonde Ashlee appears happy and perfect, while the brunette Ashlee seems to have more negative feelings—at one point she shoves a bowl of cereal prepared by the blonde Ashlee off a kitchen table—but eventually it is revealed that the blonde Ashlee is not as happy as she seems. At the end of the video, shadows are seen leaving the brunette Ashlee. These scenes are intercut with Simpson singing in a living room setting with her band.[8]
The "Shadow" music video premiered on MTV's Total Request Live on September 13, 2004, and debuted on the countdown the next day at number 10. In its fourth day on the countdown, 20 September, it reached its peak at number two; Simpson herself also visited the show on this day, but did not perform due to illness. The video spent 22 total days on the countdown, with its last day being October 21.[9]
Chart performanceedit
"Shadow" debuted at number 20 on VH1's Top 20 Countdown for the week of October 6–12, 2004,[10] and it rose the next week to number 15.[11] It reached number 11 for the week of 27 October–2 November[12] and then fell to number 16 the next week.[13]
On September 22, Simpson performed "Shadow" on two U.S. shows: Live with Regis and Kelly (she also gave an interview, quoted above) and The Tonight Show.
"Shadow" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September at number 68[14] and reached a peak of number 57. It was unable to match the popularity of Simpson's first single, "Pieces of Me", which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100.[15] "Pieces of Me" also reached number one on the Billboard Top 40 Tracks, but "Shadow" reached only number 27. In Australia, "Shadow" was Autobiography's second single, and it reached number 31 on the ARIA singles chart in November 2004; in the same week, "Pieces of Me" was still ahead of it on the chart, at number 30. In early January 2005, after some time spent out of the ARIA top 50, "Shadow" rebounded to number 34. In the United Kingdom, the song "La La" (which was the third single in the U.S. and Australia) was the second single instead of "Shadow".
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Shadow is the second single by American singer and songwriter Ashlee Simpson taken from her debut album Autobiography 2004 The single peaked at number 57 in the United States becoming Simpson s second Billboard Hot 100 entry it also peaked at number 31 in Australia Shadow Single by Ashlee Simpsonfrom the album AutobiographyB side Sorry ReleasedSeptember 14 2004 2004 09 14 Recorded2004GenrePop rockLength3 59LabelGeffenSongwriter s Ashlee Simpson Kara DioGuardi John ShanksProducer s John ShanksAshlee Simpson singles chronology Pieces of Me 2004 Shadow 2004 La La 2004 Audio sample source source filehelp Contents 1 Song information 2 Music video 3 Chart performance 4 Track listing 5 Charts 6 Personnel 7 Release history 8 References 9 External linksSong information edit Shadow was written by Ashlee Simpson Kara DioGuardi and producer John Shanks It is three minutes and fifty seven seconds long and is the third track on Autobiography The song is about feelings Simpson had when she was about 15 or 16 years old according to one interview 1 of living in the shadow of the dreams and accomplishments of her famous older sister Jessica and finding her own identity Although Shadow is noted for having somewhat dark lyrics 2 it concludes with a positive message as Simpson sings that everything s cool now and the past is in the past Simpson has said that it is about loving yourself and coming to terms with who you are 3 also in an interview on Live with Regis and Kelly on September 22 2004 Simpson explained the song s meaning a lot of people think that Shadow is about my sister but it s really about dealing with myself and dealing with the voice in your head that s like Oh everything has to be so perfect and I have to be like this and finding my identity and saying OK you know this is who I am you know imperfections and all and I love myself for me and here I am Shadow was called the best and most personal song on the album in a People magazine review 4 There has however also been criticism of the song s lyrics for seeming excessively dramatic in light of Simpson s apparently loving family and fortunate circumstances 5 Asked in one interview about the unhappiness she expresses in Shadow about her childhood and whether it s just for the song Simpson replied I was dealing with my inner demons and my inner voices in my head It wasn t necessarily my parents being bad parents It was just things that I battled with in my head Feeling second best or feeling that they didn t love me But the song s saying Guys I apologize if I ever put you guys through hell I love you and love my life and thank you for letting me be myself even though I messed up at times They all bawl whenever they listen to it my sister my parents everybody 6 Simpson also related on another occasion that w hen my sister heard the song she cried and said That s the most beautiful song I ve ever heard 7 Music video editThe music video for Shadow directed by Liz Friedlander also deals with the theme of the song In the video Simpson plays two different versions of herself blonde and brunette who