Best Days (Graham Colton song)

Career

After the Graham Colton Band split up in 2006, Colton had spent much of 2005 touring with Kelly Clarkson, whom he was also romantically involved with. He then started writing material for his next solo record, Here Right Now, which came out in late October 2007. The album entered the Billboard New Artist/Heatseeker chart at number two, and reached number four on the Pop Album chart and number eleven on iTunes’ Top Album chart. To promote the release, Colton did a series of solo shows with Vanessa Carlton.

On March 10, 2008, he said a full tour for the album would be announced later that year. He also appeared on the Today Show, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the Late Show with David Letterman. The album’s first single, “Best Days,” was named iTunes’ single of the week, and the site’s editors later called Colton a “Top New Pop Artist” for 2007. The song also received a “Singles Review” in Billboard magazine and was featured in the publication’s “Breaking and Entering” column.

Television performances

Colton made his national television debut on NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday, February 2, 2008, performing "Best Days" with a full band and a three-piece string section. He then performed the song on CBS' Late Show with David Letterman on March 13 and NBC's Today Show on March 14, again with full band and strings. The next week, he gave a stripped-down acoustic performance with strings on CBS' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on March 19. On April 9, he performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Did You Know?

• Colton graduated from Heritage Hall School in Oklahoma City, where he was the quarterback of the football team.
• Together with childhood friend and teammate Wes Welker, Colton led his team to a class 2A state championship in 1998 against the Tishomingo Indians.
• Colton and Welker set multiple state passing and receiving records, respectively.