Somebody that I Used to Know

Somebody That I Used to Know (literally”Someone I knew”) is a song by singer and songwriter Belgian-AustralianGotye, in collaboration with the New Zealand singerKimbra. 2 ^E single from her3 ^th studio album Making Mirrors , the song was written and produced by Gotye himself. The single is released July 5, 2011 in the world and December 16, 2011 in France. The lyrics deal with an old love relationship he has lived.

The single has been acclaimed by critics, in Australia, the single has created the surprise by staying number one for 8 weeks, the previous record dating back to 1996 with the group Savage Garden thanks to the song Truly Madly Deeply ¹ . For Somebody That I Used to Know , a Triple J Hottest 100 is awarded by Triple J Radio for the year 2011, and the song wins an ARIA Award for best music and song of the year. While Kimbra is voted Best Female Artist of the Year, Gotye is named Best Male Artist and Best Producer.

At the beginning of 2012, the song spreads to the rest of the world, the single ranking number one in more than 18 countries including Austria , Belgium , Canada , Denmark , Finland , France , Germany , Ireland , Israel , Italy , the Netherlands , Poland , Romania , Scotland , South Africa and Sweden ² . On February 12, 2012, the song ranks number one in the UK, Down the next week and then back to the top spot for 4 consecutive weeks 26 February ³ . In the home country of Kimbra, New Zealand, the single also ranks number one. For Gotye and Kimbra, this is their single biggest hit and their first number one in their home country respectively in Australia and New Zealand , which makes the studio album Making Mirrors stand out as number one. one in Australia. In the United States , Somebody That I Used to Know also met with success, reaching first place in the Rock Songs and Alternative Songs charts, and number 1 in the Billboard Hot 100, April 18, 2012 ⁴ . In April 2012, the single has sold more than 4.5 million copies under the Universal Republic ⁴ label . He is one of the most downloaded single in history with 13 million digital sales ⁵ .

After a week of strong broadcast in American television in April 2012, Somebody That I Used to Know is broadcast during the fifteenth series Glee Big Brother 10 April 2012 ⁶ ; Gotye and Kimbra perform live song in the entertainment show with skits on Saturday Night Live April 14, 2012, a number on the download platform iTunes Top 100 Singles chart, with 542,000 downloads ⁷ . 4 ^th best selling digital since the creation of the observatory Nielsen Soundscan in 2003 ² .

With his 1 ^st place on Billboard Hot 100 , Gotye becomes the first Australian artist to reach this rank in this country, since Savage Garden with the song I Knew I Loved You in 2000 ², and the first Belgian artist since 1963 ( Sister Smile , with Dominique , for 4 weeks in a row). The song is sacred record of the year at the 55 ^th Grammys on February 10, 2013. The trophy is awarded to Gotye by Prince. The song also wins 4 Billboard Awards: Top Hot 100 Song Award, Radio Song Award, Streaming Song (Audio) Award and Rock Song Award. The video clip has been viewed more than 743 million times on the YouTube ² video sharing site .

The recovery in Glee for Somebody That I Used to Know has been downloaded over 152 000 times during the first week of operation and was ranked number ten in the US standings Digital Songs April 18, 2012 and 26 ^th on the Billboard Hot 100 ⁸ .

Genesis

To compose Somebody That I Used to Know, Gotye started with a sample of “Seville”, a song by the Brazilian artist Luiz Bonfa , released in 1967. He then added the percussion before tackling the lyrics and the main melody ⁹ . Alternating pauses and return on this composition, adding one by one the instruments according to his inspiration, as one builds a wall, brick by brick, he decided, after several attempts, to add to finish the feminine point of view. The song became a duet and the question of the female performer arose: after wiping out the despair, at the last minute, of a great Australian vocal artist, then tried her own companion, Tash Parker, herself a singer, he tested the New ZealanderKimbra on the advice of François Tétaz (en) . They recorded in the same room of the singer, which was to be only testing but eventually becomes the final female voice Somebody That I Use To Know ¹⁰ . The title was released on 6 July 2011, between the 27 ^th place in the ranking Australian ARIA Top 50 chart ¹¹ . The single is so widely distributed in the Australian radios, allowing it to reach the 3 ^th place 4 weeks and first place August 15, 2011 ¹² The song also reached the 1 ^st place in the Netherlands , theDutch Top 40 ¹³ .

Posterity

A revival by Walk off the Earth is carried out January 2012. The group Aliose resumes the song in French in June 2012 ( On my road ). The television series Glee picks up the song in episode 15 Big Brother of season 3 ¹⁴ . The song is taken up by the characters of Blaine Anderson ( Darren Criss ) and Cooper Anderson ( Matthew Bomer ).

Many other occasions of this song have been posted on the YouTube site by groups already formed or amateurs. By combining dozens of these videos in the form of a mosaic video remix (a process sometimes called “YouTube orchestra”), Gotye creates the composite work Somebodies ¹⁵ , posted on August 12, 2012.

List of tracks

CD single – Promo

1. Somebody That I Used To Know – 4:04

Single CD

1. Somebody That I Used To Know – 4:04
2. Easy Way Out – 1:57

A remix of Tiësto also exists in digital single.

There is also a version recorded with African musicians to promote the compilation ” Rhythms Del Mundo Africa”, posted on November 15, 2012 ¹⁶ .

Credits and staff

• Gotye – singer , writer , artistic director , guitar, flutes and samples
• Kimbra – singer
• Lucas Taranto – guitar
• François Tétaz – audio mixing

Video clip

The video clip made by Natasha Pincus was rotated in 12 hours with the stop motion method and use of the body paint on the body of the two singers ¹⁷. The camera first films singer Wouter De Backer, aka Gotye, from the front and almost naked against a white backdrop. Then as the song progresses, her body and the background gradually overlap with paint with a graphic pattern. The singer Kimbra appears in the middle of the song to sing in duet, naked and filmed from the back with the body already entirely painted with the same motif. She approaches Gotye singing near his shoulder as if to mimic a woman’s quarrel with a lover. During the final chorus, Kimbra gradually returns to her original position and the paint that covered her skin disappears little by little to symbolize the separation of the couple.

The video was rather well received for its artistic qualities. It has been viewed more than 628 million times on the YouTube video sharing site . American actor Ashton Kutcher and American singer Katy Perry promoted the clip by posting it to Twitter users ¹⁸

Rankings and certifications

Succession in the first place

Output History

Walk off the Earth Version

In January 2012, the Canadian group Walk off the Earth resumes the song.

List of tracks

Maxi CD – Europe (2012)

1. Somebody That I Used To Know – 4:08
2. Somebody That Used To Know (Video) – 4:25

Country ranking

Certifications

external link

( en )

 Video clip  [ archive ] on YouTube