Don't Speak

"Don't Speak" is the third single from Tragic Kingdom, the third album by Californian ska/rock group, No Doubt, released in late 1996.

Chart performance

Upon release, the song immediately began to receive extensive airplay, and it became the most widely played song on American radio in 1996. 1. Not surprisingly, the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay, and maintained that position for sixteen consecutive weeks, a record at the time. Although the record was broken in 1998 by the Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" with eighteen weeks at number one, the song remains in second place of songs on the Hot 100 Airplay with the most weeks at number one (tied with Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together", which was also number one for sixteen weeks).

Related Topics:
1998 - Goo Goo Dolls - Mariah Carey - We Belong Together

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For all its airplay though, the song was not allowed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 as no commercial single was released for it (which were required for charting purposes at the time). Not surprisingly, the song was also a hit on No Doubt's main radio format at the time, Modern Rock Tracks where it climbed to number two. The song also proved to be a crossover smash, hitting number one on Adult Top 40 and even hitting a respectable number six and number nine on Adult Contemporary and the Rhythmic Top 40 respectively. In terms of local countdowns, "Don't Speak" reached number eleven on the KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1996.

Related Topics:
Billboard Hot 100 - Modern Rock Tracks - Adult Top 40 - Adult Contemporary - Rhythmic Top 40 - KROQ Top 106.7 Countdown of 1996

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Internationally, the song was also very successful. It debuted at number one in the United Kingdom, maintaining the top position for four weeks and becoming a rare million-selling single. It also debuted at number one in Canada, maintaining the zenith position for five weeks and becoming one of the biggest-selling singles of the year. Australia was another major music market where the song received widespread airplay, debuting at #1 and maintaining the peak position for 8 weeks. In Switzerland, "Don't Speak" debuted at number eighteen before climbing to number one (for four weeks) six weeks later. After falling from number one, it remained in the top ten for an additional seven weeks.

Related Topics:
United Kingdom - Canada - Australia - Switzerland

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The CD single had an alternative version of "Don't Speak", an acoustic version of "Hey You", and "Greener Pastures" as the B-Side. A live version of the song appears as the B-side on the "Sunday Morning" CD single.

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