My Friends Over You

"My Friends Over You" is a song by American rock band New Found Glory. It was released in July 2002 as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Sticks and Stones (2002). In the US, the song charted at number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 5 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.^[4] In the UK, it reached number 30.

"My Friends Over You"
Single by New Found Glory
from the album Sticks and Stones
Released	July 22, 2002
Recorded	2002
Genre	Pop punk[1][2] emo[3]
Length	3:42
Label	Drive-Thru, MCA
Songwriter(s)	New Found Glory
Producer(s)	Neal Avron
New Found Glory singles chronology
"Dressed to Kill" (2000) "My Friends Over You" (2002) "Head on Collision" (2002)

Background

"My Friends Over You" is credited to all five members of the band: Jordan Pundik (vocals), Chad Gilbert (guitar), Ian Grushka (bass guitar), Steve Klein (rhythm guitar), Cyrus Bolooki (drums). The group had nearly completed recording their third album, Sticks and Stones, before deciding to develop a song that might match the popularity of their previous biggest single, "Hit or Miss".^[5] It was the last song written for the album, and evolved from a sole riff to a full song within a day or two.^[6] The song lyrically revolves around a relationship where one partner chooses their close friends over romance. "You're with a girl and she wants to take that next step. And though you think the girl's awesome and you're having so much fun with her, because of experiences in the past with other relationships and things that are going on in your life at the current time, you're just not ready to make that step," said Gilbert. Jon Wiederhorn at MTV described the storyline as "angst-ridden teenage memories about awkward relationships and peer pressure."^[7]

Track listings

U.S. single

1. "My Friends Over You"
2. "It's Been a Summer"

UK Version #1

1. "My Friends Over You"
2. "Sucker" (Live in London)
3. "Hit or Miss" (Live in London)
4. "My Friends Over You" music video

UK Version #2

1. "My Friends Over You"
2. "Eyesore" (Live in London)
3. "Dressed to Kill" (Live in London)

Music video

The music video for the single was directed by the Malloys and features the band playing on a stage in front of a live audience. It features many jokes, ranging from "Typical Video Girls" to the band playing the song with animated oversized heads. The video also features a cameo by the three members of the Transplants (Travis Barker, Tim Armstrong and Rob Aston), Toby Morse of h2o and Brody Dalle of the Distillers. It was the final video played on MuchUSA before the shift to Fuse. The scene after the second chorus where guitarist Chad Gilbert moves very fast while the rest of the band freezes is a parody of System of a Down's "Toxicity" video.

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "My Friends Over You"

Chart (2002)	Peak position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[8]	11
Scotland (OCC)[9]	30
UK Singles (OCC)[10]	30
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[11]	4
US Billboard Hot 100[12]	85
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[13]	5

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "My Friends Over You"

Chart (2002)	Position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[14]	109

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[15]	Silver	200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[16]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Pauker, Lance (22 January 2014). "49 Phenomenally Angsty Pop-Punk Songs From The 2000s You Forgot Existed". Thought Catalog. The Thought & Expression Co. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
2. "20 Essential Pop Punk Tracks Everyone Should Know". NME. June 2, 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
3. Koerber, Brian (February 5, 2015). "22 emo songs that helped you through your high-school breakup". Mashable. Archived from the original on 2018-02-01. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
4. Billboard
5. Stocks, Matt (July 11, 2016). "Every New Found Glory album ranked from worst to best". Louder. Future plc. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
6. Manley, Brendan (March 2010). "The Oral History of New Found Glory". Alternative Press (260). Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. ISSN 1065-1667.
7. Wiederhorn, Jon (June 20, 2002). "New Found Glory Dissect Their 'Friends'". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
8. "New Found Glory Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
9. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
11. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
12. "New Found Glory Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
13. "New Found Glory Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
14. "Canada's Top 200 Singles of 2002 (Part 2)". Jam!. January 14, 2003. Archived from the original on September 6, 2004.
15. "British single certifications – New Found Glory – My Friends Over You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
16. "American single certifications – New Found Glory – My Friends Over You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 30 June 2020.