"Sorry Not Sorry" is a song by American singer
Demi Lovato. She co-wrote the song with
Sean Douglas, Trevor Brown, William Zaire Simmons and its producer
Oak Felder. It was released on July 11, 2017,[2] through
Island Records,
Republic Records,
Hollywood Records, and
Safehouse Records, as the lead single from her sixth studio album, Tell Me You Love Me. It's been described as a
pop and
R&B song. An acoustic version of the song is included on the deluxe version of the album. A re-recorded version featuring British-American guitarist
Slash was released on July 14, 2023, and was included on her first remix album Revamped.
Commercially, "Sorry Not Sorry" reached number six in the US and the top ten in several countries. Its music video was directed by
Hannah Lux Davis and released on July 19, 2017. The song was certified platinum in Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Mexico, Portugal and Denmark, double platinum in Norway and the United Kingdom, triple platinum in Canada, 6x platinum in Australia, 7x platinum in the United States, and diamond in Brazil.
"Sorry Not Sorry" was written by
Warren "Oak" Felder,
Sean Douglas, Trevor Brown, William Zaire Simmons and
Demi Lovato for the latter's sixth studio album, Tell Me You Love Me. The production was handled by
Oak with co-production by "Downtown" Trevor Brown and Zaire Koalo. The track was recorded with guidance by Jose Balaguer and Oak in
Westlake Recording Studios and SuCasa Recording, respectively, both located in
Los Angeles. The
engineering of "Sorry Not Sorry" was done by Jose Balaguer, Oak and Chris Galland, added by Nicole "Coco" Llorens and assisted by Keith "Daquan" Sorrells.
Manny Marroquin finished the
mixing, assisted by Robin Florent and Scott Desmarais. The
mastering was done by
Chris Gehringer and Will Quinnell at
Sterling Sound Studios. All four co-writers provided background vocals. Oak Felder performed the keyboards and also did the arrangement. Felder and Brown programmed the synthesizer, while Koalo programmed the drums.[5]
Felder revealed to Songwriter Universe that the concept of the track was inspired by a phone conversation with his wife which Lovato "connected" to. "It connected specifically for her, because there's a lot of things in her past that people are looking for her to be apologetic for," he added.[6]
Stefan Johnson of production team
The Monsters and the Strangerz revealed to Variety that Lovato was conflicted between a track called "
The Middle" and "Sorry Not Sorry" as the lead single, in May. Lovato opted the latter, as she called the former "too
pop" and Lovato was trying to go "more soulful". The track was eventually
recorded by Russian-German record producer
Zedd with American
electronic music duo
Grey with American
country music singer
Maren Morris.[7]
Lovato told Noisey that she had always wanted "Sorry Not Sorry" to be the lead single of Tell Me You Love Me but her inner circle felt the
title track was a better choice "because it's emotional—it's vulnerable". Lovato then played both songs to the founder of
Roc Nation, which her management Philymack was partnered with,
Jay-Z. "And he said 'Sorry Not Sorry' because it was lighthearted. He was like, 'A lot of people see you do the emotional thing all the time, but they don't see you have fun!' And I was like, 'That's such a good point.' And [his opinion] kind of persuaded other people, too."[8]
Release
On June 29, 2017, Lovato published a trio of pictures on her
Instagram and
Twitter accounts showing an acronym titled "SNS" causing speculation related to a possible new single.[9] Five days after, the singer confirmed the release of a song via an Instagram video, and teased the instrumental of the track. The following day, Lovato posted a video on her Twitter revealing the title "Sorry Not Sorry".[2][10][11] Lovato explained to
Amazon Music that "Sorry Not Sorry" is a song for the "haters" with the message "You know what? I'm good now, and sorry I'm not sorry that you may not be loving where your life is at the moment."[12]
Composition
"Sorry Not Sorry" is described by critics as a
pop,[13] and
R&B[14] song. It is written in the key of
B minor with a
tempo of 144 beats per minute in
common time. Lovato's vocal range on the song spans from the low note of A3 to the high note of A5.[15] It runs for three minutes and twenty-three seconds.[16]
Critical reception
