Better Than Me (Hinder song) explained

Better Than Me
Cover:	hinder_better_than_me.png
Type:	single
Artist:	Hinder
Album:	Extreme Behavior
Length:	3:44
Label:	Universal
Producer:	Brian Howes
Prev Title:	How Long
Prev Year:	2006
Next Title:	Homecoming Queen
Next Year:	2007

"Better Than Me" is the fourth single released from American rock band Hinder's debut album, Extreme Behavior (2005). This song was ranked number 66 on MTV Asias list of Top 100 Hits of 2007.^[1]

Critical reception

Billboard magazine called the single "smaller and less bombastic, but [as] equally infectious" as "Lips of an Angel".^[2]

Music video

The music video for the song starts with the band playing in a dark room, then shows a dysfunctional young couple at their home. The young man buys meth from a drug dealer in a pickup truck. While looking at pictures of him and his girlfriend together, he cracks open a light bulb with a knife, pours the meth into it, and heats it on a stove. After ingesting the meth, he has a violent, painful reaction to it, suffering a seizure and itching all over his body. His girlfriend walks in and begins to confront him. He starts to throw things at her. The lights of the room the band was in are turned on and it is revealed to be a cathedral. The funeral of the young man seen earlier is in progress, and it is clear that he died from an overdose. The girlfriend rushes forward, in tears, to his casket and puts an envelope into his hands after being stopped by her best friend.

A contest was held on YouTube challenging aspiring directors to create their own video for the song with the reward being the video being shown on television as well as an unpaid job as an assistant on the set of the official video. The winner was not shown on television, and most of the entries involved similar subject-matter to the official video, with very few entries not revolving around drug addiction and only a few not ending in suicide by overdose.

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2007)	Position
Australia (ARIA)^[3]	74
US Billboard Hot 100^[4]	97
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)^[5]	29

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label
United States	January 29, 2007	Alternative radio	Universal Republic	^[6]
	February 6, 2007	Contemporary hit radio		^[7]
Australia	June 4, 2007	CD single	Universal	^[8]

Notes and References

1. [MTV Networks Asia|MTV Asia]
2. Philipp, Sven (April 7, 2007), "Better Than Me". Billboard. 119 (14):38
3. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2007. Australian Recording Industry Association. December 3, 2019.
4. Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2007. Billboard. December 3, 2019.
5. Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2007. Billboard. September 22, 2019.
6. Web site: Modern Rock - Airplay Archive. https://web.archive.org/web/20090124130054/http://fmqb.com:80/Article.asp?id=16771. FMQB. dead. September 4, 2021. January 24, 2009.
7. Web site: CHR - Airplay Archive. https://web.archive.org/web/20090219164931/http://fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=69239. FMQB. dead. September 4, 2021. February 19, 2009.
8. New Releases Singles - Week Commencing 4th June 2007. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20070618140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20070619-0000/ISSUE900.pdf. dead. 2007-06-18. The ARIA Report. 900. June 4, 2007. 30. Australian Recording Industry Association. September 4, 2021. Trove.