"Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and ga ...

. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album '' Only by the Night'' (2008), released on December 8, 2008. The single received heavy airplay in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, where it was number one on the Official Airplay Chart for six consecutive weeks. It was a huge success in the U.S., where it topped multiple airplay formats and reached number four on the

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 ...

and number one on the

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart. The song received positive reviews and won

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011. The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...

and Best Rock Song. It was also nominated for Song of the Year. ¨Use Somebody¨ is written in the key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

Critical reception

The song has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Mikael Wood of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' called "Use Somebody" a highlight of the album, describing the song as "a too-cool hipster's cry for comfort". Nick Levine of

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

said, "With its

Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

-style 'oooah-woooah's, gathering storm of guitars and lusty, longing vocals from Caleb Followill, it's nearly as infectious as '

Sex on Fire "Sex on Fire" is the first single released from American rock band Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, ''Only by the Night''. The song gave Kings of Leon their first number-one single in Australia, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, chart ...

'." Gavin Haynes of '' NME'' praised the song as "easily the best 80's power ballad of 2008", but cautioned that the band "may be in danger of mistaking bluster for brilliance".

Chart performance

In the United States, "Use Somebody" became the band's mainstream breakthrough. Peaking at number four on the

, it gave the band their first top five hit there, and spent 57 weeks on the chart. On United States radio, the song was a multi-format smash, becoming just the fourth song in history to top the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the U ...

Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

, and Triple A charts. (Preceding it were " Slide" by the

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sou ...

, " Every Morning" by Sugar Ray, and " Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...

.) The song first reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart (now called the "Alternative" chart), their second of three consecutive singles to top that chart. "Use Somebody" also reached number one on the Adult Top 40 chart, and later topped the Mainstream Top 40 chart as well. It reached over four million downloads in the US by July 2013. In the

, "Use Somebody" peaked at number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and spent an unbroken 40 weeks on the chart, only dropping out due to the surge in sales of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the " King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over ...

titles immediately after his death; after an absence of just one week, it was back for another 20 weeks, peaking at number 25. It has reappeared on further occasions since, and has now spent 77 weeks on the top 75, making it the 14th longest runner of all time, six places behind "Sex on Fire" with its 90 weeks. Along with "Sex on Fire", the song was one of two from Kings of Leon's ''Only by the Night'' to reach the top three in Australian radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

's Hottest 100 of 2008, coming in at number three.

Music video

Directed by Sophie Muller, who also directed the video for "Sex on Fire" and would later direct "Radioactive", the video features tour footage of the band, in addition to Caleb singing while sitting on a sofa in a penthouse suite overlooking the New York City skyline at night.

Notable cover versions

The song has attracted many cover versions, with CBS affiliate Live 105 radio listing the top 10 covers and ''

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'' website listing the top 15, both lists published in 2010. *

Pixie Lott Victoria Louise Lott (born 12 January 1991), better known by her stage name Pixie Lott, is an English singer and songwriter. Her debut album, '' Turn It Up'', released in September 2009, reached number six on the UK Albums Chart and sold ov ...

performed a cover version of the song which peaked at number 41 on the

, due to it being a B-side to her number one single "

Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh) "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)" (also known as "Mama Do") is the debut single by English singer and songwriter Pixie Lott released as the lead single from her debut studio album, '' Turn It Up'' (2009). Written and produced by Mads Hauge and Phil Tho ...

". * Dutch singer Laura Jansen covered a piano ballad-version of "Use Somebody". The song debuted in the Dutch Top 40 chart. It entered the charts on the thirty-fifth spot but quickly rose towards number 14. Her cover was later remixed by Dutch DJ

Armin van Buuren Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren ( , ; born 25 December 1976) is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Leiden, South Holland. Since 2001, he has hosted '' A State of Trance'' (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40&n ...

. * Country singer Margaret Durante did a cover and released it as a single in October 2009. * English electronic music group

Ultrabeat Ultrabeat are a British electronic dance music group from Liverpool, England formed in 2002. Originally consisting of vocalist and producer Mike Di Scala and producers Ian Redman and Chris Henry, Ultrabeat first emerged with their cover of ...

released their cover as a single in 2009. The song peaked at number 100 on the

Scala & Kolacny Brothers Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian women's choir conducted by Stijn Kolacny, and arranged and accompanied by Steven Kolacny on the piano. They have made five studio albums (in multiple languages) starting with ''On The Rocks'' in 2002. Most ...

covered the song with the all-girls choir for their album ''Circle''. A video produced for their cover was nominated for an MTV Freshman Video Award. * American singer

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...

released this song on her fifth studio album '' It's A Man's World''. *

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, ''I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

covered the song on his ''MTV Unplugged'' performance. *

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...

covered the song on his ''MTV Unplugged'' performance in 2017. *One Direction covered the song on their Up All Night Tour (2011-2012) *R&B duo dvsn released a cover of the song as a single from their 2021 project, ''Amusing Her Feelings''

Track listing

CD single # "Use Somebody" – 3:51 # "Knocked Up" ( Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) – 5:34 iTunes exclusive EP # "Use Somebody" – 3:51 # "Knocked Up" ( Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) – 5:34 # "

Frontier City Frontier City is a western-themed amusement park in Oklahoma City. It is owned by EPR and operated by Six Flags. The park originally opened in 1958. Frontier City is the third-oldest Six Flags park behind Six Flags New England and Six Flags Gre ...

" – 3:36 # "The Bucket" (CSS Remix) – 3:43

Personnel

* Caleb Followill – lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Nathan Followill – drums, backing vocals * Matthew Followill – lead guitar, backing vocals * Jared Followill – bass, backing vocals

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2000s ballads 2008 singles Kings of Leon songs Songs written by Caleb Followill Songs written by Nathan Followill Songs written by Jared Followill Songs written by Matthew Followill Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Grammy Award for Record of the Year Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Rock ballads Grammy Award for Best Rock Song Maggie Rose songs 2008 songs Song recordings produced by Jacquire King RCA Records singles Sony Music singles