success made it Powter's "anthem" and would be included on his later compilation albums B-Sides (2007) and Best of Me (2010). Background and release After leaving MacEwan University in Edmonton at 20, Powter moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where he played keyboards before he started composing songs. In 1997, he partnered with music producer Jeff Dawson; they recorded "Bad Day" in 2002. For two weeks, Powter had a melody that "wouldn't go away" from his mind. Thinking of a lyric that would fit the melody, he thought an "up and poppy" lyric would make it "the cheesiest song of all time". He then thought "bad day" would be a good choice for the chorus, and wrote the lyrics partly based on his life as "a struggling musician". It was the last song to be composed for his album, with Powter writing it in an hour during a ferry journey between Victoria and Vancouver. Powter said it was not a lyrically elaborate song, but that: "mostly it's about phonics. It's about words that sing great. I was mumbling something, and those words came out." Dawson and Powter included the song on a disc that was offered to record labels that asked Powter to audition in New York, but his lack of stage presence led to the labels turning him down. Disappointed, he returned to Vancouver to move on because: "once a record company says no, it's difficult to come around again". After this failure, his new representative, Gary Stamler, played a demo tape for Tom Whalley, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records. Whalley offered Powter a contract but he was reluctant to sign it because he considered himself primarily a songwriter. He accepted the offer in April 2003 and, along with Dawson and producer Mitchell Froom, worked on his album and the song in Los Angeles, California. The album was originally recorded in Powter's Vancouver apartment but Warner Bros. asked that it be rerecorded. However, because Froom wanted to keep its "original feel[ing]", in Powter's words it was just "touch[ed] up". "Bad Day" was first released to three French radio stations—RTL, NRJ, and Europe 2—in early 2005. On February 8, Barnes & Noble released it on an exclusive extended play (EP), which also contained "Free Loop", "Lie to Me", and "Song 6". In the United States it was digitally released on February 22, 2005. In 2005, Warner Bros. Records released