It's Been Awhile

For the Invincible episode, see It's Been A While.

"It's Been Awhile" is a song by American rock band Staind, released on March 27, 2001, as the lead single from their third studio album, Break the Cycle (2001). The song is Staind's most successful, becoming a number-five hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 2001. It spent a second-best 20 weeks at number one on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (behind "Loser" by 3 Doors Down) and a then-record 16 weeks at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[7] Worldwide, the single became a top-20 hit in Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

"It's Been Awhile"
Single by Staind
from the album Break the Cycle
Released	March 27, 2001
Genre	Post-grunge[1][2] nu metal[3][4] alternative metal[5] hard rock[6]
Length	4:25
Label	Flip Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Aaron Lewis Mike Mushok Johnny April Jon Wysocki
Producer(s)	Josh Abraham
Staind singles chronology
"Home" (2000) "It's Been Awhile" (2001) "Outside" (2001)
Music video
"It's Been Awhile" on YouTube

Background

Aaron Lewis originally wrote this song around 1996 along with "Outside" slightly prior to the release of Dysfunction and performed it with a short-lived acoustic side project called J-CAT, before abruptly shelving it until 2000 during the recording sessions of Break the Cycle.^[8][9]

Reception

Eric Aiese of Billboard reviewed the song favorably, saying that the group handles the ballad well and packs "a lot of punch into the cut." Aiese said that the song "may be the group's greatest splash yet."^[10]

Music video

The music video was directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. It had its world premiere on MTV's Total Request Live program on April 13, 2001.^[11] The music video begins with Aaron Lewis going through some old photographs, one of which is a picture of his wife. The video switches between him writing a letter to his wife and the band performing in a room full of candles. There are brief shots of Aaron alone in the streets and looking at himself in the mirror while having second thoughts. Throughout the video, Aaron is seen smoking cigarettes. At the end of the video, one of those cigarettes falls onto the floor and burns down his apartment.

Track listings

UK CD1[12] "It's Been Awhile" (clean edit) – 3:51 "Suffocate" – 3:17 "It's Been Awhile" (album version) – 4:25 "It's Been Awhile" (enhanced video) UK CD2[13] "It's Been Awhile" (live version) – 4:40 "Spleen" – 4:40 "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31

European CD single[14] "It's Been Awhile" (edit) – 3:56 "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 Australian maxi-CD single[15] "It's Been Awhile" (edit) – 3:56 "It's Been Awhile" (acoustic version) – 4:31 "Suffocate" – 3:17

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001–2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[16] 24 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 54 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 46 Canada CHR (Nielsen BDS)[19] 4 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[20] 39 Germany (GfK)[21] 43 Ireland (IRMA)[22] 18 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[23] 7 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] 19 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 13 Scotland (OCC)[26] 12 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[27] 23 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 79 UK Singles (OCC)[29] 15 UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[30] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[31] 5 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[32] 9 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[33] 6 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[34] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[35] 1 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[36] 3 US Top 40 Tracks (Billboard)[37] 4

Year-end charts Chart (2001) Position Canada Radio (Nielsen BDS)[38] 6 New Zealand (RIANZ)[39] 50 US Billboard Hot 100[40] 14 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[41] 22 US Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard)[42] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[43] 13 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[44] 2 US Top 40 Tracks (Billboard)[41] 23 Chart (2002) Position Canada Radio (Nielsen BDS)[45] 80 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[46] 28

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[47]	Gold	35,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[48]	Platinum	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[49]	Silver	200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[50]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	March 27, 2001	Active rock alternative radio	Flip Elektra	[51]
	May 22, 2001	Contemporary hit radio		[52]
Australia	June 18, 2001	CD		[53]
United Kingdom	September 3, 2001	CD cassette		[54]