Somebody That I Used to Know

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Somebody That I Used to Know
Gotye feat. Kimbra
publication July 5, 2011
length 4:05
Genre (s) Indie pop , indie rock , world beat
Author (s) Wally de Backer
text Wally de Backer
album Making mirrors
Cover versions
January 6, 2012 Walk off the earth
April 10, 2012 Glee Cast
October 16, 2012 Mayday Parade feat. Vic Fuentes ( Pierce the Veil )

Somebody That I Used to Know is a song released in 2011 by the Belgian - Australian singer Gotye . It was recorded with the New Zealand singer Kimbra and released as the second single from Gotye's third studio album Making Mirrors . The song won two Grammys in 2013 ( Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo / Group Performance). By the end of 2012, 11.8 million digital copies of the song had been sold worldwide.

background

Somebody That I Used to Know was written and produced by Gotye. The song is about the end of a relationship. The song contains a sample from the song Seville by Luiz Bonfá . It took Gotye five months to find a suitable duet partner for the song because a singer who was initially intended as a partner canceled at short notice.

Music video

The music video for the song premiered in July 2011. Natasha Pincus directed. In the video, Gotye stands naked against a white background and sings the song. As the video progresses, the gotye and the background will be covered with paint. Later you can also see Kimbra, which is also painted in a pattern that matches the background. Stop-motion animation was used for the video . The video has been parodied many times.

Cover versions

The song has been covered several times, including the cast of the television series Glee . The version of the Canadian indie rock band Walk off the Earth received special attention . In the accompanying music video, the band plays the song with five people on a single guitar. The video hit 17 million views within a week. The cover version made it into the charts in several countries, including number 13 in Canada, number 41 in Germany, number 30 in Austria and number 54 in Switzerland.

Charts

Somebody That I Used to Know reached number one in the single charts in Germany and was at the top of the chart for five weeks , in the top 10 for 17 weeks and in the charts for 61 weeks. This was the only time in their career that both performers reached the German single charts. In 2012, the single placed fourth in the German annual single charts. At the end of the year , the single occupied the top position in the German airplay charts , making Somebody That I Used to Know the most played radio hit of the year.

Chart placements
Charts Top ranking Weeks
Chart placements
Australia (ARIA) Australia (ARIA) 1 (50 weeks) 50
Germany (GfK) Germany (GfK) 1 (61 weeks) 61
Flanders (Ultratop) Flanders (Ultratop) 1 (61 weeks) 61
New Zealand (RMNZ) New Zealand (RMNZ) 1 (57 weeks) 57
Austria (Ö3) Austria (Ö3) 1 (37 weeks) 37
Switzerland (IFPI) Switzerland (IFPI) 2 (58 weeks) 58
United States (Billboard) United States (Billboard) 1 (59 weeks) 59
United Kingdom (OCC) United Kingdom (OCC) 1 (63 weeks) 63
Wallonia (Ultratop) Wallonia (Ultratop) 1 (70 weeks) 70

Awards for music sales

Somebody That I Used to Know has been awarded 1 × gold and 51 × platinum worldwide. According to awards, the single was sold more than twelve million times.

country Awards Sales
AustraliaAustralia Australia Decuple platinum record icon.svg 11 × platinum 770,000
BelgiumBelgium Belgium Quadruple platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum 120,000
DenmarkDenmark Denmark Triple platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum 90,000
GermanyGermany Germany Triple platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum 900,000
FinlandFinland Finland Gold record icon.svg gold 6,774
ItalyItaly Italy Quadruple platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum 120,000
CanadaCanada Canada 639,000
New ZealandNew Zealand New Zealand Quintuple platinum record icon.svg 5 × platinum 75,000
AustriaAustria Austria Double platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum 60,000
SwedenSweden Sweden Platinum record icon.svg platinum 40,000
SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland Triple platinum record icon.svg 3 × platinum 90,000
SpainSpain Spain Platinum record icon.svg platinum 40,000
United KingdomUnited Kingdom United Kingdom Double platinum record icon.svg 2 × platinum 1,450,000
United StatesUnited States United States Octuple platinum record icon.svg 8 × platinum 7,640,000
All in all Gold record icon.svg 1 × gold 47 × platinum
Platinum record icon.svg
12,040,774
Streaming
country Awards Calls
DenmarkDenmark Denmark Quadruple platinum record icon.svg 4 × platinum 7,200,000

