Do you remember where you were in 2007? If you were in high school like some of us, probably listening to “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White T’s. The song dominated the radio. Kids burned it on CDs to give to their crushes, boys played it on their acoustic guitars at parties to impress girls, and at the center of it all was Delilah DiCrescenzo.
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During a recent interview with Jay & Amber of Rob Squad and the Creators, Tom Higgenson, frontman of Plain White T’s, dusted off the old classic. He brought out his acoustic guitar and serenaded the two hosts, working their names into the song as well. Almost 20 years after the song’s release, and it still sounds like it did the first time any of us heard it.
When Higgenson finished the song, the hosts asked if he’s still in touch with Delilah. Apparently, yes—Higgenson whipped out his phone and sent her a text, although there’s been no word if she texted back. That’s a testament to the song’s staying power. Even after all these years, Tom Higgenson still sends “hey there” texts to Delilah.
Story Behind “Hey There Delilah” and Why It Was Such a Cultural Phenomenon
“Hey There Delilah” took the emo-indie scene by storm, and while it turned into a bit of a meme after a while, there’s still merit to it as a showcase of Tom Higgenson and Plain White T’s ability to weave a tale. Upon its release ,”Hey There Delilah” was praised for its universality, but also for Higgenson’s ability to refresh the “guy yearns for unobtainable girl” genre of music.
The song began with the spark of a meeting between Higgenson and Delilah DiCrescenzo, a sociology student at Columbia University, in 2002. Allegedly, they met through a mutual friend, and Higgenson was enamored with her.
“I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen,” he told USA Today in 2007. “I told her, ‘I have a song about you already.’ Obviously, there was no song. But I thought it was smooth.” He gave DiCrescenzo a disc with the finished song in 2004, and the band went on to release the single in 2007.
According to DiCrescenzo in 2007, she had a difficult time reconciling the immense popularity of the song. “When I’m at the gym, it’s playing; when I’m at the pool, it’s playing. Part of me wants to scream at the top of my lungs that it’s about me. Another part of me wants to cower and say it’s not, she also told USA Today at the time.
DiCrescenzo was given this gift from someone she didn’t really want to go out with. She was seeing someone else at the time, and had to let Higgenson down. “[The song] was so beautifully written. There was pressure to live up to this ideal. I didn’t know how to be polite but, you know, ditch him,” she said.
Now, apparently, the two are still friendly. Did she ever text Higgenson back during the recent interview? We may never know. However, there’s something achingly sweet about knowing they, allegedly, still talk.
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