Scars (Papa Roach song)

"Scars"
Single by Papa Roach
from the album Getting Away with Murder
Released	November 1, 2004 (2004-11-01)
Genre	Alternative rock[1] emo[2]
Length	3:28
Label	Geffen
Composer(s)	Jerry Horton Tobin Esperance
Lyricist(s)	Jacoby Shaddix
Producer(s)	Howard Benson
Papa Roach singles chronology
"Getting Away with Murder" (2004) "Scars" (2004) "...To Be Loved" (2006)

"Scars" is the second single released from American rock band Papa Roach's fourth album, Getting Away with Murder (2004), and was released to rock radio on November 1, 2004. The song was the 36th-most-successful single of the United States in 2005, when it climbed to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. As with several of their other songs, Papa Roach has performed "Scars" live with Spanish lyrics.

Music video

There were two different music videos for the song. The first music video was directed by Steven Murashige and notably featured computer animation. After receiving negative reception from fans and the band itself, a second video was shot.^[3]

The second music video was directed by Motion Theory.^[4] The video tells the story of Shaddix's girlfriend, played by Taylor Cole, who drinks excessively and parties too much. One day, she gets too drunk and passes out at a party at Shaddix's house. She wakes up the following morning with a hangover and, while grabbing her coat, knocks over a candle, which lands on a mat on the floor. The mat is stained with her drink from the night before. She unknowingly lights the house on fire and then goes home. When Shaddix arrives, he finds his house burnt down. The girlfriend returns to the ruin, sees what happened, and realizes what she did. The band performs this song on top of the burnt remains of Shaddix's house.

Chart performance

"Scars" was Papa Roach's first and only top-40 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 15.^[5] It reached No. 2 and No. 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, respectively, and became their first hit on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40, peaking at No. 7.^[6][7][8] In Canada, the song rose to No. 22 on the Radio & Records CHR/Pop Top 30 listing.^[9] It also charted in Germany, peaking at No. 82 in June 2005.^[10] In the United States, the song is certified 3× platinum for digital sales exceeding 3,000,000.^[11]

Track listings

European maxi-CD and Australian CD single^[4]^[12]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Scars"	3:28
2.	"Scars" (acoustic version)	3:08
3.	"Getting Away with Murder" (live Napster version)	3:26
4.	"Scars" (video)

Personnel

Personnel are adapted from the European maxi-CD single liner notes.^[4]

• Jacoby Shaddix – words
• Jerry Horton – music
• Tobin Esperance – music
• Howard Benson – production
• Chris Lord-Alge – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2005) Peak position Bolivia (Notimex)[13] 3 Canada CHR/Pop Top 30 (Radio & Records)[9] 22 Canada Rock Top 30 (Radio & Records)[14] 9 Germany (GfK)[10] 82 US Billboard Hot 100[5] 15 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[15] 31 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[6] 2 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[7] 4 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[8] 7

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position US Billboard Hot 100[16] 36 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[17] 97 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[18] 10 US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[19] 15

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[20]	Gold	15,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[21]	Silver	200,000^‡
United States (RIAA)[11]	3× Platinum	3,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	November 1, 2004	Mainstream rock active rock alternative radio	Geffen	[22]
	January 24, 2005	Contemporary hit radio		[23]
Australia	May 23, 2005	CD		[24]

References

1. D., Spence (September 14, 2004). "Getting Away With Murder". IGN. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
2. Lowry, Candace (October 21, 2014). "Songs Every Former Emo Kid Will Never Forget Crying To". BuzzFeed. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
3. Montgomery, James (December 28, 2004). "Disappointed Papa Roach Fans Take Note: 'Scars' Video Gets A Do-Over". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
4. Scars (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Papa Roach. Geffen Records. 2005. 0602498821374.
5. "Papa Roach Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
6. "Papa Roach Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
7. "Papa Roach Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
8. "Papa Roach Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
9. "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1619. August 12, 2005. p. 30. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
10. "Papa Roach – Scars" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
11. "American single certifications – Papa Roach – Scars". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
12. Scars (Australian CD single liner notes). Papa Roach. Geffen Records. 2005. 9882137.
13. "Shakira reappears in music charts". El Siglo de Torreón. March 13, 2007. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
14. "R&R Canada Rock Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1594. February 18, 2005. p. 59. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
15. "Papa Roach Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
16. "Billboard Top 100 – 2005". billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
17. "2005 The Year in Charts: Top Adult Top 40 Songs". Billboard Radio Monitor. Vol. 13, no. 50. December 16, 2005. p. 31.
18. "2005 The Year in Charts: Top Mainstream Top 40 Songs". Billboard Radio Monitor. Vol. 13, no. 50. December 16, 2005. p. 26.
19. "2005 The Year in Music & Touring: Hot Modern Rock Songs". Billboard. Vol. 117, no. 52. December 24, 2005. p. YE-70.
20. "New Zealand single certifications – Papa Roach – Scars". Radioscope. Retrieved December 23, 2024. Type Scars in the "Search:" field.
21. "British single certifications – Papa Roach – Scars". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
22. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1579. October 29, 2004. p. 19. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
23. "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1590. January 21, 2005. p. 23. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
24. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 23rd May 2005" (PDF). ARIA. May 23, 2005. p. 28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-06-19. Retrieved May 21, 2021.