Dirty Little Secret

This article is about the song by The All-American Rejects. For the film, see Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret.
"Dirty Little Secret"
Single by The All-American Rejects
from the album Move Along
B-side "Bite Back"
Released June 6, 2005
Format
Recorded 2004
Genre Pop punk
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) Howard Benson
Certification Platinum (RIAA)[1]
The All-American Rejects singles chronology
"Time Stands Still"
(2003)		 "Dirty Little Secret"
(2005)		 "Move Along"
(2006)
Music video
"Dirty Little Secret" on YouTube
Alternative cover
United Kingdom re-release cover

"Dirty Little Secret" is a song by American rock band The All-American Rejects, released as the lead single from their second studio album Move Along on June 6, 2005. "Dirty Little Secret" was released to radio on June 7, 2005.[2]

Background

"Dirty Little Secret" was written by Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter, who claimed that because they were both at the time in long-term relationships with their girlfriends they had to "concoct some histrionics". Wheeler said "We come from a small town, and until now we've both had steady relationships. So, you know, sometimes there's not enough drama or turmoil to write about, so he simply writes stories. And that's where the lyrics come from."

"'Dirty Little Secret' was just an acoustic guitar and a vocal, that's all it was," Wheeler went on to say, "We put off getting the full band in and coming up with the arrangement until the very last second. We were literally less than a week away from going into the studio, and we all started jamming and tossing out ideas. We had the arrangement down within an hour and that was that. We ended up recording it and couldn't get the motherfucking thing out of our heads."[3]

Reception

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Contactmusic.com stated "Give this cheeky little track three listens, and it's got you. You'll be singing along at festivals all summer with a huge grin on your face. There may indeed be laws in some countries about having hooks this large and frequent during one song",[4] while About.com said "'Dirty Little Secret' is catchy and amiable, but it's little more than that. The title seems chosen for intrigue, but it promises much more than it delivers. The song is ultimately a rather ordinary treatise on carrying on a secret relationship."[5]

ClickMusic reviewed with "There's nothing exciting about this. It seems such a tired format, a group of guys in their early 20s peddling teenage angst like they were A. It's upbeat, rocky with a typically catchy, if corny, chorus, yet this really seems like one for the fan base only."[6] Music OMH stated "If Simple Plan are a poor man's Green Day, The All-American Rejects are a poor man's Simple Plan. It's fluffy punk pop for middle class American teenage girls who don't want to listen to Ciara and 50 Cent, and would rather get sweaty with boys in eyeliner than shake their booty to the latest Missy Elliott remix."[7]

Chart performance

"Dirty Little Secret" first charted in the United States on July 30, 2005 and became the band's first top 10 track on the Billboard Hot 100; peaking at #9 in January 2006.[8] The song also climbed to the top spot of Billboard's Hot Digital Songs after a total of 26 weeks[9][10] and later peaked at #48 on Billboard's "Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 2006".

In the United Kingdom, "Dirty Little Secret" was originally released on October 24, 2005 but charted poorly at #96 on the UK Singles Chart. It was re-released in June 2006 following the success of the band's second single "Move Along" and gained The All-American Rejects their second top 20 hit in the UK.

Music video

The video features anonymous people holding their secrets written on postcards.

The music video for "Dirty Little Secret" was directed by Marcos Siega and shot in May 2005 in Dorney Park and various locations in Allentown, Pennsylvania and was released a month later in mid-June. It features a montage of various people holding up postcards sharing their "dirty little secrets" while the band perform the song in an abandoned warehouse with the cards enlarged and displayed behind them in a backdrop.

