Sometimes, an artist will want to give a song a second chance. Maybe it just didn't pan out as a single the first time, or maybe it's just so good that it needs another release. Maybe the timing for the first release had the song head-to-head against too many similar songs. Or maybe the topic or tone wasn't liked by audiences the first time around.

Distinct from RearrangeTheSong in that the re-release isn't always a re-recording, although the two tropes may overlap.

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!!Examples:

* Music/RandyTravis' first single for Creator/WarnerBrosRecords, "On the Other Hand", flopped upon initial release. After its followup, "1982", became a top 10 hit, he persuaded the label to re-release "On the Other Hand". The re-release became his first #1 hit.
* Similarly to the above, Music/ChrisYoung released "Voices" in 2008. It barely made the top 40, but the next two singles after it went to #1. Based on the momentum of those two, he asked to re-release "Voices" in 2010... and in February 2011, it became his third #1.
* Music/KeithUrban found that "You Look Good in My Shirt" (from the album ''Golden Road'') was getting positive reception whenever he played in concert, and several stations were playing it even though it wasn't a single at the time. (It was ''going'' to be the fifth single off ''Golden Road'', but the label instead chose to release a new single from a new album. Even so, a few stations played the original version of "Shirt" anyway and got it to #60 as a result.) He re-recorded the song in 2008 and released it from a GreatestHitsAlbum.
* And around the same time, Music/BradPaisley re-recorded an album track, "Waitin' on a Woman", and released the new version as a single.
* Music/AlanJackson wanted to release "Home" from his debut album, but decided against it because Music/JoeDiffie [[SimilarlyNamedWorks had a song called "Home" out at the same time]]. Alan later included the original on a GreatestHitsAlbum and released it as a single in 1996.
** And later on, he re-recorded "A Woman's Love", an album cut from 1998's ''High Mileage'' (and the B-side to "Right on the Money"), and released the re-recording in 2007.
* Pam Tillis first released "One of Those Things" in the 1980s when she was on Creator/WarnerBrosRecords, but it didn't chart. She later re-recorded the song for her first Creator/AristaRecords album, and the re-recording was a top 10 hit.
* The rock band Sheriff recorded "When I'm With You" in 1983; it flopped and the band broke up. A DJ started playing the song again in 1988 and it shot to [=#1=]. Two of the former members were promoting a new band at the time called Frozen Ghost, and they declined to reunite with the other members of Sheriff to promote the song. Instead, the members of Sheriff that decided they wanted to play together again reunited under the new name Alias, and had a couple hits in the early 90s.
* Bobby "Boris" Pickett's 1962 TropeNamer song "MonsterMash" was re-released several times and hit the Billboard charts again in 1970 and 1973.
* Peter Andre's 'Mysterious Girl' may feel that it's been re-released multiple times (what with having 14 different versions released over various mediums) but it's only been re-released once in 2004.
* Two of Music/{{Feeder}} 's hits, "Just A Day" and "Shatter", were originally released as B-Sides, but then released as singles in their own right for the "Gran Turismo 3 Soundtrack" and "The Singles" respectively. At the time of their B-Side releases, fans regarded them as Wasted Song s and though unrelated, there were band petitions asking for them to be singles.
* Music/{{Switchfoot}}'s "Dare You to Move" was the first track from their album ''Learning to Breathe''. Feeling that "that song hadn't lived its shelf life yet", Switchfoot re-recorded it (but the new version sounds so much like the original version, you really have to pay attention to hear the difference) for their next album ''The Beautiful Letdown''. This turned out to be their breakout album, and "Dare You to Move" became a certified-gold single.
* Music/JimmyBuffett did this with his song "The Captain and the Kid" (about Buffett's childhood relationship with his grandfather, a retired cargo ship captain), which first appeared on his less-than-successful second album "Down to Earth". It was later included on Buffett's much more successful seventh album "Havana Daydreaming", where it was released as a country single. It was released for a ''third'' time on his even more successful greatest hits collection, "Meet Me in Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection".
* Steve Wariner's first single was "I'm Already Taken" back in 1978. He re-recorded and re-released it in 1999.
* Music/KennyChesney re-recorded his 1994 single "The Tin Man" for his first GreatestHitsAlbum and released the new version in 2001.
* Music/{{Anberlin}}'s "The Feel Good Drag" was a track off their 2005 album ''Never Take Friendship Personal'' that the band liked and regretted never releasing as a single. They re-recorded it a few years later to be the first single off their major label debut, and it became their biggest hit.
