 Instead of its planned release date which was to be March 26, 2007, the single was physically released in the United Kingdom on February 28 and gradually rose up the chart, reaching number five on February 25, staying there for four weeks.It eventually peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart on April 8 and became Britain's eleventh biggest-selling song of 2007.On March 29, "How to Save a Life" peaked at number 1 in Ireland, becoming their first and only number one single in the country to date.