"Somebody to Love" is a song by American actress and singer

Leighton Meester Leighton Marissa Meester (; born April 9, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and model. She is best known for her starring role as the devious socialite Blair Waldorf on ''Gossip Girl'' on The CW (2007–2012). She has also appeared in films ...

featuring

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

. Written by Meester, Thicke,

Mike Caren Michael Caren is an American record producer, songwriter, music publisher, A&R representative, and music executive. He is the current CEO (and founder) of Artist Partner Group and Creative Officer at Warner Music Group. He is also the founder o ...

, Ollie Goldstein,

Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...

and

Shahine Ezell Shahine Ezell (Dallas, Texas) is a film and television actor, record producer, talent manager and songwriter. Ezell is Leighton Meester's talent manager as well as the songwriter and record producer of "The Nomads". He attended Booker T. Washingt ...

, and produced by Caren, the song was released as Meester's debut single on October 14, 2009, by

Universal Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an i ...

. The song was featured in the ninth episode of the third season of the television series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

'' (in which Meester starred as

Blair Waldorf Blair Cornelia Waldorf (married name Bass) is one of the main characters of ''Gossip Girl'', introduced in the original series of novels and also appearing as the lead in the television adaptation; she also appears in the comic adaptation. Descri ...

), titled " They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?" and originally aired November 9, 2009. It is also included on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

to the 2010 film ''

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

''.

Composition

"Somebody to Love" is a midtempo

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

song that combines Meester's "pop-electronica vibe" with Thicke's "smooth R&B stylings". The track contains a

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

-driven sing-along chorus, and was said to "

ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

back to

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's early-'90s

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

". Meester told

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

that the song is "basically about how I can't get any—I can't find anyone to love." In an interview for ''

On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM as the television show with the same name, ...

'' on October 13, 2009—where the song was premiered—Meester said, "I really wanted to make something that's completely different from anything that's on the radio right now. I feel like it's really dancy and fun, but it's still laid back and relaxed and moody and sexy." Of the single, songwriter Love told MTV News, "I was honored when I found out that my record was chosen to be Leighton's first single. It's exciting to be able to show a different side of my work and me."

Critical reception

Sarah MacRory of ''

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 ...

'' described the song as "a carefully constructed ode to vintage Madonna—particularly in its '

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'-like verses, where Meester semi-raps rather than sings. The lyrics are lovelorn, as she celebrates her jet-setter lifestyle but also mourns her inability to settle down." She noted Thicke's cameo as " e song's high point", as he "delivers a catchy chorus that cries out for a sped-up dance remix." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' Stephen M. Deusner, however, gave it a mixed review, praising Meester's "sleepy/sexy delivery" but criticizing her "very narrow" vocal range and her " angling ofsimple French pronunciation", referring to her pronunciation of the French phrase "Je t'adore" ("I adore you").

Music video

The music video was directed by

Zoe Cassavetes Zoe Rowlands Cassavetes (born June 29, 1970) is an American film director, screenwriter, and actress. She is the daughter of filmmaker John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands. She is best known for her 2007 film ''Broken English''. Career C ...

and filmed in New York City in October 2009. A preview of the video was first shown during the November 2, 2009 episode of ''Gossip Girl'', with the full-length video being launched on CWTV.com on November 9 immediately after its broadcast on

The CW Network ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. Meester explained the concept of the video, saying, "I want it to be telling a story. But a lot about the photography and the lighting, and mostly about the clothes." Meester added to MTV News, "It's basically going through ... a sexy day in my life. We start off in the car, we come in, I keep on fantasizing and dreaming that I'm with somebody I can love. He hickekind of comes and goes." The video is about finding love in a world consumed with fleeting lust and one-night stands. It consists mostly of shots of Meester in the back of a limousine in the city at night and posing on a couch. It is intercut with scenes of Meester fantasizing about hooking up with Thicke inside an elevator and in her apartment, as well as scenes of Thicke performing his parts of the song. It also includes cameo appearances by Laker Girl

Vanessa Curry Vanessa Curry (born in Fremont, California) is an American model, dancer and singer. Curry was a Laker Girls, Laker girl in the 2007–08 NBA season, 2007–08 season. She was a member of the third and fourth line-up of The Pussycat Dolls (2010 ...

and one of the song's writers,

Promotion

Meester performed "Somebody to Love" live for the first time on ''

It's On with Alexa Chung ''It's On with Alexa Chung'' is an American live interactive talk and variety program that aired weekdays on MTV from June 15 to December 17, 2009. The show, a "successor" to MTV's ''Total Request Live'', was hosted by British model-turned-telev ...

'' on November 24, 2009.

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2000s ballads 2009 debut singles 2009 songs Leighton Meester songs Robin Thicke songs Songs written by Mike Caren Songs written by Rico Love Songs written by Robin Thicke Synth-pop ballads Universal Republic Records singles