"Somebody" is a song by American music production duo
the Chainsmokers
The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...
, featuring guest vocals from Drew Love of American R&B duo
THEY.
They (stylised THEY.) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B duo from Los Angeles, California, consisting of Dante Jones and Andrew "Drew Love" Neely. The duo started their career in 2015, releasing the debut extended play ''Nü Religion'', which ...
Written by Andrew Taggart,
Emily Warren
Emily Warren Schwartz (born August 25, 1992) is an American singer and songwriter signed to the label Prescription Songs. She is best known for the songs she has written for several high-profile pop artists, including Backstreet Boys, The Chai ...
, Drew Love and produced by the Chainsmokers, it was released by
Disruptor Records and
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
on April 20, 2018, as the fourth single from the Chainsmokers' second studio album, ''
Sick Boy''.
Release and composition
The Chainsmokers revealed the single artwork and announced its release date on April 18, 2018. "Somebody" is a tropical number that combines elements of
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
,
R&B and
EDM. Featuring "mournful keys and atmospheric synths", the song consists of a "bass-heavy drop".
''
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 ...
''s Kat Bein called it "a slow-cooker coated with R&B tones and twinkling accents reminiscent of earlier works by the Chainsmokers". Lyrically, the song "talks about the struggle and importance of staying true to yourself whilst everyone else around you is focused on surrounding themselves with material objects".
Music video
The accompanying music video was directed by Jim Batt and
Kim Boekbinder
Kim Max Fractal Boekbinder, born Kim Boekbinder, is a Canadian musician. Their music ranges from dark synth pop to acoustic looping.
A longtime proponent of direct-to-fan marketing and social media, Boekbinder gained publicity for their take ...
, and it features time-lapsed water color paintings from
Molly Crabapple
Molly Crabapple (born Jennifer Caban; 1983) is an American artist and writer. She is a contributing editor for ''Vice (magazine), VICE'' and has written for a variety of other outlets, as well as publishing books, including an illustrated memoir, ...
. The Chainsmokers said of the video on Twitter: "It tells the story of temptation which we all deal with in our ways but often consumes us."
Critical reception
Mike Nied of
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 ...
regarded the song as "the pair's strongest release in 2018 and boasts one of their most restrained productions to date". He noticed the song of being more introspective compared to the duo's previous work, writing that "
aggart'svoice effortlessly compliments their featured vocalist".
Chantilly Post of HotNewHipHop opined that the song "shows
he Chainsmokers'talent for creating chilled out, introspective tunes".
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* Tidal (album), ''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
* ...
.
* Alex Pall – production, composition, piano
* Andrew Taggart - production, composition, guitarra, voz
* Jordan Stilwell – mix engineering, record engineering
* Randy Merrill – master engineering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2018 singles
2018 songs
Columbia Records singles
Songs written by Andrew Taggart
Songs written by Emily Warren
The Chainsmokers songs
2010s ballads