"The Story" was used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. A video was created, first airing on the season 3 recap episode, "Every Moment Counts". The video helped boost sales and downloads of the album increased. "The Story" was also used in television advertisements promoting the final season of the Travel Channel series and the Australian drama series McLeod's Daughters. On 25 April 2008 Carlile performed "The Story" and "Turpentine" on the BBC2 show Later...with Jools Holland. The song "The Story" was also used in the 2008 commercial for Super Bock, one of the most popular beer brands in Portugal, which led to the album The Story reaching number 4 on the Portuguese album chart. The song was used in a General Motors television commercial aired on American and Canadian television showcasing their new line-up of more fuel efficient cars. Due to the ad airing heavily during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the song increased in downloads. "The Story" was used in a montage of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno during the opening and closing of the Ohio State-Penn State football game on ABC on October 25, 2008. The song was also used in a Tracker television commercial that aired on South African television. "The Story" is currently being used on Connecticut Channel 3 during promotions for the local news. It was also used in the film The Lucky One. "The Story" was used in an episode of A Million Little Things at the end of season 2 episode 1.
In response to the increase in album downloads caused by the adverts in the U.S., the album saw a 368% increase in sales from 1,323 to 6,198, causing it to return to the Billboard 200 at #88. To date the album has currently sold 257,776 copies in the United States. The lead single, "The Story," saw an increase in downloads of 28,091 digital copies, causing it to the chart at #48 on the Billboard Hot Digital songs chart.
Chart
Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200
58
Chart
Peak position
Portuguese 30 albums
4
Certifications
Covers
American Idol season 9 finalist Lacey Brown performed "The Story" during the top 16 week, receiving praises from the judges. Her cover was released as an American Idol live performance single on the iTunes Store and was available for purchase during the show's run.
English singer Adele covered Carlile's hidden track "Hiding My Heart" as a bonus track for the limited edition of her 2011 album 21, which was then used on the soundtrack of the 2010 South Korean filmSecret Love.
Actress and singer Sara Ramirez covered "The Story" on her 2011 album Sara Ramirez EP. This cover was used on the Grey's Anatomy episode "Song Beneath the Song" during the seventh season.
The singer/songwriter known as Cranius, covered "The Story" in 2009. Cranius is known best for his World of Warcraft-based machinima songs, most popular of which is "Big Blue Dress".
"The Story" was covered by country singer LeAnn Rimes and was released as the first single from her 2016 album Remnants.