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Grammys 2013: Winners List. billboard.com, accessed May 1, 2013 .
  2. Wirtschaftswoche Schule, No. 3/2013, August 19, 2013, p. 6
  3. a b Somebody That I Used to Know on songfacts.com
  4. Gotye Sells Millions, But A Dead Brazilian Musician Gets Half. tonedeaf.com.au, accessed May 4, 2013 .
  5. ^ Kimbra: Rising New Zealander on Stripping for Gotye Video, Reading Debut LP. spinner.com, archived from the original on November 8, 2012 ; Retrieved May 2, 2013 .
  6. Jump up ↑ Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know - J Awards Video Nomination. abc.net.au, accessed May 2, 2013 .
  7. Glee-Cover ( Memento of the original from July 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / vimeo.com
  8. Walk off the Earth music video
  9. YouTube Video 'Somebody That I Used to Know' Spreads Across the Earth. spinner.com, archived from the original on November 15, 2012 ; Retrieved May 12, 2013 .
  10. Chart sources Walk off the Earth: DE AT CH CA
  11. a b c d e f g h i j Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US BEF BEW AU NZ
  12. Top 100 single annual charts: 2012. officialcharts.de, accessed on June 25, 2020 .
  13. Annual charts Germany: Chart year 2012. radiocharts.com, accessed on June 25, 2020 .
  14. ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2013 Singles. ARIA, accessed March 3, 2015 .
  15. ^ Goud en Platina Singles - 2012. Ultratop.be, accessed on March 3, 2015 (Dutch).
  16. Ifpi.dk Gotye "Somebody That I Used To Know". IFPI.dk, accessed March 3, 2015 .
  17. BVMI gold / platinum database. Federal Association of the Music Industry , accessed on June 8, 2018 .
  18. a b Ifpi.fi Kulta- ja platinalevyt. IFPI.fi, accessed March 3, 2015 (Finnish).
  19. CERTIFICAZIONE Singoli Digitali dalla settimana 1 del 2009 alla settimana 2 del 2014. (No longer available online.) FIMI, archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; Retrieved March 3, 2015 (Italian). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fimi.it
  20. ^ Adele, Carly Rae Jepsen, Celine Dion Rule Nielsen / Billboard 2012 Canadian Music Industry Report. In: The Huffington Post . January 14, 2013, accessed March 3, 2015 .
  21. NZ Top 40 Singles Chart February 25, 2013. Recorded Music NZ, February 25, 2013, accessed on March 3, 2015 (English).
  22. IFPI Austria Gold & Platinum. IFPI.at, accessed on March 3, 2015 .
  23. Sverige Topplistan. hitlistan.se, accessed March 3, 2015 (Swedish).
  24. ^ Hitparade.ch precious metal. Hung Medien, accessed March 3, 2015 .
  25. El Portal de Musica Gotye Somebody That I Used To Know (feat Kimbra). Retrieved March 3, 2015 (Spanish).
  26. Certified Awards Search. British Phonographic Industry, accessed March 3, 2015 .
  27. Rob Copsey: Pharrell's Happy now the UK's most downloaded track of all time. The Official UK Charts Company, September 9, 2014, accessed March 3, 2015 .
  28. ^ Gold and Platinum. Recording Industry Association of America , accessed March 3, 2015 .
  29. Paul Grein: Chart Watch: Former Teen Stars Make Good! Yahoo , April 23, 2014, accessed March 3, 2015 .
  30. Ifpi.dk Gotye "Somebody That I Used To Know". IFPi.dk, accessed March 3, 2015 .