* For some reason, Music/GarthBrooks decided to release "Wild Horses", an album cut from his 1990 ''No Fences'' disc, in 2001.
* From 1986 to 1992 there was a major trend of rereleased songs becoming big hits in the US, including three that hit [=#1=] (the aforementioned "When I'm With You", "At This Moment" by Billy Vera & The Beaters, and "Red Red Wine" by [=UB40=]). They generally fell into two groups: RevivalByCommercialization ("[[Series/FamilyTies At This Moment]]", "Film/StandByMe" by Ben E. King, "[[Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff Twist & Shout]]" by Music/TheBeatles, "[[Film/DirtyDancing Do You Love Me?]]" by the Contours, "[[Film/GoodMorningVietnam What a Wonderful World]]" by Louis Armstrong, "[[Film/SayAnything In Your Eyes]]" by Music/PeterGabriel, "[[Film/Ghost1990 Unchained Melody]]" by the Righteous Brothers, "[[Film/WaynesWorld Bohemian Rhapsody]]" by Music/{{Queen}}), and Top 40 stations putting older songs that weren't big hits the first time around into their rotation ("Red Red Wine" by Music/UB40, "When I'm With You" by Sheriff, "Where Are You Now?" by Synch, "Into The Night" by Benny Mardones).
* "Welcome to the Jungle", the major label debut from Music/GunsNRoses, only made a moderate impact on release in the spring of '88. Following the chart-topping success of "Sweet Child of Mine" that summer, "Jungle" was re-released in the fall and peaked at #7 at year's end.
* Music/JakeOwen originally recorded "Eight Second Ride" for his debut album "Startin' With Me." He re-recorded it for his second album "Easy Does It" and released it as a single.
* Music/FleetwoodMac's "Landslide" first appeared on their 1975 self-titled album. A live version, which appeared on their 1997 album The Dance, was released as a single in 1998 and peaked at # 51 on the Billboard Hot 100.
* Music/DollyParton released "I Will Always Love You" twice: in 1974 and again in 1982. Both versions went to #1 on the country charts. She recorded a third version in 1995 as a duet with Music/VinceGill, which got to #15.
* "Dog Days Are Over" by Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine got re-released in early 2010 with a new more to theme video.
* Music/KellyClarkson re-recorded her 2005 single "Because of You" as a duet with Music/RebaMcEntire. The duet version was sent to country radio in 2007.
* In 2005, after Music/{{D}}'s first bassist (Rena) left and was subsequently replaced (by Tsunehito), the members rerecorded and re-released ''their entire discography'' (which, at the time, consisted of two EP's, one full-length album, and their then-latest single). Later on, in 2012, the band re-released their 2006 single "Ultimate Lover." The international edition of the ''Huang Di ~Yami ni Yumareta Mukui~'' mini-album also includes four of D's older but well-known songs ("[[SignatureSong Night-ship 'D',]]" "Yami Yori Kurai Doukoku no Acapella to Bara Yori Akai Jounetsu no Aria," "Dearest You," and "Sleeper"), although this was mostly because the original releases [[NoExportForYou are all extremely difficult to obtain outside Japan.]]
* Music/NeilSedaka's first version of "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" is [[LyricalDissonance fast and upbeat.]] The re-released version is a SofterAndSlowerCover.
* Music/BritneySpears re-released "Radar", from the 2007 album ''Blackout'', as a single from her album ''Circus'' in 2009.
* Music/FaithNoMore's CoverVersion of [[Music/TheBeeGees "I Started a Joke"]] was initially released in 1995, as a BSide of "Digging the Grave." It then became the band's final single in 1998, promoting the GreatestHitsAlbum ''Who Cares A Lot?''
* Another BSide re-released as a single to promote a GreatestHitsAlbum was Music/{{Soundgarden}}'s "Bleed Together": It was originally an outtake from ''Down On The Upside'' and first saw release as a b-side to "Burden In My Hand." Then it was one of two b-sides placed on the GreatestHitsAlbum ''A-Sides'' and became a single of its own. The song was an outtake to begin with because the band couldn't find a mix they were happy with until after ''Down on the Upside'' came out (as well as because they thought the album might end up being a little too long anyway).
