| Party for Two | |
| Cover: | Party for Two.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Caption: | Single cover for the pop version. The maxi single uses the same artwork, but with a red background. |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Shania Twain featuring Billy Currington or Mark McGrath |
| Album: | Greatest Hits |
| Recorded: | 2004 |
| Label: | Mercury Nashville |
| Producer: | Robert John "Mutt" Lange |
| Chronology: | Shania Twain |
| Prev Title: | It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing |
| Prev Year: | 2004 |
| Next Title: | Don't! |
| Next Year: | 2005 |
"Party for Two" is a song recorded by Canadian country singer-songwriter Shania Twain. It was released as the lead single from her first Greatest Hits compilation on September 7, 2004. The song was produced by Twain's then-husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange, and co-written by Twain and Lange. "Party for Two" was recorded as both a pop song with pop rock band Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath, and a country version with country musician Billy Currington. The country version with Currington was released to country radio, while the pop mix with McGrath was released to pop audiences.
"Party for Two" peaked at number 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Internationally the song charted highly in six countries. The song was also remixed for club play.[1] In 2023, "Party for Two" was certified Platinum by the RIAA for producing over 1,000,000 certified units.
In 2004 at the end of the Up! Tour, Twain took a break before deciding to release a greatest hits album. She included 17 singles on the compilation. "Party for Two" was one of three new songs recorded for Greatest Hits, the others being "Don't!" and "I Ain't No Quitter". "Party for Two" was serviced to country radio as the lead single on September 7, 2004. It was released on October 25, 2004, in Australia, Germany, and for US adult contemporary radio. It was also released in Canada and the United Kingdom on November 2 and November 22.
"Party for Two" was released in two versions: a pop version featuring Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath for international audiences and a country version featuring Billy Currington for North American country radio. Twain and her husband, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, wrote the song, with Lange handling production. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Party for Two" is written in the key of B major with a tempo of 122 beats per minute. The chord progression contains open fifths: E5–B5–F5, and the vocals span from E3 to G4.[2]
An accompanying music video for "Party for Two" shows Twain walking around town handing out invitations to movers, a waiter and an artist to help her get ready for her "party for two" later that night. At the party, Twain and her guest end up swinging on a chandelier and smashing plates. Two separate versions of the video exist: one with Mark McGrath singing and the other with Billy Currington. The country version was released to music stations such as CMT and GAC while the pop version was released to VH1, MuchMoreMusic, and other international stations.
The pop version won the MuchMusic Video Award for the MuchMoreMusic Video of the Year[3] while the country version was nominated for Collaborative Video of the Year at the 2005 CMT Music Awards.
"Party for Two" debuted on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs the week of September 18, 2004, at number 39. It rose to its peak position of number 7 on December 25, 2004, where it stayed for one week; it stayed 20 weeks overall on the chart. The single also peaked at number 57 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and 58 on the Radio Songs chart.
The single debuted at number 36 on the Adult Contemporary chart on November 20, 2004. It peaked at number 16 on the chart for the week of January 22, 2005, where it stayed for two non-consecutive weeks; it spent 18 weeks overall.
"Party for Two" debuted on the UK Singles Chart for the week of December 4, 2004, at number 10. It stayed in the UK charts for nine weeks.[4] In German-speaking Europe, "Party for Two" peaked at numbers 6 and 7 in Austria and Germany. In Twain's home country of Canada, the single spent six weeks atop the BDS Airplay Chart and peaked at number 2 on the sales-only Canadian Singles Chart. "Party for Two" also charted highly in Denmark, Portugal, Spain, and Scotland.
Twain first performed the country version of "Party for Two" on Good Morning America with Billy Currington in November 2004. She also performed the country version with him on the German music show Wetten, dass..?. Twain performed the pop version featuring Mark McGrath for the first time on Dutch TV. She also performed the version featuring him at the 2004 Bambi Awards. Twain also performed the pop version with Mark on the British morning show GMTV.
These are the formats of major releases.UK CD Maxi
Germany & Canada CD Single
UK CD Single
Europe CD Single
Germany & Europe 3-inch CD Single
Europe 12-inch remixes
Almighty Records provided six different remixes of the song.[5]
| Chart (2004–2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[6] | 2 |
| Canada AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)[7] | 4 |
| Canada Country Top 30 (Radio & Records)[8] | 3 |
| Canada Hot AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)[9] | 8 |
| Romania (Romanian Top 100)[10] | 39 |
| Spain (Airplay Chart)[11] | 7 |
| Region | Date | Format | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | October 25, 2004 | CD single | Universal | [13] | |
| Germany | [14] | ||||
| United States | Mercury | [15] | |||
| Canada | November 2, 2004 | CD single | [16] | ||
| scope=row | United States | November 8, 2004 | Contemporary hit radio | [17] | |
| United Kingdom | November 22, 2004 | CD single | Universal | [18] [19] | |
| Russia | November 24, 2004 | Contemporary hit radio | Universal | [20] |