"Sorry Not Sorry" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato and the lead single from her sixth studio album, Tell Me You Love Me (2017). Island, Hollywood, and Safehouse Records released the song on July 11, 2017. Written by Lovato alongside Sean Douglas, Trevor Brown, William Zaire Simmons and its producer Oak Felder, it is a pop and R&B track. An acoustic version of the song was present on the deluxe edition of the album. Years later, a re-recorded version featuring British-American guitarist Slash was released as a promotional single and included on Lovato's first remix album, Revamped (2023).
A music video for "Sorry Not Sorry" was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and premiered on July 19, 2017, through the singer's Vevo channel. Commercially, the song reached number six in the United States, becoming Lovato's highest-peaking single in the country. It earned a 7× Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Internationally, it peaked within the top ten in several other nations, and was certified platinum or higher in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
"Sorry Not Sorry" was written by Warren "Oak" Felder, Sean Douglas, Trevor Brown, William Zaire Simmons and Demi Lovato for the latter's sixth studio album, Tell Me You Love Me. The production was handled by Oak with co-production by "Downtown" Trevor Brown and Zaire Koalo. The track was recorded with guidance by Jose Balaguer and Oak in Westlake Recording Studios and SuCasa Recording, respectively, both located in Los Angeles. The engineering of "Sorry Not Sorry" was done by Jose Balaguer, Oak and Chris Galland, added by Nicole "Coco" Llorens and assisted by Keith "Daquan" Sorrells. Manny Marroquin finished the mixing, assisted by Robin Florent and Scott Desmarais. The mastering was done by Chris Gehringer and Will Quinnell at Sterling Sound Studios. All four co-writers provided background vocals. Oak Felder performed the keyboards and also did the arrangement. Felder and Brown programmed the synthesizer, while Koalo programmed the drums.[3]
Felder revealed to Songwriter Universe that the concept of the track was inspired by a phone conversation with his wife which Lovato "connected" to. "It connected specifically for her, because there's a lot of things in her past that people are looking for her to be apologetic for," he added.[4]
Stefan Johnson of production team The Monsters and the Strangerz revealed to Variety that Lovato was conflicted between a track called "The Middle" and "Sorry Not Sorry" as the lead single, in May. Lovato opted the latter, as she called the former "too pop" and Lovato was trying to go "more soulful". The track was eventually recorded by Russian-German record producer Zedd with American electronic music duo Grey with American country music singer Maren Morris.[5]
Lovato told Noisey that she had always wanted "Sorry Not Sorry" to be the lead single of Tell Me You Love Me but her inner circle felt the title track was a better choice "because it's emotional—it's vulnerable". Lovato then played both songs to the founder of Roc Nation, which her management Philymack was partnered with, Jay-Z. "And he said 'Sorry Not Sorry' because it was lighthearted. He was like, 'A lot of people see you do the emotional thing all the time, but they don't see you have fun!' And I was like, 'That's such a good point.' And [his opinion] kind of persuaded other people, too."[6]
Release
On June 29, 2017, Lovato published a trio of pictures on her Instagram and Twitter accounts showing an acronym titled "SNS" causing speculation related to a possible new single.[7] Five days after, the singer confirmed the release of a song via an Instagram video, and teased the instrumental of the track. The following day, Lovato posted a video on her Twitter revealing the title "Sorry Not Sorry".[8][9][10] Lovato explained to Amazon Music that "Sorry Not Sorry" is a song for the "haters" with the message "You know what? I'm good now, and sorry I'm not sorry that you may not be loving where your life is at the moment."[11]
Composition
"Sorry Not Sorry" is described by critics as a pop,[12] and R&B[13] song. It is written in the key of B minor with a tempo of 144 beats per minute in common time. Lovato's vocal range on the song spans from the low note of A3 to the high note of A5.[14] It runs for three minutes and twenty-three seconds.[15]
Critical reception
Forbes contributor Hugh McIntyre described "Sorry Not Sorry" as "an unapologetic, braggadocious look in the mirror, with Lovato taking the opportunity to praise herself, and rightfully so," and further opined that "Lovato really packs a punch with her powerful vocals, which have been setting her apart from other female pop stars for years now."[16] Elias Leight of Rolling Stone described the song as a "gleeful revenge on a callous ex" with "heavy rhythmic effects."[17] Christopher Rosa of Glamour felt the song "takes self-empowerment to new heights."[18] Lars Brandle of Billboard wrote it was "bound to be embraced as a girl-power anthem."[19] On a less positive note, Mike Wass from Idolator stated that its theme was something that had "been done several dozen times before," as the concept is a "fairly tired tale of turning the tables on an ex/hater," and felt the chorus "offers more of the same."[20]
Recognition
"Sorry Not Sorry" was included on several year-end lists. The website Thrillist ranked the song at number eight.[21]Stereogum's Chris DeVille considered it the 18th pop song of the year, writing that "even the firmest gospel-pop foundation will not stop Demi Lovato from blowing your house down every time."[22]Elle Magazine's Nerisha Penrose included the track on her list at number 9 and described it as "an infectious, hater-shunning summer anthem will surely shut down all the naysayers."[23]PopMatters ranked the song at number forty one.[24]Billboard and American Songwriter ranked the song number four and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Demi Lovato songs.[25][26] In 2024, Los 40 included "Sorry Not Sorry" on its list of songs that defined Lovato's career.[27]
Music video
