At Seventeen
Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox song
"At Seventeen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janis Ian from her seventh studio album Between the Lines. Columbia released it in July 1975 as the album's second single. Ian wrote the lyrics on the basis of a New York Times article and used a samba instrumental, and Brooks Arthur produced the final version. A pop and soft rock ballad, the song is about a social outcast in high school. Critics have regarded "At Seventeen" as a type of anthem. Despite her initial reluctance to perform the single live, Ian promoted it at various appearances and it has been included on compilation and live albums.
Critics praised "At Seventeen", which earned Ian the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Grammy nominations for Record and Song of the Year. The single reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and had sold over a million copies as of August 2004. Internationally, "At Seventeen" charted in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. It is one of Ian's most commercially successful songs, considered by critics her signature song. "At Seventeen" has been used frequently in television and films, like The Simpsons and Mean Girls; it has also been referenced in literature. Various recording artists and musicians, including Anita Kerr, Jann Arden, and Celine Dion, have covered "At Seventeen". The Hong Kong all-female band at17 named themselves after it in 2002.
Background and recordingEdit
"At Seventeen" was written by Janis Ian at the age of 23 and produced by Brooks Arthur.<ref name="Sarah3" /><ref name="Source000000" /> She was inspired to write the single after reading a New York Times article about a young woman who thought her life would improve after a debutante ball and her subsequent disappointment when it did not.<ref name="Source2" /><ref name="Book1">Ian (2008): pp. 152-155</ref> In the article the girl was 18, but Ian changed it to 17 to fit with her samba guitar instrumental.<ref name="Book1" /> She recalled feeling uncomfortable while writing "At Seventeen" as it predated the confessional song trend of the 1970s.<ref name="Source2" /> She was also uncertain about writing about high school when she had never experienced a homecoming or a prom.<ref name="Book1" /> She said she purposely took her time with the song to ensure it did not lose its "intensity";<ref name="Book1" /> she repeatedly stopped and started work on it over the course of three months.<ref name="Source2" /><ref name="ThreeMonths1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> At the time, she was living with her mother.<ref name="Book1" />
During the recording process, which Ian described as "very tense", she worried she had accidentally stolen the melody from a different song and consulted three friends about it. Arthur described the song as "just honest and straight from her heart", and felt it was different from folk or pop music. He said Ian was easy to work with as she had prepared by bringing lyric sheets and arrangements to the studio sessions.<ref name="Source2" /> Arthur and Ian had worked together on her 1966 single "Society's Child", during which they formed a close friendship.<ref name="mix" /> "At Seventeen" was completed in roughly two or three days at 914 Sound Studios;<ref name="Source2" /><ref name="mix" /> it was recorded on September 17, 1974.<ref name="Book12">Sullivan (2013): p. 794</ref> The final version contains two combined takes, as the initial ending was deemed too weak compared to its start. Allen Klein listened in during a session and responded positively to the song.<ref name="Source2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Brooks Arthur, Larry Alexander, and Russ Payne were the audio engineers for "At Seventeen".<ref name="Source000000" />
Composition and lyricsEdit
{{#invoke:Listen|main}} "At Seventeen" is composed in the key of C major using common time and a moderate tempo of 126 beats per minute. Instrumentation is provided by a piano and a guitar. During the track, Ian's vocal range spans from the low note of G3 to the high note of ATemplate:Music4.<ref name="Source1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some commentators connected the song to bossa nova.<ref name="mix" /><ref name="TheNewYorkTimesSource22">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Mix magazine's Gary Eskow cited Ian's style as the opposite of Antônio Carlos Jobim's because she "explore[d] the belly of the bossa, the flip side of Ipanema".<ref name="mix" /> John Lissner of The New York Times referred to the instrumental as having a "laid-back bossa nova beat" and ostinato.<ref name="TheNewYorkTimesSource22" /> On the other hand, AllMusicTemplate:'s Lindsay Planer referred to "At Seventeen" as a mixture of pop rock, jazz, and blues,<ref name="SourceAllMusic1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and music scholar James E. Perone associated it more with jazz and a "coffeehouse folksinger" approach.<ref name="Book7">Perone (2012): p. 45</ref> Perone described the song's style as more restrained compared to Ian's contemporaries.<ref name="Book7" /> A writer for Rolling Stone magazine associated "At Seventeen" with "sulk-pop".<ref name="RS2Source">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
