Somebody Told Me

"Somebody Told Me"
Single by The Killers
from the album Hot Fuss
B-side "Under the Gun"
"The Ballad of Michael Valentine"
"Show You How"
Released March 15, 2004
Format
Recorded
Genre
Length 3:17
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) The Killers
Certification 3x Platinum (RIAA)
The Killers singles chronology
"Mr. Brightside"
(2003)		 "Somebody Told Me"
(2004)		 "Mr. Brightside"(reissue)
(2004)

"Somebody Told Me" is a song by American rock band the Killers. It was released as the second official single from the group's debut studio album Hot Fuss (2004), and was written by band members Brandon Flowers, Mark Stoermer, Dave Keuning and Ronnie Vannucci Jr.. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Brandon Flowers said "This is the story of trying to meet someone in a club." [1] It is written in the key of B-flat minor.

When the Killers first started out, their music was little noticed by music-buyers and the media, which is why "Somebody Told Me" has been released twice in slightly different forms. The first, with the pink background cover, is the rarer version of the single as it was their first release of it; due to poor sales not as many were produced. When re-released, the cover-art sported a blue background color and is the more common version of the single.

The single peaked at #51 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In the UK it charted at number 28 upon its first release in March 2004 becoming the band's first top 40 hit, it was then re-released in January 2005 and reached number 3. Although not as successful as "Mr. Brightside", it still became one of the band's biggest hits to date.

In Australia, the song was ranked #4 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004. In 2009 it was voted at Number 9 in UK radio station XFM's Top 100 songs of the decade.

Composition

Stylistically, "Somebody told Me" has been cited as alternative rock,[2] new wave[3] and dance-rock.[4] The original release of the song is in the key of B minor.[5] The song is in the verse-chorus form. The intro of the song is an Am chord, leading into the first verse, which consists of an Am-Dm-F chord progression repeated twice followed by an Am-F-G chord progression repeated twice. The chorus follows the Am-F-G-E chord progression repeated twice. The first time through the chorus, the last E chord is cut off. The song has a second verse and chorus, then has a bridge with the chord progression F-G-C-F-C-F-Am-G-F-E-G, which leads into the chorus for a final time.[6]

Critical reception

Billboard called the song "wildly infectious",[7] and "as addictive as nickel slots".[8] Blender said the single is a "superb blaze of synthesizers and guitars that builds to the year's best one-liner: 'Somebody told me you had a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend I had in February of last year.'"[9] Entertainment Weekly hailed the single as "three smashingly punchy minutes of garage pop so tightly wound that singer Brandon Flowers seems to be accusing his girl of cheating on him with another woman."[10] Rolling Stone said the single was a "nightclub anthem in the making" and continued, "the acid-tongued 'Somebody Told Me' blasts into outer space on a wave of synthesizers and singer Brandon Flowers' cheeky chorus".[11]

Michael Paoletta of Billboard praised the remixes done by, respectively, Josh Harris and King Unique for "maintaining the original song's integrity" but recommended readers to buy the album, Hot Fuss, rather than the single.[12]

Track listings

Original UK release

CD
  1. "Somebody Told Me" (Flowers/Keuning/Stoermer/Vannucci)
  2. "Under the Gun" (Flowers/Keuning)
  3. "The Ballad of Michael Valentine" (Flowers/Keuning)
7"
  1. "Somebody Told Me"
  2. "The Ballad of Michael Valentine"

UK re-release

CD1
  1. "Somebody Told Me"
  2. "Show You How" (Flowers)
CD2
  1. "Somebody Told Me"
  2. "Somebody Told Me" (Mylo Mix)
  3. "Somebody Told Me" (King Unique Vocal Mix)
  4. "Somebody Told Me" (U-MYX)
12"
  1. "Somebody Told Me" (Mylo Mix)
  2. "Somebody Told Me" (The Glimmers GypoRock Mix)

US release

12"
  1. "Somebody Told Me" (Josh Harris Club)
  2. "Somebody Told Me" (Josh Harris Dub)
  3. "Somebody Told Me" (King Unique Mix)
  4. "Somebody Told Me" (King Unique's Dub)

Official versions

Music video

The music video for "Somebody Told Me", was filmed in February 2004 in California and was directed by Brett Simon. It shows the Killers performing their song in the moonlight of a desert location, with a giant LED screen displaying rolling, and flashing images of their logo, as well as an alternate version of the video shot during the day.

