Headstrong (Trapt song)

"Headstrong" is the first single released by the American rock band Trapt from their 2002 debut album Trapt. It reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Tracks charts and No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. It crossed over to mainstream pop radio, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40. The song also won two Billboard Music Awards in 2003 for "Best Modern Rock Track" and "Best Rock Track".

"Headstrong"
Single by Trapt
from the album Trapt
Released	September 23, 2002 (2002-09-23)
Genre	Nu metal[1][2] alternative rock[3]
Length	4:45 (album version) 3:54 (edit version) 3:35 (radio and video edit)
Label	Warner Bros.
Composer(s)	Chris Taylor Brown Pete Charell Simon Ormandy
Lyricist(s)	Chris Taylor Brown
Producer(s)	GGGarth Trapt
Trapt singles chronology
"Headstrong" (2002) "Still Frame" (2003)
Music video
"Headstrong" on YouTube

Billboard rated "Headstrong" the No. 1 modern rock and mainstream rock song of 2003. In September 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Modern Rock Tracks (which had been renamed to Alternative Airplay),^[4] Billboard ranked the song at No. 60 on its list of the 100 most successful songs in the chart's history.^[5] In 2018, an official poll by Ultimate Guitar saw the site's users rate "Headstrong" as having the fourth-worst riff of all time.^[6]

Music video

A music video was produced for "Headstrong" which shows the band performing in front of a crowd. Paper and other debris are seen flying past in furious winds as the group plays in an urban nighttime setting, as well as a couple of teenagers arguing with the people they know, such as one teen getting into an argument with his father while they are in a car and the kid becomes fed up with his father's attitude and storms off as well as another teen quitting his job at a restaurant after getting pushed around by his boss; the two teens then join Trapt in the crowd. A third teen is seen walking through the crowd and eventually graffitis Trapt's logo on a wall. The video found considerable airplay on MTV2 and MMUSA upon release. The video was directed by Brian Scott Weber.

Awards and nominations

Billboard Music Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2003	"Headstrong"	Top Rock Song	Won
2003	"Headstrong"	Modern Rock Track of the Year	Won
2003	Trapt	Top Rock Artist	Nominated

Larry Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2003	"Headstrong"	Best Hard Rock Song	Won

Teen Choice Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
2003	"Headstrong"	Choice – Rock Track	Nominated

Track listings and formats

• US 7-inch vinyl^[7]

1. "Headstrong"  – 4:45
2. "Still Frame"  – 4:31

• Australian CD single^[8]

1. "Headstrong"  – 4:45
2. "Promise"  – 3:36
3. "Hollowman"  – 5:03

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2002–03) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 86 UK Singles (OCC)[10] 106 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[11] 22 US Billboard Hot 100[12] 16 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[13] 40 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[14] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[15] 1 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[16] 4

Year-end charts Chart (2003) Position US Billboard Hot 100[17] 49 US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[18] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[19] 56 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[20] 1 Chart (2004) Position US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[21] 50 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[22] 1 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[22] 7

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23]	Platinum	30,000‡
United States (RIAA)[24]	Platinum	1,000,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	September 23, 2002 (2002-09-23)	Mainstream rock active rock alternative radio	Warner Bros.	[25]
Australia	May 12, 2003 (2003-05-12)	CD		[26]
United States	June 9, 2003 (2003-06-09)	Contemporary hit radio		[27]
United Kingdom	September 1, 2003 (2003-09-01)	CD		[28]

In popular culture

• "Headstrong" was included in the motocross video game MX Unleashed^[29] and rhythm game Donkey Konga 2^[30] in 2004.
• "Headstrong" was used as the theme song for the WWE pay-per-view Bad Blood in 2003.