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In July 2022, a bootleg recording of Prince covering the song at an after-party for the 2009 Oscars resurfaced online. Hunter Hauk of The Dallas Morning News also remarked of the two songs' similarities, but was ambivalent of "Heartbeat Song"'s lack of innovation as compared to Clarkson's previous lead singles. In his review for Idolator, Stern observed both songs' similitude. It was a return to form, one made by a band that had a lot more wisdom, scars, and songwriting talent than it did seven years prior-and a band that was in a position where do or die looked like the only options." Ĭritics compared Kelly Clarkson's single " Heartbeat Song" (2015) to "The Middle" due to a notable similarity between the melodies of the songs' verses, as well as their choruses. Club published an article entitled, "How Jimmy Eat World's 'The Middle' Became the Best Song for a Bad Time", with Jason Heller noting, "'The Middle' wasn't a sellout. Reviewer Mark Richardson wrote of the track: "And if your band delivers that message of hope with the kind of power-pop chorus hook that gives the best couple of Weezer songs a run for their money, you've accomplished something." Pitchfork Media named the track number 165 on its list of the top 500 tracks of the 2000s.
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"The Middle" was the most played song on radio in Canada in 2002. The band toured extensively behind the album, touring with Weezer, Tenacious D, Green Day, Blink-182, and the Vans Warped Tour as well as the band's own headlining tour.
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"The Middle" was the most commercially successful single released from Bleed American. The song also charted in the UK, reaching a peak of number 26 in 2002. It was also the band's only appearance on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number 39. Although they would have more Top 40 hits on the former chart, "The Middle" remains their sole Top 40 hit on the Hot 100 to date. The song then crossed over to top 40 radio, resulting in it reaching a peak of number five on the Billboard Hot 100. By early 2002, the song had reached the top of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. When "The Middle" was released, the success of the album and the band was dependent on the single breaking through. "On our new stuff, rather than challenging ourselves getting real experimental, we kind of went in the other direction, challenging ourselves by getting very simple." Release and reception "The Middle" reflects these trying times for the band with lyrics about "Don't write yourself off yet" when feeling "left out or looked down on." The band decided to finance the recording of the album and keep things simple on the new record rather than experiment, as they had done on previous records. Singer and guitarist Jim Adkins explained to the Dallas Observer: "We were just about invisible there and it wasn't going to get any better." Their second album, Static Prevails, had sold just 10,000 copies in 1996 and Capitol Records decided to drop the band in 1999 due to a change in priorities. "The Middle" was written after Jimmy Eat World had been dropped from Capitol Records following the release of Clarity, their previous album.