* The Verve Pipe's SignatureSong "The Freshmen" took two re-releases and re-recordings before it became a hit (though only the last of these was promoted as a single anyway). The first version was an acoustic arrangement that appeared on their 1992 album ''I've Suffered A Head Injury''. A full-band version was recorded for ''Villains'' in 1995, but the song was recorded yet a third time when it was released as a single in 1996: The single arrangement was similar to the album version, but was about 30 seconds shorter, added distorted guitar to the chorus, and was recorded with a different RecordProducer (Jack Joseph Puig instead of Jerry Harrison). The earlier versions of this song have sort of become rarities: First, when ''I've Suffered A Head Injury'' was re-released in 1995, three songs were cut, including the original version of "The Freshmen"; Then ''Villains'' was re-released with the single version replacing the album recording. However, the 1995 version of the song was at least re-released as a BSide, where it was re-titled "The Freshmen (Studio D Version)."
* Music/{{Fugazi}} first released "Provisional" on their 1989 ''Margin Walker'' EP, then re-recorded it for 1990's ''Repeater'', giving it the title "Reprovisional." The band may have decided they weren't happy with their original performance and/or production, because both versions are extremely similar in arrangement.
* The second single from Music/MarkChesnutt's sixth album ''Thank God for Believers'' was "It's Not Over", which originally appeared on his second album, ''Longnecks & Short Stories.'' He didn't even re-record it -- it was the original version, re-appearing on an album released over six years later.
* A remixed version of Real Life's 1983 hit "Send Me An Angel" hit the charts in 1989.
* Three different versions of the Music/{{Evanescence}} song "Whisper" exist: On the ''Sound Asleep'' EP, the ''Origin'' demo album, and the ''Fallen'' album.
* Modern English re-recorded its 1982 SignatureSong "I Melt With You" for a 1990 album. (The original is the best-known version)
* Moving Pictures' 1982 hit "What About Me" was re-released in 1989.
* Music/MarilynManson released "The Nobodies" as a single in 2000 and 2005: The first time it was a single, it was promoting the album ''Holy Wood (In The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death)'' and was identical to the album version. The second time, it was TheNotRemix ("The Nobodies - 2005 Against All Gods Mix") and was promoting ''[[GreatestHitsAlbum Lest We Forget: The Best Of.]]'' Oddly, that Not Remix was exclusive to the single, and ''Lest We Forget'' still included the original mix of the song.
* In 1989, Music/BuckOwens re-recorded his 1963 BreakthroughHit "Act Naturally" as a duet with Music/RingoStarr, followed immediately by a re-recording of his 1965 hit "Gonna Have Love."
* Countless Christmas songs in the CountryMusic genre were re-released several times, thus causing them to re-chart for several years in a row. Among them were "Christmas in Dixie" and "Angels Among Us" by Music/{{Alabama}} (the former was first released in the early '80s, but began re-charting in the late '90s), "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Vince Vance and the Valiants, "Here's Your Sign Christmas" by Creator/BillEngvall, and "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" by Creator/JeffFoxworthy. After said songs were wrecking the charts every year with their re-entries, ''Billboard'' finally changed the chart methodology around Christmas 2000 to stop Christmas songs from re-entering.
* Music/SuicidalTendencies' ''Still Cyco After All These Years'' is almost entirely a re-recording of their [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled debut album]] from ten years earlier, plus remakes of two songs from the album ''Join The Army'' and a straight re-release of a song that was originally a BSide. At the time, the original self-titled album was out of print, a lot of their current fan base had never even heard it, and the band didn't have the rights to reissue the original recordings themselves. While they tried to be as faithful to the original versions as possible, there were inevitable differences since vocalist Mike Muir was [[IAmTheBand the only original member left]] in the band, and even Muir himself had significantly changed his singing style over the course of 10 years.
* Music/BillyJoel re-released "Shameless" as a single in 1991 after Music/GarthBrooks' cover hit the top of the country charts. The new single cover [[LampshadeHanging consisted of a letter from the record company congratulating Joel on his first country hit as a songwriter.]]
* Jeff Bates originally recorded "Long, Slow Kisses" on his 2003 debut album ''Rainbow Man''. He re-recorded it a year later and released the re-recording as a single from his second album, ''Leave the Light On.''
* After Music/DavidBowie became a GlamRock star, a number of his older records saw reissues that brought them bigger success than when they were first put out. Most notably, Creator/RCARecords re-released Bowie's self-titled second album (rechristened ''Music/SpaceOddity'') and ''Music/TheManWhoSoldTheWorld'' in 1972, with TrendCovers featuring his Ziggy Stardust stage persona (despite both albums sharing no immediate relation to Ziggy), Creator/DeramRecords (on whom his [[Music/DavidBowie1967 self-titled debut album]] was released) reissued the OldShame novelty single "The Laughing Gnome", and [=B&C=] records reissued the original single release of "Moonage Daydream"/"Hang On to Yourself" with the sides switched (both songs were featured on ''Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars'' in [[RearrangeTheSong re-recorded forms]]).