Forbes contributor Hugh McIntyre described "Sorry Not Sorry" as "an unapologetic, braggadocious look in the mirror, with Lovato taking the opportunity to praise herself, and rightfully so," and further opined that "Lovato really packs a punch with her powerful vocals, which have been setting her apart from other female pop stars for years now."[17] Elias Leight of Rolling Stone described the song as a "gleeful revenge on a callous ex" with "heavy rhythmic effects."[18] Christopher Rosa of Glamour felt the song "takes self-empowerment to new heights."[19] Lars Brandle of Billboard wrote it was "bound to be embraced as a girl-power anthem."[20] On a less positive note, Mike Wass from
Idolator stated that its theme was something that had "been done several dozen times before," as the concept is a "fairly tired tale of turning the tables on an ex/hater," and felt the chorus "offers more of the same."[21]
Recognition
"Sorry Not Sorry" was included on several year-end lists. The website Thrillist ranked the song at number eight.[22]Stereogum's Chris DeVille considered it the 18th pop song of the year, writing that "even the firmest gospel-pop foundation will not stop Demi Lovato from blowing your house down every time."[23]Elle Magazine's Nerisha Penrose included the track on her list at number 9 and described it as "an infectious, hater-shunning summer anthem will surely shut down all the naysayers."[24]PopMatters ranked the song at number forty one.[25]Billboard and American Songwriter ranked the song number four and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Demi Lovato songs.[26][27]
Music video
The official music video was directed by
Hannah Lux Davis and released via
Vevo on July 19, 2017.[28][29] The video sees Lovato throwing a house party, frolicking by a pool, in an inflatable tub, on an outdoor dance floor, and in a beach chair, as her friends thrash, laugh, and kiss around her.
Paris Hilton,
Wiz Khalifa and
Jamie Foxx have cameo appearances in the video.[30]
"Sorry Not Sorry" debuted on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 52 three days following its release, selling 45,000 copies in the country. The single peaked at number six on the chart, becoming Lovato's first top-ten entry since "
Heart Attack" in 2013, and her highest-charting single in the US. As of August 2021, "Sorry Not Sorry" is Lovato's most-streamed song in the United States amassing 1.040 billion streams.[43] The song also reached number one on the
Mainstream Top 40 chart, becoming Lovato's second number-one on the chart. "Sorry Not Sorry" also managed to reach the top 10 in the charts of other major music markets, such as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and United Kingdom, where it became Lovato's sixth top 10 single.
Published by DDLovato Music/Universal Music Corp. (
ASCAP), Sony/ATV (
BMI), Sony/ATV (BMI), Trevor Brown Publishing Designee (ASCAP), Quest Da Stars (ASCAP)
In January 2022, Lovato held a "funeral" for her pop music ahead of the release of her eighth studio album Holy Fvck in August of that year.[129] The album, which embraced a heavier rock sound that departed from the pop sound of Lovato's previous releases, was supported by the
Holy Fvck Tour. The setlist included several rock versions of her older pop songs, including "Sorry Not Sorry".[130]
On March 24, 2023, Lovato released
a rock version of her pop song "Heart Attack" to mark the song's 10th anniversary.[131] On May 18, she announced via social media that she would release
a rock version of "Cool for the Summer", which was released a week after.[132] "Sorry Not Sorry (Rock Version)", which featured a guitar solo from British-American musician
Slash, was announced on July 10 and released four days after.[133] The updated take on the song offers "powerful new vocals" and new production from
Warren "Oak" Felder, Keith "Ten4" Sorrells, and Alex Niceforo.[134] Discussing the track, Lovato said: "Slash is an iconic artist who I've been a fan of for years, it's an absolute honour to have such a legend like him on the rock version of 'Sorry Not Sorry'."[135]
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ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201733 into search. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201734 into search. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201737 into search. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201736 into search. Retrieved September 11, 2017.