Absolutely (Story of a Girl)

Nine Days was formed in Long Island, New York, in 1994 by vocalist/guitarists John Hampson and Brian Desveaux. For much of the decade, the band built a following by self-releasing their first three albums—Something to Listen To (1995), Monday Songs (1996), and Three (1998)—while performing frequently. The band struggled to get signed by a major label; talent scouts were reluctant as they did not hear a "hit" in their sound. "It can get very discouraging when you're giving everything you've got and you're not quite getting there. But we always felt we were inching our way along so we just kept at it," said Hampson in a 2000 interview.[3] They put together an album to shop around to labels composed of their best songs, to little interest. Frustrated, they continued to write songs until Hampson penned "Absolutely". They recorded a three-song demo and were signed to 550 Music (then known as Sony 550 Music) in February 1999.[4][5]

"Absolutely" ended up being the band's only hit single, marking their status as a one-hit wonder. "If it all ends next week, at least I'll be able to get my truck fixed up or get a new one. But if nothing, at least we accomplished this," Hampson said at the time of the song's success.[3]

The song was written in August 1998 by the band's vocalist/guitarist, John Hampson, in an attempt to write in an edgier style.[5] Though he "exaggerated things and used tons of figurative language to express something," Hampson confirmed in a 2003 interview with music magazine Impose that it was written for his wife, Teresa Savino, who was his girlfriend at the time it was composed.[6][7] Its genesis stemmed from an argument the two had prior to a concert the band was playing on Long Island.[8] After their fight, he "saw her talking to someone across the room, and she started laughing. I realized that as much as she aggravates me, I absolutely love her when she smiles."[9] It was also inspired by Hampson's uncertainty about getting married: "I just wasn't ready. I was basically stalling her and making her cry. I was good at that."[10]

Hampson picked up a guitar and worked out the song's chorus and chords in 15 minutes.[3] He later completed the bulk of the song in one night, which was unusual for him. "I don't know where it came from, but everything was about a true feeling."[9] The song first appeared as a demo on Bootleg '98, a promotional CD by radio station WLIR, who were early supporters of the band.[3] After the band's record deal, it was re-recorded for its appearance on The Madding Crowd by producer Nick DiDia at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.[11]

The song's music video was shot by director Liz Friedlander[12] in Los Angeles, California. It was the band's first music video, and received airplay on MTV and VH1.[5]

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic deemed "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" "catchy" and reminiscent of Barenaked Ladies.[13] People praised the song's "chunky hooks and irresistible, sing-along, stop-and-start chorus".[14] Bridget Fitzgerald of HuffPost found the song "effortlessly catchy" and "adorable".[15] Sputnikmusic's Lincoln Green called "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" "pretty sappy and uninteresting, but at the same time, it’s catchy and there’s a little charm behind all of the cheese. It’s a harmless power pop anthem that at worst is clichéd and fun to jam out to at best." Green also said that the song encapsulated the music of the early 2000s.[16]

"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" was the band's biggest single, and it charted worldwide on multiple music charts. In the United States, it debuted at number 25 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart in the issue dated April 15, 2000;[17] in the following weeks, the song rose to peak at number 10 on that chart on May 27, 2000.[18] It reached number six on the magazine's all-genre Hot 100 chart on July 22, 2000.[19] It was a number-one hit on the Mainstream Top 40 chart on August 12,[20] which ranked the most popular songs being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations. On August 26, it reached its peak on the Adult Top 40 Tracks chart at number two, which measured more adult-oriented alternative rock and mainstream pop.[21] It was the 35th-best-performing single in the U.S. in 2000, according to Billboard.[22] The single peaked the highest in Canada, reaching number three on the all-genre Top Singles chart;[23] it also hit number 14 on the Rock/Alternative rankings.[24]

Internationally, it was also the group's biggest hit. It fared best in New Zealand, where it reached number seven;[25] it ranked as the 39th best-selling single of 2000 in that country.[26] In neighboring Australia, the song was also a hit, reaching number 31.[27] It performed near the bottom of singles charts in other territories. In Scotland, it reached number 67;[28] in the Netherlands, number 75. In the United Kingdom, the single only made an appearance for one week at number 83 on the UK Singles Chart dated October 10, 2000.[29] The song was featured on the album Lizzie McGuire: Total Party! from the hit Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire.[30] In 2015, Billboard ranked it the tenth most popular song of the summer from 2000.[31] By June 2004, the song had accumulated over 400,000 spins on radio in the U.S., and it received a BDS Certified Spin Award.[32]

The song was covered by the band Four Year Strong for their cover album Explains It All (2009).[33]

Credits are adapted from the liner notes for The Madding Crowd.[11]

Locations

• Recorded at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, Georgia
• Mixed at Image Recording in Los Angeles, California
• Mastering at A&M Mastering Studios in Hollywood, California

Personnel

• "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" Official music video on YouTube