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Use Somebody

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"Use Somebody"
Song

"Use Somebody" is a song by the American alternative rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album Only by the Night (2008), released on December 8, 2008.[1][2]

The single received heavy airplay in Scandinavia, the Republic of Ireland, Germany, the UK and Australia, where it was number one on the Official Airplay Chart for six consecutive weeks.[3] It was a huge success in the U.S., where it topped multiple airplay formats and reached number four on the Hot 100 and number one on the Pop Songs chart.[4] The song received positive reviews and won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song and was also nominated for Song of the Year.[5]

Critical reception

The song has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly called "Use Somebody" a highlight of the album, describing the song as "a too-cool hipster's cry for comfort".[6] Nick Levine of Digital Spy said "with its Springsteen-style 'oooah-woooah's, gathering storm of guitars and lusty, longing vocals from Caleb Followill, it's nearly as infectious as 'Sex on Fire'"[7] Gavin Haynes of NME praised the song as "easily the best 80s power ballad of 2008," but cautioned that the band "may be in danger of mistaking bluster for brilliance".[8]

Chart performance

In the United States, "Use Somebody" became the band's mainstream breakthrough. Peaking at number four on the Hot 100, it gave the band their first top five hit there, and has spent 57 weeks on the chart. On U.S. radio, the song was a multi-format smash, becoming just the fourth song in history to top the Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, Alternative Songs, and Triple A charts.[9] (Preceding it were "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray, and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day.) 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,[10] and later topped the Mainstream Top 40 as well. "Use Somebody" has also found great digital success, so far selling over 3,457,000 digital downloads in the United States.[11]

In the UK, "Use Somebody" peaked at #2 on the official UK Top 75 and spent an unbroken 40 weeks on the chart, only dropping out due to the surge in sales of Michael Jackson titles immediately after his death; after an absence of just one week it was back for another 20 weeks, peaking at #25. It has reappeared on further occasions since, and has now spent 62 weeks on the Top 75, making it the 9th longest runner of all time, and 80 weeks in the Top 100.[12]

Cover versions

Pixie Lott performed a cover version of the song which peaked at number 41 in the UK Singles Chart, due to it being a B-side to her number 1 single "Mama Do (Uh Oh Uh Oh)".[13]

Dutch singer Laura Jansen covered a piano ballad-version of "Use Somebody". The song debuted in the Dutch Top 40. It entered the charts on the 35th spot but quickly rose towards number 14.[14]

Paramore did a live cover of the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.[15]

Season 7 American Idol contestant Brooke White also covered the song on her post Idol release High Hopes & Heartbreak.[16]

Country singer Margaret Durante did a cover and released a single on October 2009.[17]

American Idol season nine winner, Lee DeWyze, covered this song at home in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, before coming onto the show in early 2010. He has also recorded the song with his previous label WuLi Records and the cover is now available for free listen and download at www.leedewyze.com. Lee also closed his set with the song on the American Idols Live Tour.

Trance producer Armin van Buuren did a bootleg version of "Use Somebody" with the vocals of Laura Jansen during Armin Only.

Trey Songz covered the song on MTV Unplugged and the OMG Tour.

The Voice Of Holland season one winner Ben Saunders blew away the judges with this song during his audition

Track listing

CD Single
  1. "Use Somebody" - 3:51
  2. "Knocked Up" (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) - 5:34
iTunes exclusive EP
  1. "Use Somebody" - 3:51
  2. "Knocked Up" (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) - 5:34
  3. "Frontier City" - 3:36
  4. "The Bucket" (CSS Remix) - 3:43

Chart positions

Chart (2008/2009) Peak[18]
position
Australian Singles Chart 2
Austrian Singles Chart 12
Belgian Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) 1
Belgian Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) 19
Canadian Hot 100 8
Danish Singles Chart 9
Dutch Top 40 7
German Singles Chart 9
Irish Singles Chart 2
Norwegian Singles Chart 5
New Zealand Singles Chart 5
Swedish Singles Chart[19] 7
Swiss Singles Chart 9
UK Singles Chart 2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[20] 1
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs 2
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[21] 9
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40 1
Chart (2000–2009) Peak
position
UK Top 100 Songs of the Decade 32[22]

Year-end charts

End of year chart (2009) Position
Australian Singles Chart 38[23]
New Zealand Singles Chart[24] 47
Swiss Singles Chart[25] 47
UK Singles Chart[26] 13
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 14[27]

All-time charts

Chart Position
UK Download Chart [28] 8

Certifications

Country Certification Sales
Australia 2× Platinum[29] 140,000+
Belgium Gold[30] 15,000+
Denmark Gold[31] 15,000+
New Zealand Platinum[32] 15,000+[33]
Switzerland Gold[34] 15,000+
U.K. Platinum 815,000+[35]
U.S. Platinum 1,000,000+[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ New Video: Kings of Leon, "Use Somebody"
  2. ^ Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody Contact Music
  3. ^ "Australian Music Report Weekly Hot 100". Aumreport.com. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  4. ^ http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200#/charts/pop-songs?begin=11&order=position
  5. ^ Haynes, Gavin (2008-09-17). "Kings of Leon - Album Reviews". NME. Retrieved 2009-09-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Wood, Mikael (2008-09-16). "Only by the Night - Music Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-09-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "Music - Singles Reviews - Kings of Leon: 'Use Somebody'". Digital Spy. 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  8. ^ On December 2, 2009, it was announced that the song had been nominated for the 52nd Grammy Awards in the categories of in the categories of Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song; it won the last three on January 31, 2010. Haynes, Gavin (2008-09-17). "Kings of Leon - Album Reviews". NME. Retrieved 2009-09-26. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-kings-of-leon-toby-1004017666.story
  10. ^ http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/chart-beat-wednesday-carrie-underwood-kings-1004010621.story#
  11. ^ Grein, Paul (2010-12-8). "Week Ending Dec. 5, 2010: The "Gift" That Keeps on Giving". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo! Incorporated. Retrieved 2010-12-9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  12. ^ http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=34029
  13. ^ Chart Stats : UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive - Pixie Lott - Use Somebody
  14. ^ Dutch Chart Stats : Dutch Top 40 - January, week 4
  15. ^ [1]
  16. ^ http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/07/23/extended-play-brooke-white/
  17. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgi8GrrUdqQ
  18. ^ "Kings of Leon - Use Somebody worldwide chart positions and trajectories"aCharts.us. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  19. ^ Swedish Singles Chart
  20. ^ [2]
  21. ^ Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
  22. ^ Radio 1 Official Chart of the Decade, as broadcast on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday 29th December 2009, presented by Nihal
  23. ^ "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2009". ARIA. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  24. ^ http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart_annual.asp
  25. ^ "2009 Year End Swiss Singles Chart". Swiss Music Charts. 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  26. ^ "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  27. ^ "Year End Charts - Year-end songs - The Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2010.
  28. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/downloads
  29. ^ http://aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accr.htm
  30. ^ http://www.ultratop.be/fr/certifications.asp?year=2009
  31. ^ http://www.hitlisten.nu/
  32. ^ "New Zealand Platinum Certification". RadioScope New Zealand. 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  33. ^ "New Zealand Chart Facts". RIANZ. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  34. ^ http://swisscharts.com/awards.asp?year=2010
  35. ^ http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=88908
  36. ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Kings%20of%20Leon&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25
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