"My Ex's Best Friend" (stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

) is a song by American musician

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 Thomps ...

featuring fellow American musician Blackbear. It is the third single off of the former's

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

fifth studio album ''

Tickets to My Downfall ''Tickets to My Downfall'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. A departure from his established rap sound, the album is a more guitar-driven pop-punk album. It was released through Bad Boy Records and Interscope Re ...

''. The song reached number 20 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart, becoming the third top-40 hit for both artists.

Background and release

Colson Baker, better known as

, released his fourth studio album, ''

Hotel Diablo ''Hotel Diablo'' is the fourth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on July 5, 2019, via Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. The album was supported by four singles: "Hollywood Whore", " El Diablo", "I Think I'm ...

'', on July 5, 2019, via EST 19XX, Bad Boy, and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. The third single from that album, "

I Think I'm Okay "I Think I'm Okay" (stylized as "I Think I'm OKAY") is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly, English musician Yungblud, and fellow American musician Travis Barker. It was released as a single on June 7, 2019, from Machine Gun Kelly's fourt ...

", was a collaboration with

Yungblud Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud (pronounced "Youngblood"), is an English singer, musician, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his first EP, ''Yungblud'', followed shortly after by the albu ...

and

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has also performed as a frequent collaborator with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transpla ...

, which served as a segue for Baker's transition towards rock music. Baker described the song as "our first 'Oh shit. I think we might be onto something' moment". Baker booked a studio session with Barker, recording what would become the song " Bloody Valentine". Machine Gun Kelly describes the session as "so powerful that Travis was like, 'Fuck it, I'm blocking off two months of my life and we're doing this album'". On December 4, 2019, Machine Gun Kelly tweeted, "rock album in 2020". Baker first collaborated with Blackbear on "End of the Road", the final track on Baker's 2012 debut album ''

Lace Up ''Lace Up'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Machine Gun Kelly. It was released on October 9, 2012, by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records. Puff Daddy, who served as the executive producer on the album, enlisted the guest appearance ...

''. Both artists made a guest appearance on "Shoot'Em Down", from

Mod Sun Derek Ryan Smith (born March 10, 1987), known professionally as Mod Sun (stylized as MOD SUN or MODSUN) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and rapper from Bloomington, Minnesota. He has released four solo studio albums, thr ...

's 2015 album '' Look Up''. In 2017, Machine Gun Kelly appeared as a featured vocalist on Blackbear's track "E.Z.", from his album ''

Cybersex Cybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex and, colloquially, cyber or cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more people have long distance sex via electronic video communication (webcams, VR headsets, etc) and other e ...

''. Baker teased another collaboration with Blackbear in December 2019, posting a screenshot of their text conversation on his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account, with the caption, "ayy the @bear vocals came in". "My Ex's Best Friend" was officially released on August 7, 2020.

Composition and themes

The song was described as

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

, but as a modern take on it, rather than the "classic" form of the genre. Publications described it as a "guitar-laden" song with the two singers covering the complications of

relationship breakups A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...

and

rebound relationship A rebound is an undefined period following the breakup of a romantic relationship. Usually not lasting long. Description The term's use dates back to at least the 1830s, when Mary Russell Mitford wrote of "nothing so easy as catching a heart ...

s. The song's "infectious guitar line" has been noted as being one of the most memorable moments on the ''

'' album.

Reception

HotNewHipHop ''HotNewHipHop (HNHH)'' is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video serieses; ''How to Roll ...

'' praised the song, but noted that the enjoyment the listener gets would vary based on their attitude on the music's new sound, stating "If you're not on board for MGK's departure from hip-hop... you'll likely hit skip within the opening moments of

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

For those who decide to stay, you'll be treated to a tale of forbidden passion, the likes of which have fueled pop-punk balladry for years." In an otherwise negative review of ''Tickets to My Downfall'', ''

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...

'' contended that while the he felt it is not a good song by any means, it makes an effort to experiment and amalgamate pop-punk riffs with his familiar rap sensibilities.

Accolades

Live performances

On August 30, 2020, Machine Gun Kelly and Blackbear performed "My Ex's Best Friend" live at the

2020 MTV Video Music Awards The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2020. Keke Palmer hosted the 37th annual ceremony, which was presented primarily from the channel headquarter in New York City, but with a virtual segments held in another cities,due the C ...

. Machine Gun Kelly also performed this song on the September 25th episode of

The Kelly Clarkson Show ''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by American singer Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and seg ...

, a day after he made an appearance on the show the day before. MGK performed it during the 2020 American Music Awards on November 22, and on New Year’s Eve during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2021 with Ryan Seacrest. Coincidentally, both events were produced by

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces award shows and other music en ...

and aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. He also performed the song on the January 30th episode of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

’s

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

, which was hosted by

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *

– vocals, guitar * Blackbear – vocals *

– production * BazeXX – additional production * SlimXX – additional production *

Omer Fedi Omer Fedi ( he, עומר פדי; born 25 March 2000) is an Israeli record producer, songwriter and guitarist from Tel Aviv. He has co-written, produced and performed on " Mood" by 24kGoldn ft. Iann Dior, "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Na ...

– bass guitar, guitar * Nick Long – guitar *

Colin Leonard Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

– master engineering * John Hanes – mix engineering *

Serban Ghenea Șerban Ghenea (born October 13, 1969) is a Grammy award-winning Romanian-Canadian audio engineer and mixer. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Bucharest, Romania in 1969. In 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. He later attended ...

– mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2020 songs 2020 singles Machine Gun Kelly (musician) songs American pop punk songs Bad Boy Records singles Blackbear (musician) songs Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Travis Barker Songs written by Blackbear (musician) Songs written by Machine Gun Kelly (musician) Songs written by Travis Barker