Nobody's Perfect (Hannah Montana song)

"Nobody's Perfect"
Single by Miley Cyrus
from the album Hannah Montana 2
ReleasedMay 15, 2007 (2007-05-15)
GenreDance-rock
Length3:20
LabelWalt Disney
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Matthew Gerrard
Miley Cyrus singles chronology
"Who Said"
(2006)
"Nobody's Perfect"
(2007)
"Make Some Noise"
(2007)
Music video
"Nobody's Perfect" on YouTube

"Nobody's Perfect" is a song by American recording artist Miley Cyrus, credited as her character Hannah Montana from the eponymous television series. It was released on May 15, 2007 by Walt Disney Records as the lead single from Hannah Montana 2 (2007), the accompanying soundtrack album for its second season. Written by Matthew Gerrard and Robbie Nevil and produced by Gerrard, "Nobody's Perfect" discusses the importance of overcoming mistakes; it is heavily based on synthpop musical styles.

Contemporary music critics spoke favorably of "Nobody's Perfect" in their reviews, and were appreciative of its overall production. The track peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100; by exceeding sales of 906,000 copies as of October 2010, it has additionally become the most successful track from the Hannah Montana franchise. A live performance of Cyrus performing the track as Montana serves as the accompanying music video for the track; it was broadcast first on Disney Channel, although it was later included in the Vevo catalog. The song was also performed during Cyrus' headlining Best of Both Worlds Tour (2007–08).

Background and composition

Miley Cyrus portrayed Hannah Montana (pictured) on the television series.

In Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus portrays the character Miley Stewart, a teenager who lives the secret double life as the pop star Hannah Montana. She stated that "most songs for the first season reflect the show, with Miley or Hannah making sure the other doesn't get caught or whatever," opining that the tracks provided series producers with the opportunity to "make sure that everyone understood the characters". By comparison, Cyrus described material used during the second season as "more speaking out to the fans."[1]

"Nobody's Perfect" was written and produced by Matthew Gerrard; he additionally oversaw its mixing and programming, and performed the guitar, bass, and keyboards. Greg Critchley plated the drums, while Marco Luciana was responsible for the keyboards and Ashley Sauning contributed the background vocals.[2] "Nobody's Perfect" appears as the second track on Hannah Montana 2 with a duration of three minutes and twenty seconds.[3] It is written in the key of C-minor with Cyrus' vocals spanning two octaves from C4 to D5.[4] The song was described by Allmusic as "synth-driven pop",[5] and discusses the importance of overcoming mistakes.[6]

Release

Before being released as the lead single from Hannah Montana 2 on May 15, 2007,[7] "Nobody's Perfect" was included on the reissued two-disc special edition of the original soundtrack Hannah Montana (2006).[8] Within the Hannah Montana storyline, "Nobody's Perfect" was written by Miley's father Robby Stewart; it is first heard in the episode "Get Down, Study-udy-udy" during the second season, where Miley reworks the song into the "Bone Dance" as a way of helping her study for a biology mid-term exam.[9] A live performance of Cyrus performing the track as Montana acts as an accompanying music video for the track; it was initially released on July 3, 2007,[10] although it was reissued through Vevo on December 10, 2010.[11] It was also performed during Cyrus' headlining Best of Both Worlds Tour (2007–08).[12]

Reception

"Nobody's Perfect" received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. Writing for AllMusic, Heather Phares appreciated the incorporation of "shiny, synth-driven pop", which she credited with "[making] the first soundtrack a hit."[5] Shirley Halperin from Entertainment Weekly shared a similar sentiment, describing it as "pure pop candy".[13] Bob Waliszewski and Bob Smithouser from Plugged In (publication) classified "Nobody's Perfect" as "pro-social content", where "rather than [beating] herself up over mistakes, the singer acknowledges that 'Nobody's Perfect'" through the lyrics "Everybody has those days" and "You live and you learn it".[6] "Nobody's Perfect" charted at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,[14] and reached numbers 14 and 25 on the Billboard Digital Songs and Pop 100 charts, respectively.[15][16] As of October 2010, the track has sold 906,000 copies in the United States, becoming the most successful song from the Hannah Montana franchise.[17] "Nobody's Perfect" also charted at numbers 73 and 87 on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles and Australian ARIA Charts, respectively.[16][18]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Hannah Montana 2.[2]

Recording
Personnel
  • Greg Critchley – drums
  • Matthew Gerrard – songwriter, producer, mixing, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming
  • Marco Luciana – keyboards
  • Hannah Montana – lead vocals
  • Robbie Nevil – songwriter
  • Ashley Sauning – background vocals

Charts

Chart performance for "Nobody's Perfect"
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 87
Canada (Canadian Digital Songs) (Billboard)[16] 73
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 27
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[16] 25

Certification

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[19] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
United States May 15, 2007 Digital download Walt Disney [7]

References

  1. ^ Corey Moss (December 4, 2006). "'Hannah Montana' Star Miley Cyrus Ready To Break Out, Hilary-Style". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus (Media notes). Hannah Montana. Miley Cyrus. Walt Disney Records. Hollywood Records. 2007.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  3. ^ "iTunes - Music - Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus by Hannah Montana". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. June 21, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  4. ^ "Hannah Montana "Nobody's Perfect" Sheet Music". MusicNotes. Alfred Publishing. 2007-08-13. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Heather Phares. "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus - Hannah Montana". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Bob Waliszewski; Bob Smithouser. "Miley Cyrus: Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus". PluggedIn. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  7. ^ a b "iTunes - Music - Nobody's Perfect - Single by Hannah Montana". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. May 15, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  8. ^ "Hannah Montana: 2-Disc Special Edition Soundtrack [Extra Tracks, Soundtrack, Special Edition]". Amazon. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  9. ^ "Get Down, Study-udy-udy". Hannah Montana. Season 2. April 26, 2007. Disney Channel.
  10. ^ "iTunes - Music Videos - Nobody's Perfect (Live) by Hannah Montana". iTunes Store (US). Apple. July 3, 2007. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  11. ^ Hannah Montana - Nobody's Perfect (Music video). YouTube. Google. 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  12. ^ Jane Stevenson (December 15, 2007). "Young fans show Hannah Montana love". Canoe.ca. Québecor Média. Archived from the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  13. ^ Shirley Halperin (June 22, 2007). "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus Review". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Hannah Montana Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  15. ^ "Hannah Montana - Chart history". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  16. ^ a b c d "Hannah Montana: Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  17. ^ Paul Grein (October 21, 2010). "Chart Watch Extra: A Milestone For 'Glee'". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  18. ^ a b "Hannah Montana – Nobody's Perfect". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  19. ^ "American single certifications – Hannah Montana – Nobody's Perfect". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 10, 2023.