live in separate worlds which exist side by side The world of the blonde Ashlee appears happy and perfect while the brunette Ashlee seems to have more negative feelings at one point she shoves a bowl of cereal prepared by the blonde Ashlee off a kitchen table but eventually it is revealed that the blonde Ashlee is not as happy as she seems At the end of the video shadows are seen leaving the brunette Ashlee These scenes are intercut with Simpson singing in a living room setting with her band 8 The Shadow music video premiered on MTV s Total Request Live on September 13 2004 and debuted on the countdown the next day at number 10 In its fourth day on the countdown 20 September it reached its peak at number two Simpson herself also visited the show on this day but did not perform due to illness The video spent 22 total days on the countdown with its last day being October 21 9 Chart performance edit Shadow debuted at number 20 on VH1 s Top 20 Countdown for the week of October 6 12 2004 10 and it rose the next week to number 15 11 It reached number 11 for the week of 27 October 2 November 12 and then fell to number 16 the next week 13 On September 22 Simpson performed Shadow on two U S shows Live with Regis and Kelly she also gave an interview quoted above and The Tonight Show Shadow debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in September at number 68 14 and reached a peak of number 57 It was unable to match the popularity of Simpson s first single Pieces of Me which reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 15 Pieces of Me also reached number one on the Billboard Top 40 Tracks but Shadow reached only number 27 In Australia Shadow was Autobiography s second single and it reached number 31 on the ARIA singles chart in November 2004 in the same week Pieces of Me was still ahead of it on the chart at number 30 In early January 2005 after some time spent out of the ARIA top 50 Shadow rebounded to number 34 In the United Kingdom the song La La which was the third single in the U S and Australia was the second single instead of Shadow Track listing editPock It mini CD single Shadow 3 57 Pieces of Me 29 Palms remix vocal edit 4 04 CD single Shadow 3 57 Pieces of Me 29 Palms remix vocal edit 4 04 Sorry non LP version 3 42 Shadow video Charts editChart 2004 2005 PeakpositionAustralia ARIA 16 31Austria O3 Austria Top 40 17 60Canada CHR Pop Top 30 Radio amp Records 18 18Germany Official German Charts 19 42Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 20 30US Billboard Hot 100 21 57US Mainstream Top 40 Billboard 21 14US Top 40 Tracks Billboard 21 27Personnel editVocals Ashlee Simpson Drums Kenny Aronoff Guitars bass keyboards John Shanks Piano organ Jamie Muhoberac Chamberlin Patrick Warren String arrangement David Campbell Background vocals Ashlee Simpson and Kara DioGuardiRelease history editRelease dates and formats for Shadow Region Date Format Label Ref United States September 14 2004 Contemporary hit radio Geffen 22 Australia November 8 2004 CD Universal 23 Germany December 20 2004 24 25 January 15 2005 26 References edit Spence D Ashlee Simpson Interview Archived 2004 12 17 at the Wayback Machine IGN com July 29 2004 page 3 Shadow by Ashlee Simpson Songfacts www songfacts com Retrieved 2017 01 25 Joe D Angelo Ashlee Simpson To Play An Actress In Wannabe Flick MTV News September 23 2004 Autobiography album review People 2 August 2004 page 41 Spence D Autobiography album review Archived 2004 11 25 at the Wayback Machine IGN com September 17 2004 page 1 Virginia Heffernan Ashlee Simpson Platinum Brunette The New York Times August 1 2004 Interview 1 permanent dead link July 19 2004 Jennifer Vineyard Blondes Have More Fun In Ashlee Simpson s New Video MTV News August 9 2004 TRL Archives September 2004 Archived 2006 11 03 at the Wayback Machine and October 2004 Popfusion net VH1 s Music Radar PRNewswire com October 6 2004 VH1 s Music Radar Archived 2012 03 14 at the Wayback Machine PRNewswire com 14 October 2004 VH1 s Music Radar PRNewswire com October 27 2004 VH1 s Music Radar PRNewswire com November 3 2004 Margo Whitmire Ciara Keeps Goodies Perched On Top Billboard com September 23 2004 Artist chart history for Ashlee Simpson Billboard com Ashlee Simpson Shadow ARIA Top 50 Singles Retrieved October 19 2012 Ashlee Simpson Shadow in German O3 Austria Top 40 Retrieved October 19 2012 R amp R Canada CHR Pop Top 30 PDF Radio amp Records No 1578 October 22 2004 p 26 Retrieved October 15 2020 Ashlee Simpson Shadow in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved October 15 2020 Ashlee Simpson Shadow Swiss Singles Chart Retrieved October 19 2012 a b c Ashlee Simpson Autobiography Awards AllMusic Archived from the original on March 11 2016 Retrieved October 15 2020 Radio amp Records PDF Americanradiohistory 2004 09 10 Retrieved 27 March 2022 The ARIA Report Issue 767 PDF Webarchive nla gov au Archived from the original PDF on 2008 02 22 Retrieved 27 March 2022 Shadow Amazon Germany Shadow Amazon Germany Shadow Amazon Germany External links editWatch Shadow on Youtube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shadow Ashlee Simpson song amp oldid 1087215463, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
