"3AM"
Single by Matchbox 20
from the album Yourself or Someone Like You
B-side
  • "Push" (acoustic)
  • "Shame"
ReleasedNovember 23, 1997 (1997-11-23)[1]
Length3:46
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Matt Serletic
Matchbox 20 singles chronology
"Push"
(1997)		 "3AM"
(1997)		 "Real World"
(1998)
Music video
"3AM" on YouTube

"3AM" (stylized as "3 am" on the album and "3 AM" on the single) is the third single and the third track from American rock band Matchbox 20's debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You (1996). Written by Rob Thomas, Jay Stanley, John Leslie Goff, and Brian Yale, the song was inspired by Thomas dealing with his mother's cancer as a teenager. The song was officially serviced to US modern rock radio in October 1997 and was given a commercial release outside North America the following month.

"3AM" topped the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart for two weeks and the US Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart for 10 weeks; it was not eligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time due to not receiving a physical release in the United States. Outside North America, "3AM" reached number 31 in Australia and became a minor hit in Europe. A music video was also made for the song, directed by Gavin Bowden and filmed in Los Angeles.

Background and content

"3AM" was written by Rob Thomas, Jay Stanley, John Leslie Goff, and Brian Yale while performing together in the early 1990s band Tabitha's Secret. The song was first recorded by that band on its debut EP, Tabitha's Secret?. The lyrics are inspired by Thomas as an adolescent having to live with a mother fighting to survive cancer.[2] In 1997, after the other members of Tabitha's Secret left to form Matchbox 20, Goff and Stanley released other early recordings of the band, including "3 AM", on Don't Play with Matches.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Gavin Bowden, was shot in Los Angeles.[3] It features the band sitting on sides of a street next to some telephone booths. A supermarket is also shown. The video switches between color video clips and black-and-white still images. During the introduction and the third verse of the song, Thomas walks in the middle of the street with some construction signs and lights. During the third verse, a Pontiac Trans Am with a bare-chested man and a woman inside stops in front of Thomas. The man gets out, revealing a catheter in his chest, receives three cigarettes from Thomas and then gets back in the Trans Am. Finally, during the last two choruses, the band is shown playing their instruments (presumably in the lobby of a hotel or office building) as rain can be seen falling from a large window behind them. The video ends with an image of Thomas standing next to the telephone booths.

Track listings

Australian and UK CD single[1][4]

  1. "3 AM" – 3:46
  2. "Push" (acoustic) – 4:19
  3. "Shame" – 3:35

UK 7-inch and cassette single; European CD single[5][6][7]

  1. "3 AM" – 3:46
  2. "Push" (acoustic) – 4:19

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[33] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[34] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States October 6, 1997 Modern rock radio [35]
Australia November 23, 1997 CD [1]
United Kingdom June 22, 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
 [36]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Matchbox 20 – 3 AM". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  2. ↑ Video on YouTube
  3. ↑ "Production Notes". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 40. October 4, 1997. p. 103. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  4. ↑ 3 AM (UK CD single liner notes). Matchbox 20. Atlantic Records, Lava Records, Melisma Records. 1997. AT0034CD, 7567-95562-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ↑ 3 AM (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Matchbox 20. Atlantic Records, Lava Records, Melisma Records. 1998. AT 0034, 7567-87033-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ↑ 3 AM (UK cassette single sleeve). Matchbox 20. Atlantic Records, Lava Records, Melisma Records. 1998. AT0034C, 7567-95562-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ↑ 3 AM (European CD single liner notes). Matchbox 20. Atlantic Records, Lava Records, Melisma Records. 1998. 7567-98009-9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3437." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3460." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3423." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Matchbox 20 – 3 AM" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  12. ↑ "Matchbox 20 – 3 AM" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  13. ↑ "Major Market Airplay" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 24. June 13, 1998. p. 23. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Major Market Airplay" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 15, no. 29. July 18, 1998. p. 25. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Matchbox Twenty Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Matchbox Twenty Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  19. ↑ "Matchbox Twenty Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  20. ↑ "Matchbox Twenty Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  21. ↑ "Matchbox Twenty Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  22. ↑ "Matchbox Twenty Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  23. ↑ "Matchbox Twenty Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  24. ↑ "Best of '97: Modern Rock Track". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 5, no. 52. December 28, 1997. p. 30.
  25. ↑ "RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 63, no. 12. December 14, 1998. p. 20. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  26. ↑ "RPM's Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98". RPM. Retrieved February 19, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  27. ↑ "RPM's Top 50 Alternative Tracks of '98". RPM. Retrieved February 19, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  28. ↑ "The Year in Music 1998: Hot 100 Singles Airplay". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-46. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  29. ↑ "The Year in Music 1998: Hot Adult Top 40 Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-96. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  30. 1 2 "The Year in Music 1998". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-84. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  31. ↑ "Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 45.
  32. ↑ "Best of '98: Most Played Triple-A Songs". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 35.
  33. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  34. ↑ "American single certifications – Matchbox Twenty – 3AM". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  35. ↑ "Upcoming New Releases". Hits. Vol. 11, no. 563. October 3, 1997. p. 38.
  36. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. June 20, 1998. p. 25.
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