"At Seventeen" is a pop<ref name="RS2Source"/> and soft rock ballad about being a social outcast in high school,<ref name="Outcast1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SoftRockSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> particularly with respect to adolescent cruelty and rejection.<ref name="SourceLyrics">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SourceBallad">Template:Cite news</ref> The lyrics focus on the conflict between cliques as represented by the contrast of "ravaged faces" and "clear-skinned smiles".<ref name="Media2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The song opens with the line "I learned the truth at seventeen, that love was meant for beauty queens".<ref name="Source1" /> The narrator reveals in the third verse that she finds herself unattractive ("Those of us with ravaged faces"), but later provides a more hopeful outlook through an "Ugly Duckling" allusion ("Ugly duckling girls like me").<ref name="Source2" /> Ian said "The Ugly Duckling" lyric was partially inspired by Billie Holiday, who described her music as always containing a sense of hope. Ian wrote the last verse ("To those of us who knew the pain / of valentines that never came") to connect directly with the listener.<ref name="Book1" /> Other lyrics include home-staying social outcasts' pastimes like "cheat ourselves at solitaire/inventing lovers on the phone/repenting our lives unknown",<ref name="PeopleSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and remembering "The valentines I never knew/the Friday night charades of youth."<ref name="ValentinesDayLyricsSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Some commentators viewed "At Seventeen" as a type of anthem.<ref name="SourceLesbianAnthem" /><ref name="Etheridge1" /><ref name="SourceNPR" /> Melissa Etheridge and Billboard's Patrick Crowley interpreted the song as a gay anthem.<ref name="SourceLesbianAnthem">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Etheridge1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Crowley equated the awkwardness described in the lyrics to the confusion over one's sexual orientation.<ref name="SourceLesbianAnthem" /> Etheridge interpreted the line ("I learned the truth at seventeen") as discovering one's homosexuality. Ian has said she was initially surprised at the LGBT support given to the song.<ref name="Etheridge1" /> NPR included "At Seventeen" in its 2018 series on American anthems.<ref name="SourceNPR">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Release and promotionEdit
ReleaseEdit
Ian's manager and CBS felt the song was too long, and CBS was uncertain how to market a song with so many lyrics.<ref name="Source2" /> Producer Herb Gart had suggested that "When the Party's Over" be released as the lead single from Ian's seventh studio album Between the Lines rather than "At Seventeen". He reasoned that radio personalities would choose "At Seventeen" as the better single and feel smarter than the record label.<ref name="Book2" /> Alternatively, Arthur thought "When the Party's Over" was a more appropriate choice.<ref name="mix" /> Gart asked radio stations to play only the first sixty seconds of "At Seventeen" followed by an advertisement for the song to encourage people to call in and request the rest. Ian said that Gart's promotional strategies were successful.<ref name="Book2">Ian (2008): p. 163</ref>
"At Seventeen" was first released in July 1975.<ref name="Newspaper1">Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref> It was made available as a 7 inch single on November 20, 1976, through Columbia;<ref name="SourceAllMusic2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Stars" and "Applause" were used as B-sides on two separate single releases.<ref name="Stars1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="NewZealand1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The album version was four minutes and forty-three seconds long,<ref name="SourceAllMusic1" /> and the single version was cut down to three minutes and fifty-six seconds.<ref name="NewZealand1" /> On February 14, 1977, (Valentine's Day), Ian was sent 461 Valentine's Day cards in reference to the lyric ("Of valentines that never came").<ref name="Book4">Symons (2015): p. 8</ref> She has subsequently included "At Seventeen" on compilation albums.<ref> "At Seventeen" has been included on several compilation albums. Below are a few examples:
</ref> A remastered version of Between the Lines, including "At Seventeen", has also been made available;<ref name="Remaster1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> on August 4, 2014, Ian released an acoustic version of "At Seventeen" through her label Rude Girl Records.<ref name="Remaster2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SourceRudeGirlRecords">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Live performancesEdit