The official music video was directed by Hannah Lux Davis and released via Vevo on July 19, 2017.[28][29] The video sees Lovato throwing a house party, frolicking by a pool, in an inflatable tub, on an outdoor dance floor, and in a beach chair, as her friends thrash, laugh, and kiss around her. Paris Hilton, Wiz Khalifa and Jamie Foxx have cameo appearances in the video.[30]
"Sorry Not Sorry" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 52 on the chart dated July 29, 2017, three days following its release. It sold 42,000 copies in the country and entered the Digital Song Sales chart at number nine. After its first full week of tracking it ascended to number 23 with another 43,000 downloads sold, allowing the song to rise to number six on the Digital Song Sales chart. The track fluctuated inside the top thirty over the next four weeks, before entering the top twenty at number 18 in the week dated September 9, 2017. It would spend another four weeks oscillating in the top twenty before entering the top ten at number 10 on the chart dated October 14, 2017, marking Lovato's first top ten single since ''Heart Attack'' in April 2013. The following week it rose to number eight, surpassing ''This Is Me'' to become Lovato's highest-peaking single in the country thus far. It eventually peaked at number six on the chart dated November 11, 2017, and spent seven non-consecutive weeks in the top ten and 36 weeks on the chart in total; it marked Lovato's longest-charting song in the US overtaking ''Give Your Heart a Break'' which spent 32 weeks on the chart in 2012. As of August 2021, "Sorry Not Sorry" is Lovato's most-streamed song in the United States amassing 1.040 billion streams and it has since been certified seven-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales and streaming units equivalent to seven million, making it her highest-selling song in the country.[43] The song also enjoyed success on radio charts in the US. It entered the Mainstream Top 40 chart at number 35 on the week ending August 5, 2017, and later peaked at number one on the week ending November 4, 2017, becoming Lovato's second number-one on the chart. It also reached number five on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, as well as number nine on the Adult Top 40, number 19 on the Rhythmic Airplay, and number 22 on the Adult Contemporary charts respectively; it became Lovato's highest-peaking song on both the Adult Top 40 and the Rhythmic charts. The track peaked at number 18 on the Canadian Hot 100, marking Lovato's sixth top twenty hit in the country, and was later certified triple platinum by Music Canada for sales and streaming units equivalent to 320,000 units.
"Sorry Not Sorry" also performed well outside North America. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 69, and peaked at number nine in its ninth week. It marked Lovato's fifth top ten hit in the country, and has since been certified multi-platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales and streaming units equivalent to 1.2 million units in the country. It also reached the top ten in Ireland, becoming Lovato's fourth top ten hit in the country, and number 12 in Scotland. Elsewhere in Europe, the track reached the top ten in Greece and Hungary at numbers eight and nine respectively. It reached number 14 in Latvia, number 17 in Norway and Portugal, and number 20 in Slovakia. It additionally entered the top forty in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. ''Sorry Not Sorry'' achieved more success in Australasia. It entered the ARIA Charts in Australia at number 35 on the week ending July 30, 2017. It peaked at number eight in its eighth week, marking Lovato's first song to reach the top ten in the country; it spent 26 weeks on the chart and since has been certified six-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for sales and streaming units equivalent to 420,000. In New Zealand, the track entered at number 22 and peaked at number six seven weeks later; it remained in the top ten for eight consecutive weeks. It marked Lovato's sixth top ten hit in the country as well as her highest-charting single to date and was later certified quadruple platinum by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ) for sales and streaming units equivalent to 120,000 units. The track was certified 2× Diamond in Brazil, and earned additional platinum or higher certifications in Norway, Denmark, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, and Sweden, as well as gold certifications in Germany and Spain.
Published by DDLovato Music/Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP), Sony/ATV (BMI), Sony/ATV (BMI), Trevor Brown Publishing Designee (ASCAP), Quest Da Stars (ASCAP)
In January 2022, Lovato held a "funeral" for her pop music ahead of the release of her eighth studio album Holy Fvck in August of that year.[132] The album, which embraced a heavier rock sound that departed from the pop sound of Lovato's previous releases, was supported by the Holy Fvck Tour. The setlist included several rock versions of her older pop songs, including "Sorry Not Sorry".[133]
On March 24, 2023, Lovato released a rock version of her pop song "Heart Attack" to mark the song's 10th anniversary.[134] On May 18, she announced via social media that she would release a rock version of "Cool for the Summer", which was released a week after.[135] "Sorry Not Sorry (Rock Version)", which featured a guitar solo from British-American musician Slash, was announced on July 10 and released four days after.[136] The updated take on the song offers "powerful new vocals" and new production from Warren "Oak" Felder, Keith "Ten4" Sorrells, and Alex Niceforo.[137] Discussing the track, Lovato said: "Slash is an iconic artist who I've been a fan of for years, it's an absolute honour to have such a legend like him on the rock version of 'Sorry Not Sorry'."[138]
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 33. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 34. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 37. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 36. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
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