"
The Only Exception" is a song by the American
rock band
Paramore. It was released by
Fueled by Ramen in February 2010 as the third single from the band's 2009 studio album
Brand New Eyes. The song was written by Paramore band members
Hayley Williams and
Josh Farro;
Paramore
is also credited as
being co-producers to the song. The song was
generally well received by music critics; praise of the song was mainly
about Williams' vocal performance. Music critics reviewing the song
noted that "The Only Exception" was a different musical theme for the
band.
"The Only Exception" has been the most successful single from
Brand New Eyes,
and the most successful Paramore single thus far, having topped the
United Kingdom Rock Chart and peaked at #13 and #17 in New Zealand and
Australia respectively. The single has become the band's third top forty
hit to date on the
Billboard Hot 100.
A music video for the song, directed by Brandon Chesbro, was released
on February 17, 2010, via the band's official website. The song received
a
Grammy nomination for
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It remains Paramore's biggest hit in the US to date.
Background
"The Only Exception" was released as the third single from the band's 2009 studio album
Brand New Eyes in February 2010. It was noticed by music critics that, Paramore, who usually write and record darker material, mainly of the
alternative genre, had, musically, gone in a different direction with "The Only Exception".
Rolling Stone described the song as "a subtle,
Radiohead-esque ballad."
The song's lyrics pertain to the protagonist not believing that love
exists and trying to live without it, mainly to avoid rejection, but
eventually realizing that it does exist, describing the person as being
their "only exception". Many fans believe that the song was written as
an ode to
Chad Gilbert from
New Found Glory.
Incidentally, Williams has declined to comment directly on the issue,
merely saying, "Read a couple blogs, and you'll figure it out."
Other themes include trying to pursue a relationship, as well as
trying to make a relationship last, which can be seen in the lyrics, "In
the morning, when you wake up/Leave me with some kind of proof it's not
a dream".
According to the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com by
Alfred Music Publishing, the single is written in the time signature of
6/8 time.
The song is played in the
key of B
Mixolydian and is sung in the vocal range of F#3 to D#5.
"The Only Exception" has a moderately slow
tempo of forty eight
beats per minute.
Critical reception
"The Only Exception" received generally positive reviews from
contemporary music critics. Williams' vocal performance was mainly
praised by music critics. Mikael Wood, a writer for
Spin felt that "The Only Exception" was a "surprisingly soulful acoustic number" and compared its musical structure to
Coldplay's
Parachutes-era. Wood commented that the song was an "upgrade" that consisted of "focus and intensity".
Leonie Cooper of
NME noted in his review for
Brand New Eyes that Paramore were able to "showcase their maturity" with multiple ballad songs, specifying "The Only Exception".
Cooper commented that while the song's lyrics seemed to be a
"nondescript love song" that does not "quite warrant the abrupt change
of pace", he praised Williams' vocals.
Cooper further stated,
"[The song] feels like something
Katy Perry
would dismiss for being too lightweight, with its mechanical, campfire
strumming and general uninspiring air. Its saving grace, however, comes
with Williams' vocals, which are flawless and sturdy throughout. Even
though the song gets soppy, she never does – weakness just ain't in this
lady's repertoire, and for that we offer her a hefty high five."
Marc Hirsh of
The Boston Globe listed "The Only Exception" as the highlight of
Brand New Eyes, crediting the song as being an "essential".
Hirsh said that "The Only Exception" is "probably the best place to
start" with the album, describing Williams' vocals as "forging a
connection" rather than "simply spitting out her feelings"; he also
praised the other band members for locking in at a "sympathetic simmer".
Channing Freeman of
Sputnikmusic felt that that "The Only Exception" had similarities to "The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot" by Brand New.
Freeman stated that on Paramore's
All We Know Is Falling,
"My Heart" was a "blunt and obvious song" that focused on a "climax to
be emotional", but with "The Only Exception", Paramore have "figured out
that it doesn't have to finish loud to incite a reaction in the
listener".
He also noted that the song shows that Williams' lyrics have "definitely improved".
Jesse Catalodo of
Slant
felt that the lyrics to "The Only Exception" may be "irredeemably
over-the-top" but its "vocal melodies are the stuff of perfect pop".
Chart performance
It managed to peak at number thirty eight on the
Billboard component chart for pop songs; the song remained on the chart for only two weeks.
However, on the week of June 12, 2010, the song debuted at number
ninety on the Billboard Hot 100. It has since peaked at #24, becoming
the most successful Paramore single overall outside of airplay (
Misery Business
remains their most-successful airplay single to date), and their third
Top 40 hit in the US. The track was more successful internationally,
generally peaking within the top twenty on multiple countries' charts.
"The Only Exception" debuted at number number thirty-eight on the New
Zealand
RIANZ singles chart on February 22, 2010.
The following week, the song moved up fifteen positions to number twenty-three,
with the song currently having peaked at number thirteen on the country's chart.
After four weeks on the chart, "The Only Exception" peaked at number two on the United Kingdom's
Rock Chart on March 14, 2010, staying at that position for three weeks
but moving up to number one on the chart's issue date of April 5, 2010.
The song entered the
UK Singles Chart at number eighty on March 28, 2010.
It has managed to peak at number thirty-one.
The track peaked at number forty-seven in Austria on March 28, 2010.
The single also debuted as its peak position, number eighty-four, on the
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart on April 24, 2010.
