Nicholas Sparks Made Me Do It

I am not proud of anything I am about to write, however, I noticed something the other day that shocked me and I felt a need to share it.

I have only read one Nicholas Sparks book. That being said, I have somehow gotten on the Nicholas Sparks movie bandwagon. And, I blame the music featured in his films and previews for that. I guess I am a sucker for sappy romantic ballads and people running in slow motion through the rain. But, I cannot help it—we all have our guilty pleasures and this, sadly, is one of mine.

Nights in Rodanthe, the film, came out in 2008 and the preview included the song, “Love Remains The Same” by Gavin Rosedale. I loved the song so much that I went to see the film, purely with the hope to hear the song that I had been listening to everyday since I had downloaded it. The film ended and utter disappointment swept over me. No Gavin Rosedale song. Not even when the wild horses ran across the beach!!!!

Dear John was the next film to come out in 2010. In these previews, there was a song by Snow Patrol. The song intrigued me so I downloaded that as well. “Set the Fire to the Third Bar” by Snow Patrol and Martha Wainwright was the song featured in the Dear John previews. It was a great song and because of the song, I again, went to see the film. There was no sign of that song in this movie, either.

By now, you would have thought I had learned my lesson, but no. The Last Song also came out in 2010. In that preview, there was a song by the star, Miley Cyrus, “When I Look At You.” A great song that, out of all the Nicholas Sparks chosen songs, I was most ashamed to buy. But, I bought it and listened to it non-stop until the movie came out in theaters. I saw it and finally, the movie was actually in the film. It is about time!

Recently The Lucky One came out in theaters. In the previews, however, the big song was “You Found Me” by The Fray. Now, because of my history with Nicholas Sparks’ films and their soundtracks, I have a theory. I have become so obsessed with the music in his films and previews that I am actually at the point where I can predict what songs will be played and get them ahead of time—sometimes years in advance!

I already owned “You Found Me” so there was nothing new to discover in the film and no excuse for me seeing this film, alone, with my hood hanging low over my eyebrows. The song by The Fray was not featured in the film, but there was a strong song playing over the closing credits: “The Story” by Brandi Carlile, which I also already had.

I have become somewhat of a Nicholas Sparks movie-music fan. I love the songs that are chosen. I like them for the same reason I enjoy the films; they are cheesy, over-stated, lovey-dovey and depressing. I guess this is just the emo-side of me.

So, I tell you all of this with my head hanging low in shame. My name is Nicole and I see Nicholas Sparks movies and buy the music from the previews.

Don’t judge me too harshly.