Ian was initially hesitant to perform the single live, describing it as deeply personal and fearing public ridicule.<ref name="Book1" /> She closed her eyes while singing it for the first six months because she was afraid the audience would laugh at her.<ref name="mix" /><ref name="DecemberSource2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She later said that the frank lyrics encouraged pathos from the listeners.<ref name="DecemberSource2" /> Ian went on a promotional tour for the single and performed at small shows for almost half a year. These appearances included a British morning show where Queen was promoting their 1975 single "Bohemian Rhapsody".<ref name="Source2" /> In the beginning, Ian toured with a drummer, bass player, and her tour manager.<ref name="Book1" /> Ian said she knew the song was successful when the size of the audience grew from 100 to 800.<ref name="Source2" /> Ian sang "At Seventeen" on Saturday Night LiveTemplate:'s first episode on October 11, 1975, and the following year, she performed it on The Old Grey Whistle Test at the Shepherd's Bush BBC Television Theatre.<ref name="SourceHuffPost">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She also sang it on an episode of The Tonight Show, with guest host Steve Lawrence.<ref name="GrammyNominationsandSales">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Ian and Howard Stern performed a parody of the single to spoof then 38-year-old Jerry Seinfeld's relationship with high school senior Shoshana Lonstein at the Miss Howard Stern New Year’s Eve Pageant on December 31, 1993.<ref name="Stern1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Book6" /> Revised lyrics included "can't he get an older girl".<ref name="Book6">Lucaire (1997): p. 191</ref> She performed the song as part of the Women in Music: 1960-1999 concert, aired by MTV in 1999.<ref name="WomenInMusicSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ian performed a science fiction version of the song, entitled "Welcome Home (The Nebulous Song)," at a banquet for the 2008 Nebula Awards.<ref name="SciFi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SciFi2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> The version included references to science fiction authors and publications.<ref name="SciFi2" /> Ian sang "At Seventeen" for the 2016 Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' American Songbook series and the 2018 Cambridge Folk Festival.<ref name="SourceLyrics" /><ref name="Folk1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same year, she recorded an acoustic version to include on the app for Wally Lamb's novel I'll Take You There; it included a soundtrack containing eight songs, including "At Seventeen".<ref name="AustinSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of Ian's performances have been released on live albums.<ref> "At Seventeen" has been included on several live albums. Below are a few examples:
</ref>
Critical reception and accoladesEdit
"At Seventeen" received a positive response from critics. A contributor for The Jewish Chronicle praised it as "a moving and memorable appraisal of teenage loneliness".<ref name="DecemberSource2" /> Twiggy commended the song for perfectly representing the awkwardness of being a teenager, and compared it to her own experiences growing up.<ref name="VogueSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Advocate's Gina Vivinetto summed up "At Seventeen" as "the best song about growing up female ever written".<ref name="AdvocateSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Brittany Spanos, writing for The Village Voice, attributed the song's success to Ian's intimate delivery of its subject, likening it to Joni Mitchell's fourth studio album Blue (1971).<ref name="VVSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Jeff and Don Breithaupt wrote that the song was "lifted above the level of generic moping by a sharply detailed lyric".<ref name="Book11">Breithaupt & Breithaupt (2014): p. 156</ref> John Lissner described "At Seventeen" as "mellow [and] improve[d] with each hearing", along with the songs "When the Party's Over", "From Me to You", and "Bright Lights and Promises".<ref name="TheNewYorkTimesSource22" /> Alternatively, Idolator's Mike Wass criticized "At Seventeen" as a "self-pitying and usually annoying single girl anthem".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ian received the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "At Seventeen" at the 18th Annual Grammy Awards,<ref name="mix">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the song was nominated for record and song of the year.<ref name="Book10">Breithaupt & Breithaupt (2014): pp. 197-198</ref> She performed the song as part of the ceremony.<ref name="Grammys">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "At Seventeen" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008,<ref name="SourceHuffPost" /> and is considered Ian's signature song.<ref name="SourceSignatureSong">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SourceSignatureSong2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Mike McPadden of VH1, the single had made Ian a "major mainstream folk-rock performer".<ref name="VH1NewsSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Commercial performanceEdit
"At Seventeen" peaked at number three on the September 13, 1975 on Billboard Hot 100 chart, and remained on it for twenty weeks.<ref name="Billboard1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It reached number one on the Adult Contemporary Billboard chart for two weeks in August 1975, and stayed on the chart for fifteen weeks.<ref name="Billboard2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It also peaked at number one on the Cashbox top 100 chart,<ref name="America1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and number six on its year-end pop singles chart.<ref name="Cashbox2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On the Billboard Year-End chart, "At Seventeen" ranked number nineteen.<ref name="DelawareSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It also reached number twenty for pop and number two for easy listening.<ref name="Billboard3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Billboard, the song enjoyed a resurgence in sales after the Grammy Awards in 1976.<ref name="GrammyNominationsandSales" />
