Lips Of An Angel

Sometimes inspiration for songs comes quickly. Hinder singer Austin Winkler wrote this song in just 20 or 30 minutes with drummer Cody Hanson while the two sat in Hanson's living room. Winkler came in with the first line - "Honey, why you calling me so late?" - And the rest of the song just flowed out naturally. The story in the song about having trouble letting go of a former love is real - it's what Winkler was going through with an ex-girlfriend. He told the story to Hanson, who already had a guitar progression in mind, and the two finished the song very quickly. When Songfacts spoke with Hanson in 2012, he said the song is an example of how the real-life tribulations of a songwriter can strike a chord with people when incorporated into music. "Those songs that are real personal experiences that other people can relate to," said Hanson. "Those seem to be the ones that go."

"Lips Of An Angel" is part of Hinder's debut album, Extreme Behavior, but it wasn't the first single. That honor went to "Get Stoned," a song about smoking pot and having sex. The band, which is from Oklahoma City, leaned into their party lifestyle, which played well in the Midwest the South, where they barnstormed radio stations and were known to ply the DJs with tequila shots. The album was released in September 2005; in February and March 2006, Hinder headlined the Girls Gone Wild Rock America Tour, which we'll need to explain. In the early '00s, late-night TV was loaded with infomercials for Girls Gone Wild videos that were mostly college girls on spring break taking their tops off for cajoling camera crews. The tour expanded the franchise to offer music along with the drunken debauchery. Hinder fit right it. To choose the next single, Tom Mackay, the senior VP of A&R at Hinder's label, Universal Republic, asked Cody Hanson to look out in the crowd when performing numbers from Extreme Behavior to see what the fans particularly liked. That way, they could get some feedback about what the next single should be. According to Billboard magazine, Hanson replied five shows later that "everybody and their mother are s---ting their pants about 'Lips of an Angel.' It's biker dudes in leather and 18-year-old girls. They're all going nuts for it." By the time the tour was over, "Get Stoned" had peaked at #124. "Lips Of An Angel" was released as the next single, and it made a slow but steady climb up the chart, reaching #3 in October 2006. This was a turning point for the band, which realized their more vulnerable songs could better connect with listeners.

"Lips Of An Angel" sold over 3 million ringtones - more than any other rock song. It was popular at a time when everyone was buying up ringtones for their new phones.