Sugar, We're Goin Down

"Sugar, We're Goin Down"
Song
B-side	"The Music or the Misery"

"Sugar, We're Goin Down" is the first single released from Fall Out Boy's album From Under the Cork Tree (2005). The single reached #8 in the U.S., becoming Fall Out Boy's first top 10 single despite the band's record company doubting its potential. They felt the chorus was too wordy and the guitars were too heavy. This single launched the band into the MTV mainstream. Two different CDs were released with different B-sides, Part I with a green cover and Part II with a red cover. According to Blender on their "The 100 Greatest Songs of 2005", "Sugar, We're Goin Down" was rated #4 and was rated #3 according to About.com on their "Top 100 Pop Songs of 2005".

The song appears on the karaoke games Lips (as downloadable content) and in Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol.

The song has so far sold over 2,000,000 digital downloads in the United States, becoming the bands first two-million seller and being certified double platinum by the RIAA.

It is a playable song on Band Hero.

Track listing

CD single:

1. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" - 3:51
2. "The Music or the Misery" - 3:27

CD 1:

1. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" (Guitars down version) - 3:47
2. "The Music or the Misery" - 3:27

CD 2:

1. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" (Album version)
2. "Dance, Dance" (Mark Ronson Secret Agent Remix)
3. "Snitches and Talkers Get Stitches and Walkers"
4. "Sugar, We're Goin Down" (Video)

7" vinyl:

1. "Sugar We're Goin Down"
2. "Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner" (Acoustic version)

Chart performance

"Sugar, We're Goin Down" would rise and fall in inconsistent patterns. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 2, 2005, at #93. Ten weeks later, on September 17, 2005, the song entered the top 10 at #8, giving Fall Out Boy their first top 10 single. At this point, the song did not have much airplay but had relied on the strength of downloads alone, and they experienced a sales surge following their performance at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.

Following this download surge, however, downloads fell, and the song dropped to #15 the following week. During this time, though, mainstream radio support kicked in, and while downloads were falling, airplay was able to help stabilize the song. As a result, the song rose in the following weeks to be at either position #10 or #11. The single peaked at #2 on Hot Digital Songs and its airplay peak was #19 on the Hot 100 Airplay; it also peaked at #1 on Hot Digital Tracks.

On the Pop charts, "Sugar, We're Goin Down" displayed a slightly better performance. With the same digital download stats, but with an airplay panel to their advantage, the song reached a peak position of #6 on the Pop 100 with its component airplay, Pop 100 Airplay, being #6. In terms of total spins versus total impressions, the single also peaked at #6 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.

In the UK, the song first charted on January 21, 2006, hitting outside of the Top 20 at #24. However, it appeared again on the charts in February, and entered the chart in the Top 10, at its peak position, #8. It remained in the top 75 of the UK Singles Chart for seventeen weeks.

Music video

The music video for "Sugar, We're Goin' Down", directed by Matt Lenski follows the persecution and subsequent redemption of a boy with antlers. The video establishes the life of a socially outcast boy with antlers (played by Donald Cumming of the Virgins), and his feelings for a neighborhood girl. It is made clear that the girl's father disapproves. Distraught, the boy tries to cut his antlers off, but is stopped by the girl. Later on, the father attempts to shoot the boy with an arrow, but is hit by a car. When he rushes to the man's aid, the boy finds that the father has hooves. They connect, and the father accepts him, allowing him to date his daughter.

Another version of the video exists, and has been played on some UK and Australian music channels. The video simply features the footage of the band playing from the main video, added to footage of the band's live performances and tour movies. This version won the "MTV2 Award" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.

The antlers in the video can be seen in Fall Out Boy's music video for What a Catch, Donnie.

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	8
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs	2
U.S. Billboard Pop 100	6
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Airplay	6
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	19
UK Singles Chart	8
Ireland Singles Chart	33

Impact

The song was the first by Fall Out Boy and the first by an artist on the Fueled by Ramen label to reach the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100. This success would lead to future Fueled by Ramen artists breaking into the mainstream, and helped pave the way for the group's next single, "Dance, Dance", to also crack the top ten on the chart.

Cultural references

The song was used in the first-ever fan made video to include footage from the original video of the backing song mixed in with footage of the object of fandom (the video, released in July 2009, was a Craig Ferguson fan video with clips of the movie Saving Grace mixed with footage from the original video of Fall Out Boy playing the song and jumping around with their instruments.)

External links

• Watch "Sugar, We're Goin Down" on YouTube
• Watch "Sugar, We're Goin Down" tour version on YouTube
• Watch "Sugar, We're Goin Down" music video and live video on Fall Out Boy Fansite
• Watch the unofficial video on YouTube