"The Only Exception" debuted at number fifty-nine in
Brazilian Hot 100 Airplay chart in June 2010, becoming the group's first single to enter the Brazilian charts,
achieving the following months the position at #32.
Music video
Williams in the song's music video. In the scene Williams is shown lying
on Valentine-themed cards while singing the song's chorus. The cards
shown in the video were fan-made. Chesbro said that the scene was his
favorite part of the video to film.
A music video for "The Only Exception" was directed by Brandon Chesbro, who had been working with Paramore for over two years.
The song's music video was Chesbro's music video directorial debut.
Prior to "The Only Exception" video, Chesbro had been approached to direct music videos for
Brand New Eyes' two previous singles, but chose not to due to creative opinions.
In December 2009, he was asked to direct the music video for "The Only Exception".
Although the story board process took a while, the video was filmed in four days. The music video premiered on February 17, 2010, on Paramore's website. Williams confirmed that as part of a
Valentine's Day theme, the band selected cards that were sent to them by fans and featured them in the video. In an interview with
MTV,
Chesbro commented on filming the scene involving Williams lying on
Valentine's Day's styled-cards during the music video, saying,
"The band has crazy fans. All those cards are so detailed [...]
these kids spent serious time on these cards. That's my favorite shot of
the whole video. It was the first thing we shot and I thought that if
something falls apart and we only have that one shot, that could be the
video all by itself and it'd be perfect."
The music video opens with Williams waking up on a couch next to an unnamed male and writing a note that says "I'm sorry".
From there she walks to the next room and hugs an adult, who, based on
the lyrics, is presumed to be her father. A conversation ensues with
Williams showing him a photo of someone presumed to be her mother.
The video continues with Williams in her room staring into the mirror,
singing about how love doesn't exist. She then moves through a costume
closet and into a restaurant set, where a rotating cast of men pose as
her date. She then moves into the next room, where there's a wedding —
everyone is wearing white, but Williams comes dressed in black; she
flees the scene when the bride enters.
During the chorus of the song, the clip cuts to the scenes where
Williams sings "Darling, you are the only exception" while lying down on
a giant pile of Valentine-themed cards.
Throughout the video, clips of Williams singing with the rest of the
members of Paramore in a dim-lighted background are shown, such as
Williams sitting down singing into a microphone, and the other members
playing instruments. In the video's final moments, Williams spots the
same male she woke up to at the beginning of the video in the crowd at a
rock show. After fantasizing of the two being together, she then makes
her way back through the various rooms to the original set in the
beginning of the video. When Williams sings "And I'm, on my way to
believing", she returns to the couch where the male is still asleep, and
hides the note she wrote in her pocket as she lies back down next to
him.
The music video for "The Only Exception" was generally well received by music critics. Kyle Anderson, a writer for
MTV, commented that the music video is "by far the most visually interesting and complex clip the group has ever produced." Anderson further stated that "despite the complexity of the video, the whole process was remarkably efficient".
She remarked that based on the video's outcome that it was "a little
bit surprising" to know that it was directed by a first-time director. Mike Sheffield of
Spin
viewed the music video as a "love story" and described it as being
"Valentine's Day + epic Emo balladry = Paramore's brand new video for
'The Only Exception'".
Chesbro said that he was happy with the final product of the music
video and that directing the video made him become more interested in
directing videos, saying, "I'd really like to do more videos now [...]
This video turned out so perfect that I'm worried nothing else will turn
out as good. But if this is my only video, I was super-proud to be a
part of it."
Live performances
The track has been performed by Paramore on many occasions. The band's first performance of the song was on November 1, 2009 in
Nashville. Paramore performed a live version of "The Only Exception" for
The Ellen Degeneres Show.
The band performed the chorus and outro of the song on the
2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010.
The Only Exception EP
The Only Exception EP is Paramore's third
extended play (EP), released exclusively to the
iTunes Store on September 28, 2010.
Track listing
| 1. |
"The Only Exception" (album version) |
4:27 |
| 1. |
"The Only Exception" (album version) |
4:27 |
| 2. |
"The Only Exception" (acoustic) |
4:33 |
| 3. |
"The Only Exception" (video) |
4:27 |
Personnel
The following personnel contributed to "The Only Exception":
Charts and certifications
Charts
|
Year-end charts
| Charts (2010) |
Position |
| Australia (ARIA) |
75 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 |
93 |
Certifications
|
See also
In popular culture
Live performances
Other appearances
Covers
- Sam Tsui and Kurt Schneider did an acoustic cover.
- April Chase did a cover, the Directed an shot is Marco Bercasio
- Rachel G. Fox did a acoustic cover
Glee cover
The song was performed in the
Britney Spears-themed episode "
Britney/Brittany" of the US television series
Glee, which aired September 28, 2010.
Lea Michele, in character as
Rachel Berry, sang the song at the end of the episode as an apology to her boyfriend
Finn Hudson, played by
Cory Monteith. The performance was praised by most critics, with
Rolling Stone's Erica Futterman calling it "gorgeous and tender" and
Entertainment Weekly's Tim Stack praising it as the episode's "nice, emotional capper". Hayley Williams complimented Michele's vocals on the rendition through her
Twitter account.
The cover was released as a single and charted at number twenty-two in
both Canada and Ireland, twenty-six in the US, and sixty in Australia,
with sales of 89,000 copies in the US according to
Nielsen SoundScan.