"At Seventeen" also appeared on international charts. In Canada, the single peaked at number one on the RPM pop music playlist and number six on the RPM Top Singles chart.<ref name="Australia1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Australia2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On RPM's top two-hundred songs of 1975, it ranked number seventy-one.<ref name="YearEnd1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "At Seventeen" reached number thirty-seven on the New Zealand Singles Chart for the week of October 10, 1975.<ref name="NewZealand1" /> In Australia, it peaked at number eighteen on the Kent Music Report,<ref name="Book9">Kent (1993)</ref> and was included at number eighty on the year-end chart.<ref name="Australia3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ian cited the song's commercial success as making her an example of the American dream.<ref name="Source2" /> It was her first successful single since "Society's Child",<ref name="mix" /> and her biggest success overall.<ref name="SourceAllMusic1" /><ref name="SourceHit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Register-GuardTemplate:'s Lewis Taylor referred to a 1970s release of "At Seventeen" when Ian was broke, and music critics deemed her music not commercially viable, as the first of many comebacks. As of August 2004, the song has sold over a million copies.<ref name="Comeback1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Usage in mediaEdit
"At Seventeen" has been a popular choice for film and television soundtracks.<ref name="DecemberSource3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was played in the 2001 film Scotland, PA, an adaptation of the Shakespeare play Macbeth. The character Donald Duncan, portrayed by Geoff Dunsworth, is shown listening to the single in a scene Professor Jennifer Drouin interpreted as indicative of his queer identity.<ref name="Book13">Drouin (2013)</ref> The song can be heard in the background of a scene in the 2004 film Mean Girls.<ref name="Media1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some critics felt it represented the character named Janis Ian.<ref name="Media2" /><ref name="Media1" /> Liz Lemon (portrayed by Tina Fey) performed a karaoke version of "At Seventeen" in a season one episode of 30 Rock.<ref name="Media2" /><ref name="30Rock1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The A.V. Club's Erik Adams described the scene as a callback to Fey's work on Mean Girls.<ref name="30Rock1" /> "At Seventeen" was included in the 2013 film Blood Ties. Stephen Holden, writing for The New York Times, criticized the song's placement in the film, and believed it belonged in "a softer and gentler movie" instead.<ref name="TheNewYorkTimesSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is also featured in the first season of The End of the F***ing World,<ref name="Netflix1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the fifth season of The Blacklist,<ref name="TheBlacklist1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and in anti-bullying advertisements.<ref name="Commercials">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The single was featured in three episodes of The Simpsons: "A Streetcar Named Marge", "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer", and "Chief of Hearts".<ref name="Simpsons1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Simpsons2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ep">Template:Cite episode</ref> In "A Streetcar Named Marge", the lyrics are changed to describe the contestants of a beauty pageant. The A.V. ClubTemplate:'s Nathan Rabin cited the scene as representative of the episode's satire on "loneliness and despair [transformed] into crowd-pleasing entertainment through wildly inappropriate showmanship".<ref name="Simpsons2" /> In "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer", the song is used during Homer Simpson's search for a soulmate. Sarah Oliver of The A.V. Club felt it reflected the character's melancholy.<ref name="Simpsons1" />
"At Seventeen" has also been referenced in literature.<ref name="Book3">Eugenides (1993): pp. 190-191</ref><ref name="Card1" /> It was named in Jeffrey Eugenides' 1993 novel The Virgin Suicides, where four girls imprisoned in their own homes use it and other songs to communicate with the narrator and his friends.<ref name="Book3" /> Orson Scott Card titled his short story "Inventing Lovers on the Phone" from a line of "At Seventeen". Ian said that Card's work had inspired her own music, specifically the track "This House" from her 1993 studio album Breaking Silence.<ref name="Card1">Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Formats and track listingsEdit
- 7" single 1<ref name="NewZealand1" />
- "At Seventeen" –3:56
- 7" single 2<ref name="NewZealand1" />
- "At Seventeen" –3:56
- "Stars" – 4:41
