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Two Is Better Than One

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"Two Is Better Than One"
Single by Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift
from the album Love Drunk
ReleasedSeptember 8, 2009 (2009-09-08)
Recorded2008–09
GenrePop rock[1]
Length4:02
LabelSony
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Brian Howes[2]
Boys Like Girls singles chronology
"Love Drunk"
(2009) 		"Two Is Better Than One"
(2009) 		"Heart Heart Heartbreak"
(2010)
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Fifteen"
(2009) 		"Two Is Better Than One"
(2009) 		"Fearless"
(2010)
Music video
"Two Is Better Than One" on YouTube

"Two Is Better Than One" is a song by the American rock band Boys Like Girls from their second studio album Love Drunk (2009). The song features American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was written by Martin Johnson and Swift. It was released for digital download on September 8, 2009,[3] and was sent to mainstream radio in the United States on October 19, as the band's second official single from the album.[4] On some advanced copies of the album sent to reviewers and members of the press, the song does not feature Swift, rather, Johnson handles all vocals.

The track was a commercial success. By December 2011, "Two Is Better Than One" had sold 1,508,000 copies in the United States alone.[5] It additionally received significant international airplay, reaching number 18 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Canadian Hot 100.[6]

Compositon

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"Two Is Better Than One" was written by Martin Johnson and Taylor Swift, while production was handled by Brian Howes. The song is written in the key of C major with a swift tempo of 128 beats per minute.[7]

Music video

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The music video directed by Meiert Avis and Jeremy Alter, was released on December 10, 2009.[8] The video features Erik Huffman from Survivor: China and Mika Combs from The Amazing Race 15. Swift does not appear in the video, but her vocals are still heard. It shows the story of a couple's relationship (the couple being played by Huffman and Combs). The band are shown performing in an empty hall, starting with Johnson playing guitar alone before the rest of the band members walk in and join.[9]

A music video e-Card was also released for the song.[10]

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Billboard[11]

"Two Is Better Than One" was met with mixed reviews from music critics. A positive response came from Michael Menachem of Billboard who stated, "Martin Johnson's falsetto complements Swift's sweet tone, and producer Brian Howes builds an orchestral arrangement around their vocals that would be well-suited to a climactic movie moment."[11] However, a negative review came from Tim Sendra of AllMusic, which he described the track as "terrible" and "something Diane Warren would have shelved for being too trite and formulaic."[12] Another negative response came from Gregory Robson of AbsolutePunk.net who felt that Swift's "contributions aren't as promising as one would expect."[13] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone remarked, "For some reason, they decided to delay her entrance until a minute into the song, arguably the worst decision in the history of decisions."[14]

Accolades

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Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2011 BMI Awards Award-Winning Songs Won [15]
Publisher of the Year Won

Chart performance

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"Two Is Better Than One" debuted at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16] It fell off the following week but re-entered at number 79 and rose the following week to number 64. For the week of January 9, 2010, the song then reached its peak at number 18 on the chart.[17] It became Boys Like Girls' first top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their biggest hit single to date, and Swift's eleventh top 20 single.[18]

By December 2011, "Two Is Better Than One" had sold 1,508,000 copies in the U.S. alone, outselling other big Taylor Swift hits such as "Tim McGraw" and "Fifteen".[5] As of November 2017, the song has sold 1.7 million copies in the United States.[19]

Charts

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Certifications

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Certifications for "Two Is Better Than One"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[31] Gold 40,000*
United States (RIAA)[32] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Kiefer, Kate (June 4, 2009). "Six Great Taylor Swift Songs". Paste. Paste Media Group LLC. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  2. ^ "The Billboard Reviews". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 3 October 2009. pp. 9–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  3. ^ "Two Is Better Than One - Single by Boys Like Girls". Apple Music. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  4. ^ "FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!". Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Ask Billboard: What Are Your 2011 Favorites? Archived 2013-06-20 at the Wayback Machine". billboard.com By Gary Trust. December 12, 2011.
  6. ^ "Charts Year End: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  7. ^ Taylor, Swift; Martin, Johnson; Swift, Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor; Girls, Boys Like; Taylor, Swift (2009-12-31). "Two Is Better Than One". Musicnotes.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  8. ^ "Boys Like Girls - "Two Is Better Than One"". MTV. December 10, 2009. Archived from the original on March 8, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
  9. ^ "CMT Videos: "Two Is Better Than One"". Country Music Television. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
  10. ^ "Preview eCard - Boys Like Girls - Two Is Better Than One, Boys Like Girls (MP3_Themes)". www.hdgreetings.com. Archived from the original on 2010-03-07.
  11. ^ a b Michael Menachem (December 2, 2009). "Boys Like Girls featuring Taylor Swift, 'Two Is Better Than One'". Billboard. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  12. ^ Tim Sendra. "Love Drunk Review by Tim Sendra". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  13. ^ Gregory Robson (September 1, 2009). "Boys Like Girls - Love Drunk". AbsolutePunk.net. Archived from the original on December 19, 2012. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  14. ^ Rob Sheffield (April 26, 2024). "All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  15. ^ "David Foster Named BMI Icon at 59th Annual BMI Pop Music Awards". Broadcast Music, Inc. May 18, 2011. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  16. ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of September 26, 2009". Billboard. September 26, 2009. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  17. ^ "Billboard Hot 100: Week of January 30, 2010". Billboard. January 30, 2010. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  18. ^ "Taylor Swift's 40 Biggest Hot 100 Hits (Updated 2019)". Billboard. 2019-12-11. Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  19. ^ Trust, Gary (November 26, 2017). "Ask Billboard: Taylor Swift's Career Album & Song Sales". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  20. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  22. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  24. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  25. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  26. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  27. ^ "Boys Like Girls Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 18, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  28. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2010-12-10. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  29. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  30. ^ "Pop Songs – Year-End 2010". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  31. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Boys Like Girls – Two Is Better Than One". Music Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  32. ^ "American single certifications – Boys Like Girls – Two Is Better Than One". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
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