"I'm Ready" is a song by American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band

AJR AJR may refer to: * AJR (motorcycle), Scotland * AJR (band), a pop band from New York City, United States *Abdominojugular test, to measure venous pressure * Academy for Jewish Religion (New York) * ''American Journal of Roentgenology'' * ''Americ ...

. It was released as a single on August 22, 2013, through AJR Productions and

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. The song samples

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

shouting his catchphrase, "I'm ready!" The song is included on their debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP), ''I'm Ready'' (2013), and their debut album, ''

Living Room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment. Su ...

'' (2015). The song charted best internationally in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, where it peaked at number five and was certified multi-platinum. It reached number 65 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 2014, and was certified platinum in 2015.

Music and production

The song employs a notable

sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...

saying "I'm ready!" from the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

' debut episode " Help Wanted". AJR explained that the inspiration for the song came when the band members were "talking one day and joked that David Guetta or Skrillex would sample SpongeBob kinda in like, an ironic way. Then Ryan said 'let's not give it away to them, why don't we do it!'"

Music video

The video depicts AJR playing the song in a rented out space to a crowd of three people. One of them begins filming on her phone and soon their small performance is picked up by everyone online who proceed to storm the outside of the space to hear them live. Videos online depict people dancing, lip-synching and numerous other tributes to their song as their video begins to rack up views.

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

's initial tweet of the band can briefly be seen. The whole scenario is revealed to be the actual video with only three views, presumably from the members themselves. Ryan asks it they think they will go viral to which Jack bluntly responds "Nope". "I'm Ready" and "Infinity" are the only two videos where Adam and Jack do not possess their recognizable visual gimmicks. They are both clean shaven and Jack lacks his signature bomber hat.

Usage in media

The song played in the trailer and TV spot for the 2015 film '' Trainwreck'', which stars actress/comedian

Amy Schumer Amy Beth Schumer (born June 1, 1981) is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She ventured into comedy in the early 2000s before appearing as a contestant on the fifth season of the NBC reality competition series ''Last Comic Standing'' i ...

and actor

Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, producer, writer, director, and star of the HBO dark comedy series ''Barry'' (2018 ...

, as well as celebrity athletes

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American part-time professional wrestler, actor, and former rapper. He is currently signed to WWE. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he is tied w ...

and

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest pl ...

. "I'm Ready" is also often associated with YouTuber and

Sidemen A sideman is a musician who performs live with a band of which they are not a permanent member. Sideman or Sidemen may also refer to: * Sidemen, Bali, a district in the Karangasem Regency of Bali * Sideman (bishop), a 10th-century Bishop of Cred ...

member Tobit "Tobi" Brown (known online as TBJZL or Tobjizzle) who has used the chorus of the song in his introduction to his YouTube videos since 2013. On October 14, 2019, Brown announced that he can no longer use the song in his intro after Warner Music Group (AJR's record label) started copyright claiming his YouTube videos, despite being whitelisted by the band and having their permission to use the song.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2013 songs 2013 singles AJR (band) songs Warner Records singles SpongeBob SquarePants