- 7" single 3<ref name="NewZealand1" />
- "At Seventeen" –4:41
- "Applause" – 4:00
- Digital download<ref name="Remaster2" />
- "At Seventeen" –4:19
Credits and personnelEdit
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Between the Lines.<ref name="Source000000">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> Template:Div col
- Acoustic bass – Richard Davis
- Acoustic (steel string) guitar – Janis Ian, Al Gorgoni, David Snider
- Vocals, Arrangement (horns) – Janis Ian
- Drums – Barry Lazarowitz
- Engineer – Brooks Arthur, Larry Alexander, Russ Payne
- Flugelhorn – Burt Collins
- Guitar (nylon) – Sal DeTroia, Janis Ian. Single version also featured Bucky Pizzarelli
- Percussion – Barry Lazarowitz
- Producer – Brooks Arthur
- Trombone – Alan Raph
- Written by – Janis Ian
ChartsEdit
Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2
Weekly chartsEdit
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="Book9" /><ref name="aus75"/> | 18 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles<ref name="Australia1" /> | 6 |
| Canada RPM Adult Contemporary<ref name="Australia2" /> | 1 |
| New Zealand<ref name="NewZealand1" /> | 37 |
| US Billboard Hot 100<ref name="Billboard1" /> | 3 |
| US Billboard Adult Contemporary<ref name="Billboard2" /> | 1 |
| US Cash Box Top 100<ref name="America1" /> | 1 |
Year-end chartsEdit
| Chart (1975) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="Australia3" /><ref name="aus75">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
80 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles<ref name="YearEnd1" /> | 71 | |
| US Billboard Easy Listening<ref name="Billboard3" /> | 19 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100<ref name="DelawareSource1" /> | 20 | |
| US Billboard Pop<ref name="Billboard3" /> | 20 | |
| US Cash Box<ref name="Cashbox2" /> | 6 |
Release historyEdit
| Country | Date | Format | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref><ref name="NewZealand1" /> |
7 inch | Columbia |
| November 20 1976<ref name="SourceAllMusic2" /> | ||||
| August 4 2014<ref name="Remaster2" /> | Digital download | Rude Girl Records |
Cover versionsEdit
.jpg){kind=link}
"At Seventeen" has been covered by various recording artists and musicians. Anita Kerr covered it for her 1975 album The Anita Kerr Singers,<ref name="Kerr1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> which anthropologist Mary A. Bufwack and music reporter Robert K. Oermann attributed to popularizing the song.<ref name="Book5">Bufwack & Oermann (2003): p. 248</ref> Claude Francois recorded a French version of the song, titled "17 ans", in 1975, Mireille Mathieu too in 1977 with French lyrics by Eddy Marnay (LP "Sentimentalement vôtre" disque d'or) <ref name="Book8">Lecoeuvre (2017)</ref> In 1988, cabaret singer Judith Cohen performed a cover of "At Seventeen" in her shows. Stephen Holden said that her performances of the song Bruce Roberts' "I Don't Break Easily" were "built to strong dramatic climaxes in which a key line abruptly changed the narrative perspective".<ref name="CohenSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tara MacLean recorded the song for the 1999 movie Teaching Mrs. Tingle,<ref name="Tingle1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Paul Clinton believed the film's soundtrack added "energy and pacing to the story".<ref name="CNNSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Chocolat covered a Yoshinori Sunahara-produced "At Seventeen" for her 1999 second studio album Hamster, which Billboard's Steve McClure described as having a "dark, ambient feel".<ref name="Chocolat1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Ringo Sheena recorded the track "Seventeen" as a tribute to the Janis Ian song; Sheena cited Ian as one of her major influences, particularly for her voice.<ref name="RingoSource1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="RingoSource2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The all-female band at17 chose their name partially based on the Janis Ian song.<ref name="At171">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They did a Cantonese version for their 2002 studio album Meow Meow Meow.<ref name="Source0000">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref> New Zealand singer Amber Claire released her version of "At Seventeen" as the second single from her 2004 debut album Love and Such.<ref name="Amber1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It debuted and peaked at number twenty-eight on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.<ref name="Amber2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same year, Gwyneth Herbert included her rendition on her second studio album Bittersweet and Blue; a reviewer from The Times described the version as "pop angst".<ref name="GwynSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> DHT covered the song with Edmée Daenen for their debut studio album Listen to Your Heart (2005).<ref name="DHT1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="DHT2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> AllMusic's David Jeffries enjoyed their cover, and described it as lacking the camp style previously used by the band.<ref name="DHT1" /> Sitti did a cover for her debut studio album Café Bossa (2006),<ref name="Sitti2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and her live album My Bossa Nova Live! (2008).