Somebody That I Used to Know
Encyclopedia
"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song by Australian-Belgian singer and songwriter Gotye
from his third studio album Making Mirrors
, and features New Zealand singer Kimbra
. The song was written by Gotye himself, lyrically about his experiences he had in broken relationships. The song was released on 6 July 2011 as the second and lead single off the album.
The song was released into critical acclaim by music critics and a surprising success in Australia, peaking at number one in the country for eight weeks, becoming the longest running Australian song since Savage Garden
's 1997 song, "Truly Madly Deeply
". The song received other success in European countries particularly Flanders
(the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) and the Netherlands where it peaked at number one. In Kimbra's home country, New Zealand, the song has also reached number one.
In Poland song was so far 9 weeks number 1 at National Radio Program 3 Chart.
It is Gotye and Kimbra's highest-charting, selling and first number-one song in Australia and New Zealand, also causing their previous singles and albums to chart in the top 100 in Australia.
On 15 July 2011, it was announced that the song had come third in the 2011 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition.
where it was recorded. The song begins sampling Luiz Bonfá
's track "Seville" along with the beats playing and a xylophone
solo that sounds similar to the nursery rhyme, Ba Ba Black Sheep. Gotye sings his verse about someone he broke up with. A guitar solo plays halfway through the verse. Gotye sings the first chorus and sings a higher note to it. Kimbra sings her verse, also about someone she broke up with. Later in the verse, she sings louder as if she is starting an argument. After the second chorus, Gotye continues to perform the chorus as the song fades. The song finishes by Gotye and Kimbra both say 'somebody'.
It is believed that the song is about a single relationship break up however, Gotye claims in an interview that the song was "definitely drawn from various experiences I've had in relationships breaking up, and in the parts of the more reflective parts of the song, in the after-math and the memory of those different relationships and what they were and how they broke up and what's going on in everyone's minds. Yeah, so it's an amalgam of different feelings but not completely made up as such."
In an interview with Rolling Stone Australia
, he described the song as "a curated reflection of multiple past relationships", but revealed the chorus was directly related to one ex-girlfriend. He stated: "It wasn't a nasty break-up, but it was messy in the sense that we hurt each other more than we needed to because it wasn’t a clean break... We both realised we had to move on and we haven’t seen each other since."
festival; "Gotye's latest song featuring Kimbra Somebody That I Used To Know had become somewhat of an unofficial anthem for the festival...every car was cranking it over their speakers all day, every day... and the question on everyone's lips was whether or not Kimbra would join him on the track. Fortunately, dreams came true... he smashed out an incredible set climaxing with a version of the song with Kimbra on co-lead vocals that people couldn't stop talking about all weekend long." John Watson, who co-manages Gotye with Danny Rogers said of the single's success: "we've never seen any song make a deeper or more immediate connection with so many people. It's a really special recording and video."
" and his 2007 song, "Heart's a Mess
". During the number one run, his album, Making Mirrors
debuted at number one at the same time, becoming the first Australian since Silverchair
's single "Straight Lines
" and its album Young Modern to have both the album and its single to peak at number one at the same time. On 3 October, the song became the second longest running Australian song (at 8 weeks) tied with Savage Garden
's 1997 song "Truly, Madly, Deeply
" behind Daddy Cool
's 1971 hit, "Eagle Rock
" at 10 weeks. The single has since been certified 6x Platinum in Australia for sales exceeding 420,000 units.
In Kimbra's home country New Zealand, the song made a huge debut at number 4 in late August. The song made it to number one three weeks later, becoming the first Australian song to peak at number one on the charts since Stan Walker
's debut single, "Black Box
" back in 2009. The song has so far peaked at number one for 5 weeks and has been certified 2x Platinum.
channel and had its television premiere on the Australian music show rage
on the 30th of July. The video was directed, produced and edited by Natasha Pincus.
The video shows Gotye naked (there is no explicit nudity) against a white backdrop. As he sings, a pattern of paint gradually covers his skin and the backdrop via stop-motion animation
. Kimbra then appears for her verse, also naked and already painted but with her back to the camera. She moves closer to Gotye to sing into his ear. During the final chorus, Kimbra returns to her original position and the paint on her body gradually disappears, further indicating that the two have separated.
The music video for the single is well received for its artistic style, picking up 200,000 views in its first two weeks, as well as receiving promotion on Twitter by actor Ashton Kutcher
and international singers such as Lily Allen
, Katy Perry
and Nick Jonas
.
Gotye
Wouter "Wally" De Backer , also known professionally by his stage name Gotye , is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumental musician and singer-songwriter. He has released three studio albums independently and one remix album featuring remixes of tracks from his first two albums...
from his third studio album Making Mirrors
Making Mirrors
Making Mirrors is the third studio album by the Belgian-born Australian musician Gotye. The album was released on August 19, 2011.-History:...
