Bad Day

This song is a reminder that even if you have a bad day once in a while, things will get better. In Europe, it was released in 2005 and became a hit when Coca-Cola used it as the theme song for an advertising campaign on the continent. It topped the Italian and German charts and was #2 in England for three weeks. In America, Powter's album was released in 2006, and "Bad Day" became a hit when the singing competition show American Idol started using it as a theme for the "goodbye video" for the departing contestants who were voted off the show on the fifth season.

Daniel Powter is a singer-songwriter from British Columbia who later moved to Los Angeles. "Bad Day" was his first single released on a major label (Warner Bros.), and his only hit. He later described it as "a blessing and a curse." Said Powter: "I was touring the world and performing for thousands of people, but I felt like the song was starting to define me. I actually found myself getting almost angry about it." His second album, Under The Radar, was released by Warner Bros. in 2008 but got little attention. His third album, Turn On The Lights, was released independently in 2012.

The video features actress Samaire Armstrong, who plays Anna on the popular American teen TV show The O.C. Powter refused to star in the video with Armstrong because of their difference in age: he was 35 and she was 25. While a younger actor stars opposite Armstrong, Powter appears playing the piano while wearing his distinctive beanie. Director Marc Webb, who went on to direct The Amazing Spider-Man, shot the clip in Los Angeles (made to look like New York) in one day.