"Bad Things" is a song by American rapper and singer

Machine Gun Kelly George Kelly Barnes (July 18, 1895 – July 18, 1954), better known by his pseudonym "Machine Gun Kelly", was an American gangster from Memphis, Tennessee, active during the Prohibition era. His nickname came from his favorite weapon, a Thom ...

and Cuban-born American singer-songwriter

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban-born American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in ...

. The song was released on October 14, 2016, and was produced by

The Futuristics The Futuristics are a Grammy nominated American songwriting and music production duo consisting of Alex Schwartz and Joe Khajadourian. The duo formed after they met interning at Atlantic Records during the summer of 2005 and are currently bas ...

. Its music video was directed by

Hannah Lux Davis Hannah Lux Davis (born May 17, 1986) is an American music video, commercial and film director. She's known for her work especially with female artists, such as Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, Christ ...

and premiered on December 1, 2016. The song features an interpolation of

Fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

's 1999 single " Out of My Head". The single peaked at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming both Machine Gun Kelly and Cabello's first top ten single as solo artists, as well as the former's only top-ten hit to date. The song was nominated for Top Rap Collaboration at the 2017 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, and won Best Collaboration at the

2017 Radio Disney Music Awards The 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards was held on April 29, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was shown on Radio Disney and Disney Channel the following night on April 30, 2017 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. (EDT). ...

Background and composition

During her time as a student at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

(NYU), American songwriter

Madison Love Madison Emiko Love is an American singer and songwriter. She is signed to Artist Publishing Group. Early life Madison Emiko Love was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father, Roger Love, is a vocal coach. Love moved to New York ...

conceived "Bad Things" with several songwriters while she was in a

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

class. "Bad Things" is a mid-tempo

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

that interpolates

's 1999 song " Out of My Head". It incorporates lyrical themes of pain-is-pleasure type of love.

Critical reception

Gil Kaufman from '' Billboard'' called it an "instant earworm four-minute ode to dark pleasure." For

Fuse TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multi ...

's Bianca Gracie the song shows rapper's "softer side", and highlights Cabello's "delicate vocals". She described the song opens with Cabello "softly crooning" the hook, and MGK then comes in with a "naughty rap flow that cruises over the piano melody." In ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'', Rachel Sonís described it as a "sleek" ballad with a "dreamy" hook. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine ranked it the fifth worst song of 2016, describing it as a "promising concept" with a "fine" chorus performance from Cabello ruined by the rapper's "milquetoast contribution".

Chart performance

"Bad Things" debuted at number 80 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 issued for November 5, 2016. On December 24, 2016, the song moved from number 17 to number 10 and became Kelly's first (and only as of 2022) top-10 entry, and Cabello's first as a soloist, selling 58,000 digital downloads and earning 11.4 million streams. It peaked at number four in its 13th week on the chart and spent 23 weeks in total. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the single 5× platinum, which denotes four million units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams. On the Canadian Hot 100, "Bad Things" peaked at number 11. The song reached number 22 in Australia and was certified platinum. In New Zealand, it peaked at number 11 and was certified gold. "Bad Things" reached number 16 in the United Kingdom and was certified gold. In Belgium, the song peaked at number 23 and was certified gold. It reached number 47 in Italy and attained a gold certification. "Bad Things" charted within the top 20 of national record charts, at number six in Malaysia, number 13 in the Netherlands, number 14 in Scotland, number 16 in Czech Republic, and number 19 in Finland, Lebanon, Portugal.

Music video

Directed by

, the music video premiered on December 1, 2016, on

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...

. It follows the pair as they lead a somewhat adventurous lifestyle, where they burn trash in barrels, steal, and make out in a barren apartment. MGK is the resident bad boy, getting into fights and

racing cars Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

while Cabello stays faithfully by his side. At one point in the video, flashbacks to younger versions of the musicians appear reassuring that their bond really has been unbreakable from the start. MGK and Cabello can be seen enjoying late nights at diners, gathering with friends and getting into trouble all while snuggling and fighting along the way. Their rebellious ways as the pair are chased by police after attempting to steal a car. Stuck at the top of a building with the police hot on their trail and nowhere else to go, the pair decide to die together by committing lover's suicide. As MGK looks longingly at Cabello, the police and their helicopters arrive to apprehend the couple and the lovers join hands and the video ends, leaving the outcome unknown. As of August 2022, the music video has over 430 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Live performances

MGK and Cabello performed the song on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' on November 23, 2016, and on December 1, 2016, for ''

The Late Late Show with James Corden ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28a ...

''. They later performed the song on January 30, 2017, on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'' following Cabello's exit from girl group

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, was an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and previously Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group sig ...

. The song was then performed at the 30th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

on March 11, 2017. Cabello also performed her verse as a headline act at

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

Reputation (Taylor Swift album) ''Reputation'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. It was released on November 10, 2017, by Big Machine Records, and would be her last release under the label. Swift became a subject ...

tour in

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, London on June 23, 2018.

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''bloom''. Publishing * For Casie Publishing / KOBALT ( BMI) // Schweezy Beats Publishing ( ASCAP) Artist Publishing Group West (ASCAP) Admin by Warner Chappell // Panic Attack Publishing (ASCAP) / Artist Publishing Group West (ASCAP) / Admin by Warner Chappell // Live Mad Love / Artist Publishing Group West (ASCAP) Admin by Warner Chappell // Sony/ATV Songs, LLC (BMI) // Bible Black c/o The Bicycle Music Company, Inc. (ASCAP). Recording * Recorded at Interscope Recording Studios,

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

* Mixed at

Larrabee Studios Larrabee Sound Studios is a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, originally established in 1969. Facilities Located at 4162 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, Larrabee has six studios, three tracking spaces, and a prod ...

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

Personnel *

– songwriting, lead vocals *

– songwriting, production,

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

– songwriting *

Tony Scalzo Tony Scalzo (born May 6, 1964 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American rock musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the band Fastball. Early life Tony Scalzo was born in Hawaii to a mother from Arizona and an Italian-American fath ...

– songwriting * Matt Beckley –

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career ...

– mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2010s ballads 2016 singles 2016 songs Machine Gun Kelly (musician) songs Camila Cabello songs Songs written by Machine Gun Kelly (musician) Songs written by Camila Cabello Music videos directed by Hannah Lux Davis Bad Boy Records singles Interscope Records singles Torch songs Songs about suicide Song recordings produced by the Futuristics Male–female vocal duets Songs written by Joe Khajadourian Songs written by Alex Schwartz Songs written by Madison Love Pop ballads Pop-rap songs