, and features New Zealand singer Kimbra
Kimbra
Kimbra Johnson , known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer/songwriter from Hamilton, New Zealand. She is currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Kimbra's debut album Vows was released on 29 August 2011 in New Zealand, and 2 September 2011 in Australia on Warner Bros...
. The song was written by Gotye himself, lyrically about his experiences he had in broken relationships. The song was released on 6 July 2011 as the second and lead single off the album.
The song was released into critical acclaim by music critics and a surprising success in Australia, peaking at number one in the country for eight weeks, becoming the longest running Australian song since Savage Garden
Savage Garden
Savage Garden were an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994...
's 1997 song, "Truly Madly Deeply
Truly Madly Deeply
"Truly Madly Deeply" is a song by Australian pop band Savage Garden, released as a single in March 1997. Written by band-mates Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones, the song is a reworking of a song called "Magical Kisses" that the pair wrote together long before recording began on their debut album....
". The song received other success in European countries particularly Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
(the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) and the Netherlands where it peaked at number one. In Kimbra's home country, New Zealand, the song has also reached number one.
In Poland song was so far 9 weeks number 1 at National Radio Program 3 Chart.
It is Gotye and Kimbra's highest-charting, selling and first number-one song in Australia and New Zealand, also causing their previous singles and albums to chart in the top 100 in Australia.
History
"Somebody That I Used to Know" was released on 6 July 2011, debuting at number 27 on the Australian ARIA Top 50 chart. The single picked up significant radio play, rising to number three after just four weeks on the chart, and reached number one on 15 August 2011. The song also reached #1 on the Dutch Top 40 Chart and is presently the #1 song on iTunes in Belgium.On 15 July 2011, it was announced that the song had come third in the 2011 Vanda & Young Songwriting Competition.
Composition
The song was both produced and written by Gotye in his parents barn on the Mornington PeninsulaMornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its protrusion...
where it was recorded. The song begins sampling Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Bonfá
Luiz Floriano Bonfá was a Brazilian guitarist and composer best known for the compositions he penned for the film Black Orpheus.-Biography:...
's track "Seville" along with the beats playing and a xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
solo that sounds similar to the nursery rhyme, Ba Ba Black Sheep. Gotye sings his verse about someone he broke up with. A guitar solo plays halfway through the verse. Gotye sings the first chorus and sings a higher note to it. Kimbra sings her verse, also about someone she broke up with. Later in the verse, she sings louder as if she is starting an argument. After the second chorus, Gotye continues to perform the chorus as the song fades. The song finishes by Gotye and Kimbra both say 'somebody'.
It is believed that the song is about a single relationship break up however, Gotye claims in an interview that the song was "definitely drawn from various experiences I've had in relationships breaking up, and in the parts of the more reflective parts of the song, in the after-math and the memory of those different relationships and what they were and how they broke up and what's going on in everyone's minds. Yeah, so it's an amalgam of different feelings but not completely made up as such."
In an interview with Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia
Rolling Stone Australia is an Australian-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published monthly, it is the Australian edition of the United States' Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone was initially released in Melbourne in May 1970 as a supplement in Revolution, an...
, he described the song as "a curated reflection of multiple past relationships", but revealed the chorus was directly related to one ex-girlfriend. He stated: "It wasn't a nasty break-up, but it was messy in the sense that we hurt each other more than we needed to because it wasn’t a clean break... We both realised we had to move on and we haven’t seen each other since."
Critical reception
Besides the commercial success, it also received critical acclaim. Take40 Australia elaborated on the single's reception at the 2011 Splendour in the GrassSplendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass is an annual Australian music festival held in July at Woodford, Queensland, and previously held at Belongil Fields, outside Byron Bay...
festival; "Gotye's latest song featuring Kimbra Somebody That I Used To Know had become somewhat of an unofficial anthem for the festival...every car was cranking it over their speakers all day, every day... and the question on everyone's lips was whether or not Kimbra would join him on the track. Fortunately, dreams came true... he smashed out an incredible set climaxing with a version of the song with Kimbra on co-lead vocals that people couldn't stop talking about all weekend long." John Watson, who co-manages Gotye with Danny Rogers said of the single's success: "we've never seen any song make a deeper or more immediate connection with so many people. It's a really special recording and video."
Commercial reception
The song first appeared on the Australian singles chart at 27 in late July. Despite a lack of airplay, the song climbed up to number one on the 15th of August, becoming Gotye and Kimbra's most successful song. The success was a huge achievement for Kimbra who was not well known in Australia. It also became Gotye's highest peaking single and third to chart in the top 100 after the albums first single, "Eyes Wide OpenEyes Wide Open
Eyes Wide Open is an exhibit created by the American Friends Service Committee observing the American soldiers and marines that have died in the Iraq War. It contains a pair of combat boots to represent every American soldier and marine that has died in the war, as well as shoes representing Iraqi...
" and his 2007 song, "Heart's a Mess
Hearts a Mess
"Hearts a Mess" is a song by the Belgium-born Australian musician Gotye from his second studio album Like Drawing Blood, released as a single in 2007.-Music video:...
