Ironic (song)

"Ironic"
A woman in silhouette singing and bending down with the microphone. The silhouette background is filled with red lights and shadows, and the words "Alanis", "Morissette" and "Ironic" are written in white cursive letters at the bottom half of the image.
Canadian limited edition of North American artwork
Single by Alanis Morissette
from the album Jagged Little Pill
B-side
  • "You Oughta Know" (acoustic/live)
  • "Forgiven" (live)
  • "Not the Doctor" (live)
  • "Wake Up" (live)
ReleasedFebruary 27, 1996
Recorded1994 – April 1995
Genre
Length3:48
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Glen Ballard
Alanis Morissette singles chronology
"Hand in My Pocket"
(1995) 		"Ironic"
(1996) 		"Head over Feet"
(1996)
Music video
"Ironic" on YouTube

"Ironic" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, released in February 1996 by Maverick and Warner Bros. as the third single from her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill (1995). It was written by Morissette and Glen Ballard, and was produced by him. The lyrics present several unfortunate situations that are described as "ironic"; this has led to debate as to whether any of these match the accepted meaning of irony.[2]

For six weeks, the track topped the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, eventually becoming the second-most-successful song of the year in the country. It also reached the top five in Australia, New Zealand, and Norway. In the United States, the song reached number four on April 13, 1996, and since then it has been her highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100. "Ironic" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song won the Juno Award for Single of the Year, and received two Grammy Award nominations in 1997, for Record of the Year and Best Short Form Music Video. French director Stéphane Sednaoui filmed the music video. In it, Morissette drives through a winter landscape, and she plays multiple roles as her passengers. MTV nominated the music video for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, winning three of them. The music video was listed on VH1's "Greatest Music Videos" list and was parodied by DBA Flip, Allison Rheaume, Rusty and "Weird Al" Yankovic.

"Ironic" was included on the set list of Morissette's Jagged Little Pill World Tour (1995), and her compilation albums MTV Unplugged (1999), The Collection (2005), among others. The song was covered by Mexican duet Jesse & Joy for their album Esta Es Mi Vida Sesiones (2007), and by American band Four Year Strong for their cover album Explains It All (2009).

  1. ^ Myers, Owen (January 22, 2023). "Kylie Minouge - Impossible Princess". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Roberts, Michael Reid (May 8, 2014). "What everybody gets wrong about Alanis Morissette's "Ironic"". Salon. Retrieved July 24, 2017.