Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)

"Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)" is a song by Canadian rock band Simple Plan. The ballad[1] was released in March 2005 as the third single from their second studio album, Still Not Getting Any.... The song's official title, when the CD was released, was simply "Untitled".

"Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)"
Single by Simple Plan
from the album Still Not Getting Any...
ReleasedMarch 29, 2005 (2005-03-29)
Genre
Length
  • 4:00 (album version)
  • 3:31 (video version)
LabelLava
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bob Rock
Simple Plan singles chronology
"Shut Up!"
(2005)		 "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)"
(2005)		 "Crazy"
(2005)

Music video

The music video tells a story of a car crash on a rainy evening where a young male drunk driver crashes his sedan head-on into a Trans Am driven by a female, resulting in her death. The drunk driver, however, survives relatively uninjured, and ends up arrested by the FBI and ATF. The video was filmed near the famous tunnel in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. Vocalist Pierre Bouvier is seen singing the song at the scene of the car crash, and is also seen at the end of the video where the victim is at the hospital.

The video also shows the backstory of the car crash, accompanied by clips of the victim's family doing things such as: her brother is seen playing video games in the family living room, her sister is doing her homework in her bedroom, their mom is in her house's kitchen washing dishes and their dad is working in his office. Then abruptly just as the two cars collide, the entire family is violently thrown into the walls surrounding them as the boy falls out of his bedroom window and the dad lands on his computer. In a joint letter with MADD, Simple Plan explained the events in the video:[2]

This song is a very personal look at what happens when tragedy hits close to home and we wanted to make a video that was as powerful and as special as the song was to the five of us.

Over the last few years, a lot of people we know have been involved in tragic accidents caused by drinking and driving. One of the students at our high-school crashed his car driving back from a weekend trip and killed his best friend. It was a very sad time that none of us will ever forget.

This is the story we wanted to tell with this video: the story of all the innocent victims caused by drinking and driving. We hope you will take the time to watch the video. Thanks for all your support.

Live performances

When performed live, the guitar solo in the middle of the song is performed by Bouvier. Lead guitarist Jeff Stinco plays a semi-acoustic guitar until the end of the solo, while rhythm guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre and drummer Chuck Comeau come in at the beginning of the solo. Bassist David Desrosiers' main role is backing vocals, with his bass taking a backseat until Bouvier's solo and the final chorus. Stinco also plays a second solo as the song fades out.

In other media

The song has since been used in Mothers Against Drunk Driving anti-drunk driving campaigns.[3]

Track listings

European CD single[4]

  1. "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)"
  2. "Welcome to My Life" (live)

Australian CD single[5]

  1. "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)"
  2. "Welcome to My Life" (live)
  3. "Jump" (live)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[25] Gold 10,000*
Sweden (GLF)[26] Gold 10,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States March 29, 2005 Contemporary hit radio Lava [27]
Australia June 20, 2005 CD [28]

References
  1. "Simple Plan Have Released a Sad Song That Isn't A Sad Emo Ballad". Wall of Sound. August 28, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  2. Simple Plan Fight Drunk Driving With MADD
  3. Simple Plan Team Up With MADD For Anti-Drunk Driving Campaign
  4. Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?) (European CD single liner notes). Simple Plan. Lava Records. 2004. 7567 93882-5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?) (Australian CD single liner notes). Simple Plan. Lava Records. 2005. 7567937192.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. "Simple Plan – Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  7. "Simple Plan – Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  8. "R&R Canada AC Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1637. December 16, 2005. p. 49. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  9. "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1611. June 17, 2005. p. 29. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  10. "R&R Canada Hot AC Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1618. August 5, 2005. p. 53. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  11. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200626 into search.
  12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Simple Plan" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  13. "Simple Plan – Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  14. "Simple Plan – Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)". Top 40 Singles.
  15. "Simple Plan – Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)". Singles Top 100.
  16. "Simple Plan – Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)". Swiss Singles Chart.
  17. Chart Log UK
  18. "Simple Plan Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  19. "Simple Plan Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  20. "Simple Plan Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  21. "ARIA End of Year Singles Chart 2005". ARIA. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  22. "Årslista Singlar, År 2006" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  23. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2006". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  24. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  25. "Canadian single certifications – Simple Plan – Untitled". Music Canada.
  26. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2007" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 17, 2011.
  27. "FMQB: CHR". FMQB. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  28. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 20th June 2005" (PDF). ARIA. June 20, 2005. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
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