<ref name="Sitti1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Producer Kenneth Ehrlich requested Celine Dion perform the song as part of a 2008 Grammy Nominations TV special. For her rendition, Dion sang it with only her band on stage. She included it on her Las Vegas residency show Céline,<ref name="Dion1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and recorded a Babyface-produced cover for her eleventh English-language studio album Loved Me Back to Life (2013).<ref name="AtSeventeen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to Steve Morse of the Boston Globe, the album version contains "a light Brazilian feel".<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some critics praised Dion's performance,<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson writing it perfectly represents the singer as a "manic, Hallmark card-brandishing guru of schmaltz".<ref name=":1" /> On the other hand, Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic called the cover "thoroughly colorless adult contemporary."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Dion also performed "At Seventeen" as part of a medley with her singles "A New Day Has Come" (2002) and "Unison" (1990) for her tour Celine Dion Live 2018.<ref name="2018Tour1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Carly Rae Jepsen sang "At Seventeen" during the top three of the fifth season of Canadian Idol.<ref name="Jepson2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Entertainment Weekly's Grady Smith praised her rendition for showcasing her breathy vocals,<ref name="Jepson1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> while Evan Sawdey of PopMatters found it to be unoriginal and tone-deaf.<ref name="Jepson2" /> Jann Arden released her cover of "At Seventeen" as a single from her seventh studio album Uncover Me. Arden said that it was the first song she learned to play on the guitar, and identified it as a "perfect coming of age song".<ref name="Arden5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> AllMusic's Stewart Mason described Arden's take as "downright spooky".<ref name="Arden1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The cover peaked at eighty-four on the Canadian Hot 100 Billboard chart on May 5, 2007, and remained on the chart for six weeks.<ref name="Arden2">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Arden performed "At Seventeen" on her Uncover Me Tour in 2007.<ref name="Arden4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She included the live version on her iTunes exclusive extended play (EP) Live Session, released in 2007.<ref name="Arden3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2008, Regine Velasquez recorded a cover of the song on her fifth cover album Low Key. For the album, she included songs that she wanted to sing since childhood.<ref name="Regine1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same year, Rhonda Burchmore included her rendition of "At Seventeen" on her studio album Pure Imagination.<ref name="Rhonda1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Rhonda2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Burchmore chose the song based on what the Herald Sun's Jill Fraser referred to as "a deliberate move to more popstyle songs".<ref name="Rhonda1" />
"At Seventeen" is performed as part of the musical I Dreamed a Dream.<ref name="TelegraphSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="SusanBoyleSource">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was one of several pop covers used to tell the life of Susan Boyle,<ref name="TelegraphSource" /> which Emma Clayton of Telegraph & Argus praised as a smart idea.<ref name="SusanBoyleSource" /> Maureen McGovern performed the song at the Feinstein's/54 Below as part of a 2015 event celebrating female singer-songwriters.<ref name="McGovern1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="McGovern2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same year, Alessia Cara included a song entitled "Seventeen" on her EP Four Pink Walls, which the Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos called a "savvy update" of the Ian original.<ref name="RollingStoneSource">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Saffron Monsoon (portrayed by Julia Sawalha) did a karaoke version of "At Seventeen" in the 2016 film Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in a bar with drag queens.<ref name="Fabulous1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The version was included on the film's official soundtrack.<ref name="Fabulous2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Rachael Yamagata recorded "At Seventeen", along with other covers, to finance her fourth studio album Tightrope Walker (2016).<ref name="DecemberSourceSF">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2018, American singer Sarah Partridge covered "At Seventeen" for her album Bright Lights and Promises: Redefining Janis Ian.<ref name="Sarah1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Sarah2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Partridge recorded her version with a septuple meter.<ref name="Sarah3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
See alsoEdit
- List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1975
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1975 (U.S.)