Draft:How Long (Paula Toledo song)

"How Long" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Paula Toledo, recorded in the 2000s. The song was licensed for use in the television film Secret Lives and the television series 15/Love. The song found its way onto various bootleg Russian DVD menus; subsequently, segments of the then unidentified song surfaced online as early as August 2007. The song gained popularity online in 2023 when it was posted to YouTube and the creation of a subreddit dedicated to finding the song, dubbed "How Long Will It Take".

In December 2023, Reddit users identified its name and creator from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada database. Although initially never commercially released, it was officially released by Toledo on December 13, 2023, on Bandcamp, with proceeds being donated to the Music Heals Charitable Foundation. Then, fake versions of the song began to appear on streaming services, leading her to suspect streaming fraud.

History
The song was recorded around 2003 in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It was written and recorded as apart of Paula Toledo's debut album, but it was scrapped and never released commercially. It was co-produced by Jonathan Anderson of Jonathan Inc. and mixed by David Odlum.

In 2005, it was licensed for use in the television film Secret Lives (2005) and the television series 15/Love (2004-2006).

Online search
In August 2007, a snippet of the song was uploaded to a Ukrainian message board with its approximate lyrics and asked for help in identifying its name and artist. Numerous individuals claimed they heard it on Russian bootleg DVDs. Over the course of sixteen years, fans made several attempts to locate the song. The song was compared to The Cranberries.

In October 2023, a subreddit was created dedicated to finding the song they dubbed “How Long Will It Take”, referring to lyrics from the snippet.

In December 2023, Reddit users identified its name and creator from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada database.