The postcards in the video were posted by anonymous people onto the website PostSecret, a project where users can create their own cards; sharing their darkest secrets and posting them to the website without giving their name or any other details. The idea came from director Marcos Siega when searching for inspiration for the video. He performed an internet search of the word "secrets" and came across the PostSecret website. The All-American Rejects agreed with Siega's idea and paid the website to use some of their postcards for the video, with the money going towards The Kristin Brooks Hope Center, a non-profit organization which funds a suicide hotline. After the release of the music video, the band sold the postcards featured on eBay with the proceeds also going towards the Hope Center.[11]

"Dirty Little Secret" is featured in the films Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, She's the Man, John Tucker Must Die, Bring It On: All or Nothing and American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile, the video games Rock Band, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, Rock Revolution and Band Hero as well as the American action television series, Smallville and the soundtrack, Smallville: The Metropolis Mix. A cover version is used in Rock Revolution.

The All-American Rejects also participated in the advertising campaign Got Milk? where the title of "Dirty Little Secret" was parodied as "Dairy Little Secret". The band also participated in a photo shoot for the campaign wearing fake milk mustaches.

"Dirty Little Secret" has also become somewhat of an internet meme, similar to songs like "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence

Track listing

CD single
No. Title Length
1. "Dirty Little Secret"   3:14
2. "Swing, Swing" (Napster acoustic session) 3:09
3. "Bite Back" (non-LP version) 4:41
4. "Dirty Little Secret" (music video) 3:13
United Kingdom CD single #1
No. Title Length
1. "Dirty Little Secret"   3:16
2. "Swing, Swing" (live) 3:23
3. "Move Along" (live) 3:56
4. "Dirty Little Secret" (music video) 3:13

United Kingdom CD single #2
No. Title Length
1. "Dirty Little Secret"   3:16
2. "Dirty Little Secret" (live) 3:09
vinyl 7" #1
No. Title Length
1. "Dirty Little Secret" (side A) 3:16
2. "Bite Back" (side B) 4:39
vinyl 7" #2
No. Title Length
1. "Dirty Little Secret" (side A) 3:16
2. "Swing, Swing" (live) (side B) 3:23

Charts, certifications and awards

Weekly charts

Chart (2005–06) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[12] 73
Irish Singles Chart[13] 47
UK Singles Chart[14] 18
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 9
US Billboard Adult Pop Songs[16] 15
US Billboard Pop 100[15] 4
US Billboard Pop Songs[17] 4

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[18] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 2,000,000[20]

^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Awards

Year Awards ceremony Award Results
2006 MuchMusic Video Awards Best International Group Video Nominated

Release history

Country Date Format Label
United States June 6, 2005 CD single, digital download Interscope
July 12, 2005 Contemporary hit radio
United Kingdom October 24, 2005 CD single, digital download Polydor
June 19, 2006 (re-release) CD single, maxi single

References

  1. ↑ RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - All-American Rejects Singles, accessed 2009-07-13
  2. ↑ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  3. ↑ http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5754
  4. ↑ "All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secrets Single Review". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved 7 June 2005.
  5. ↑ "All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret". About.com. Retrieved 1 December 2005.
  6. ↑ "The All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret". ClickMusic. Retrieved 12 August 2005.
  7. ↑ "All-American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret". Music OMH. Archived from the original on 13 December 2006. Retrieved 12 September 2005.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ "Week Ending Dec. 28, 2008: America Goes On A Downloading Binge - Chart Watch". New.music.yahoo.com. December 31, 2008. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Hot Digital Songs: Dirty Little Secret". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  11. ↑ "All-American Rejects Reveal Strangers' Secrets In 'Dirty' Clip". MTV. 2005-07-12. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
  12. ↑ "Discography The All-American Rejects". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  13. ↑ "Discography The All-American Rejects". Irish-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  14. ↑ "Chart Stats - The All-American Rejects". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  15. 1 2 "The All-American Rejects". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  16. ↑ "The All-American Rejects - Adult Pop Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  17. ↑ "The All-American Rejects - Pop Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  18. ↑ "British single certifications – The All-American Rejects – Dirty Little Secret". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Dirty Little Secret in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  19. ↑ "American single certifications – The All-American Rejects – Dirty Little Secret". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  20. ↑ Grein, Paul (March 18, 2009). "Week Ending March 15, 2009: The Idol With The Most". Yahoo Music. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
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