". During the number one run, his album, Making Mirrors
Making Mirrors
Making Mirrors is the third studio album by the Belgian-born Australian musician Gotye. The album was released on August 19, 2011.-History:...
debuted at number one at the same time, becoming the first Australian since Silverchair
Silverchair
Silverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
's single "Straight Lines
Straight Lines (song)
"Straight Lines" is a song by Silverchair. It was released in Australia on 20 March 2007, and debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart. The single was shortly followed by the release of the band's fifth studio album Young Modern on 31 March 2007...
" and its album Young Modern to have both the album and its single to peak at number one at the same time. On 3 October, the song became the second longest running Australian song (at 8 weeks) tied with Savage Garden
Savage Garden
Savage Garden were an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994...
's 1997 song "Truly, Madly, Deeply
Truly, Madly, Deeply
Truly, Madly, Deeply is a 1990 film made for the BBC's Screen Two series.-Overview:The film was written and directed by Anthony Minghella and stars Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. Minghella said he wrote the script specifically as “a vehicle for [Stevenson] to express all her talents...
" behind Daddy Cool
Daddy Cool
Daddy Cool may mean:* Daddy Cool , a 1970s Australian rock band, reformed since 2005* Daddy Cool, a book by Donald Goines* "Daddy Cool" Daddy Cool may mean:* Daddy Cool (band), a 1970s Australian rock band, reformed since 2005* Daddy Cool, a book by Donald Goines* "Daddy Cool" Daddy Cool may mean:*...
's 1971 hit, "Eagle Rock
Eagle Rock (song)
"Eagle Rock" is a classic Australian song, released by Daddy Cool in May 1971 on the Sparmac Record Label. It went on to become the best selling Australian single of the year, achieving gold status in eleven weeks, and remaining at #1 on the national charts for a record ten weeks. "Eagle Rock"...
" at 10 weeks. The single has since been certified 6x Platinum in Australia for sales exceeding 420,000 units.
In Kimbra's home country New Zealand, the song made a huge debut at number 4 in late August. The song made it to number one three weeks later, becoming the first Australian song to peak at number one on the charts since Stan Walker
Stan Walker
Stan Walker , is an Australian recording artist and actor. In 2009, Walker was the winner on the seventh season of Australian Idol. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Music Australia....
's debut single, "Black Box
Black Box (song)
"Black Box" is the debut single by season seven winner of Australian Idol, Stan Walker. It was released digitally on 22 November 2009, as the lead single from his debut studio album, Introducing.....
" back in 2009. The song has so far peaked at number one for 5 weeks and has been certified 2x Platinum.
Music video
The music video premiered when it was controversially leaked on Take 40 Australia's website. It later premiered on his YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel and had its television premiere on the Australian music show rage
Rage (TV program)
Rage is a popular all-night Australian music video program broadcast on ABC1 on Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Saturday nights. It was first screened on the weekend of Friday, 17 April 1987. With Soul Train no longer being produced, it is the oldest music television program currently still...
on the 30th of July. The video was directed, produced and edited by Natasha Pincus.
The video shows Gotye naked (there is no explicit nudity) against a white backdrop. As he sings, a pattern of paint gradually covers his skin and the backdrop via stop-motion animation
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
. Kimbra then appears for her verse, also naked and already painted but with her back to the camera. She moves closer to Gotye to sing into his ear. During the final chorus, Kimbra returns to her original position and the paint on her body gradually disappears, further indicating that the two have separated.
The music video for the single is well received for its artistic style, picking up 200,000 views in its first two weeks, as well as receiving promotion on Twitter by actor Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
and international singers such as Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
, Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
and Nick Jonas
Nick Jonas
Nicholas Jerry "Nick" Jonas is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actor best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a pop-rock band he formed with his brothers Joe and Kevin. The Jonas Brothers originally started as an attempted solo singing career for Nick, but the record producer liked the...
.
Credits and personal
- GotyeGotyeWouter "Wally" De Backer , also known professionally by his stage name Gotye , is a Belgian-Australian multi-instrumental musician and singer-songwriter. He has released three studio albums independently and one remix album featuring remixes of tracks from his first two albums...
– lead and backing vocals, writer, producer, guitar, flutes and samples - KimbraKimbraKimbra Johnson , known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer/songwriter from Hamilton, New Zealand. She is currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Kimbra's debut album Vows was released on 29 August 2011 in New Zealand, and 2 September 2011 in Australia on Warner Bros...
– lead and backing vocals - Lucas Taranto – bass guitar
- François Tetaz – mixer
Chart performance
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|
Release history
| Country | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
July 5, 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
||
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
July 29, 2011 | |
| Netherlands Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders... |
||
| Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
November 11, 2011 | |
See also
- List of number-one singles of 2011 (Australia)
- List of Ultratop 50 number-one singles of 2011
- List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand)
- List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2011
External links
- Anatomy of no.1 hit Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye ft. Kimbra on Herald SunHerald SunThe Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
web site.