* After Music/TheHumanLeague became a {{Synthpop}} success with "Don't You Want Me," their record company re-released "Being Boiled", a single previously released by the group's earlier, and very different, {{Industrial}} music incarnation. It still reached the top ten.
* The first single from Music/{{Prince}}'s break-out album ''1999'' was the title song, which only hit #44 during its first release. After "Little Red Corvette" became a top ten hit, however, the party anthem was re-released and hit #12.
* Drew Davis Band released their debut single "Back There All the Time" twice: first in 2005 on an independent label, then again in 2008 on Neal [=Mc=]Coy's short-lived 903 Music imprint just before it closed. The second release made #58 on the country charts.
* Lee Greenwood re-released his SignatureSong "God Bless the USA" after 9/11. The re-release actually ''debuted'' at #16 on the country ''and'' pop charts (then an unusually high debut on the former chart).
* Music/WhitneyHouston's version of "The Star Spangled Banner" was also rereleased after 9/11 as a benefit for the victims, reaching a new peak of #6 on the Hot 100, her last top 10 single during her lifetime. The original version was made for the 1991 UsefulNotes/SuperBowl, at the start of the Gulf War, and its glowing reception led to it being released as a single.
* Music/FooFighters had at least two cases of songs being re-recorded.
** The ''The Colour And The Shape'' album track "Walking After You" for the ''Film/TheXFilesFightTheFuture'' soundtrack a year later, also releasing the new version as a single. The re-recording is similar in feel, but has a less sparse arrangement: While the ''Colour And The Shape'' version was performed solely by Dave Grohl (guitar, vocals, and drums) and Nate Mendel (bass), the re-recording was performed by the full band and also featured Craig Wedren on backing vocals and [[Music/TalkingHeads Jerry Harrison,]] the song's [[RecordProducer producer,]] on piano.
** In 1999, a song called "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfckCM-1Q3M Make a Bet]]" (whose [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMZEvTfnQmE origins]] date back to the early 90s!) was the B-side on "Learn to Fly". Two years later, the soundtrack of ''Film/OutCold'' had a re-recording of that song under the title [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWcjd2iyDwQ "Win or Lose"]], which would also be a B-side on "All My Life".
* Easton Corbin had this happen in an unusual way. "Are You with Me", an album cut off his second album ''All Over the Road'', enjoyed success in Europe in 2014 when Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies remixed it as a dance track. The song's success there led to Corbin also including his version of the song on his third album, ''About to Get Real'', and releasing it as a single in 2016.
* For some reason, John Wesley Ryles' 1968 debut single "Kay" was re-released via a different label than the original a decade later.
* Music/KaceyMusgraves' 2015 single "Dime Store Cowgirl" was released twice, due to it failing to enter the charts on its original release. [[StatusQuoIsGod It failed to chart the second time around, either.]]
* Music/{{Suffocation}} has been rerecording older material almost continuously ''since their first full-length release'', 1991's ''Effigy of the Forgotten'', which featured three re-recordings of songs from their 1991 EP ''Human Waste'' ("Infecting the Crypts", "Mass Obliteration" and "Jesus Wept") and two songs from their 1990 demo ''Reincremated'' ("Reincremation" and "Involuntary Slaughter"), balanced against four new songs. 1995's ''Pierced From Within'' included rerecordings of "Synthetically Revived" (from ''Human Waste'') and "Breeding the Spawn" (the title track from their production-challenged 1993 effort, one of only two full albums to contain no rerecords). 1998's ''Despise the Sun'' EP (their last recording before breaking up for five years) featured their final ''Human Waste'' rerecord, "Catatonia". After reuniting in 2003, they forewent any rerecordings on their comeback album, 2004's ''Souls to Deny'', then resumed rerecording ''Breeding the Spawn'' songs on their self-titled 2006 album ("Prelude to Repulsion" and "Anomalistic Offerings", the latter of which [[NoExportForYou only saw rerelease in Japan]]), 2009's ''Blood Oath'' ("Marital Decimation"), 2013's ''Pinnacle of Bedlam'' ("Beginning of Sorrow") and 2017's ''...Of The Dark Light'' ("Epitaph Of The Credulous").
* Music/SavageGarden originally released "To the Moon and Back" in 1997 as the followup to their Top 10 hit "I Want You", but the song failed to get higher than #37 in the US and #55 in the UK. One year later, when their third single "Truly Madly Deeply" became an international #1 hit, they decided to follow it up by releasing "To the Moon and Back" once more. It performed marginally better in the US the second time out and peaked at #24, but it actually outpeaked "Truly Madly Deeply" in the UK by making it to #3.
* Indie band The Bluebells took a country-tinged cover of Bananarama's "Young at Heart" to #8 on the UK singles chart in 1984. In 1993, the song was re-issued after being used in [[RevivalByCommercialization a popular Volkswagen commercial]] and it shot to #1. The band had actually disbanded in 1986, but reunited to perform the song a few times on ''Series/TopOfThePops''.
* The Australian synthpop band Empire of the Sun had a hit across Europe in 2009 with their song "Walking on a Dream". While well regarded by critics, it really didn't catch on in the United States at the time. In 2016, the song was used in a Honda commercial and became a worldwide hit all over again, this time in America, where it made it to #65 on the pop chart and #3 on the alternative chart.
* Music/TheHives' "Hate To Say I Told You So" and "Main Offender", alongside their parent album ''Veni Vidi Vicious'', were released in 2000 by Swedish independent label Burning Heart Records. Neither song charted, but the 2001 compilation ''Your New Favorite Band'' (which also included both songs) hit the UK charts at number 7, so they re-released the singles and the album itself in 2002.
* Canadian country group High Valley released "Make You Mine" and "She's with Me" in their home country in 2014. Between 2016 and 2017, Creator/WarnerBrosRecords re-released both songs in the States.
* Along with his 1989 live album ''Jarre Live'', Music/JeanMichelJarre re-released his 1976 hit single "[[Music/{{Oxygene}} Oxygène 4]]" -- not the Docklands live version on the album, but the proper studio recording from 1976 -- with a new music video (the one with the penguins).
* By the end of 1993, the promotional campaign for Music/DReam's debut album ''D:ream On, Vol. 1'' had pretty much run its course, yielding a handful of midtable chart singles. Then first single "Things Can Only Get Better" (which had originally peaked at #24) was reissued - in the week after Christmas, when there is traditionally a lack of big releases. This time round, the single caught fire, going to number one, becoming their SignatureSong, and belatedly making the parent album a hit too. The follow-up single "U R The Best Thing" was also a reissue - already the most successful of the original run of singles, having made #19, the second time round it climbed to #4.
* When the ''Film/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' movie and subsequent soundtrack album with the Bee Gees and Peter Frampton came out in 1978, Capitol Records re-released Music/TheBeatles' original 1967 album with a decal reading "the original classic." This was due to teenagers of the time mistakenly thinking that Frampton and the Bee Gees created the music in it. United Artists would subsequently put ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine'' (with the credit "starring Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band") back into the TV syndication circuit.
* After Music/{{Chicago}} hit the Top 10 with “Make Me Smile” and “25 Or 6 To 4” from their second album in 1970, Columbia Records re-released “Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?” from their debut album. It reached #7 after failing to chart the previous year. In 1971, they also hit #7 with “Beginnings,” which had stalled at #71 in 1969.
* Music/PaulMcCartney: "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Coming Up" were solo songs which also saw live releases by Music/{{Wings}}. "Another Day / Oh Woman, Oh Why", his debut single, was also made available for Record Day 2012.
* Music/{{Aerosmith}}'s first single "Dream On" peaked at #59 upon its 1973 release. After the band made it big with ''Toys in the Attic'', "Dream On" was reissued, and became the band's first top ten hit. It even paved the way to the ''Toys'' single "Walk This Way" get a rewind amidst the next album's singles, and also reach the top 10.
* Music/AlienAntFarm reissued "Movies", the first single of their album ''[=ANThology=]'', thrice, each time with a different video - only the last, after they finally broke out with their cover of "Smooth Criminal", made any impact.
* Bad Omens originally released the song "Death of Peace of Mind" (along with the video for it) as the lead-off single for the album of the same name in 2021. The song did not get any radio play by the time the album was released in 2022. Then, the song "Just Pretend" went viral on {{Platform/TikTok}} and became one of the biggest hard rock hits in about a decade. After that song had a lengthy radio run, they decided to finally release "Death of Peace of Mind" as a radio single. Likely as a result, it became their second song to achieve a "Gold" certification in the US, after "Just Pretend".
* The Fixx re-recorded their 1982 hit "Red Skies" for the 1987 album ''React'' (which was otherwise a LiveAlbum with a few new studio tracks) - according to drummer Adam Woods, this was due to ExecutiveMeddling.
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