The music video on the Killers' official Vevo channel on YouTube has over sixty-three million views as of October 19, 2015.[13]

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2004-05) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[14] 17
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 24
Denmark (Tracklisten)[16] 6
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles[17] 10
France (SNEP)[18] 24
Greece (IFPI)[19] 31
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 9
Italy (FIMI)[21] 31
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 13
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[23] 16
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[24] 3
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[25] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[26] 51
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[27] 17
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[28] 3
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[29] 24

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Gold 400,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[31] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Rock & Pop Chile Rock & Pop 20 Años 200 Canciones[32] 2013
192
XFM United Kingdom 100 Greatest Songs of the Decade[33] 2009
9
Absolute Radio United Kingdom 100 Best Songs of the Decade[34] 2009
60
NME United Kingdom 100 Greatest Tracks of the Decade[35] 2009
41
Triple J Australia Hottest 100 of 2004 2004
4

Awards

Year Ceremony Award Result
2005 Grammy Awards Best Rock Song Nominated
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal Nominated
2005 International Dance Music Awards Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track Nominated

Live performances

The band performed the song during an appearance on an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Topher Grace in 2005.[36] They also performed the song at the Sideshow Lollapalooza in 2011.[37]

In popular culture

The song can be heard in the Six Feet Under episode "Grinding the Corn" from 2004.[36] The song appears as a master track in Rock Band 4. The song also appears in the background in a bar in a scene from the movie Rocky Balboa.

References

  1. ↑ Garin, Pirnia. "Somebody Told Me". RollingStone.com. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Picks and Pans Main: Music : People.com". Retrieved February 21, 2015. "Somebody Told Me" is an alt-rock anthem...
  3. ↑ "It’s party time: Springsteen is headlining, but March Madness Music Festival is loaded with big stars". Retrieved February 21, 2015. The New Wave [strain of] "Somebody Told Me"...
  4. ↑ "7 More Bands". ParentDish. Retrieved February 21, 2015. [The Killers'] dance-rock songs (like "Human" or even "Somebody Told Me")...
  5. ↑ "Musicnotes.com". Musicnotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Ltd. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Somebody Told Me Chords". Ultimateguitar.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ Paoletta, Michael (2004-08-28), "Somebody Told Me (Music)". Billboard. 116 (35):46
  8. ↑ Paoletta, Michael (2004-06-12), "Somebody Told Me (Music)". Billboard. 116 (24):3
  9. ↑ Langer, Andy (June 2004), "Rock Radio Wakes Up". Esquire'. 141 (6):48
  10. ↑ Brown, David (2004-06-18), "A Hot Fuss (Music)". Entertainment Weekly. (770):86
  11. ↑ Eliscu, Jenny (2004-07-08), "The Killers: Hot Fuss (Music)". Rolling Stone. (952/953):
  12. ↑ Paoletta, Michael. Billboard, August 28, 2004, p. 46
  13. ↑ "The Killers - Somebody Told Me". YouTube.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – The Killers – Somebody Told Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Killers – Somebody Told Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – The Killers – Somebody Told Me". Tracklisten. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Chart Search Result - European Hot 100 Singles 2005-01-29". Billboard.biz. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Lescharts.com – The Killers – Somebody Told Me" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  19. ↑ "p 50 Singles - Εβδομάδα 24-30/10" (in Greek). Archived from the original on October 28, 2004. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 3, 2005". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Classifica Mix e Singoli - Classifica settimanale dal 11/02/2005 al 17/02/2005" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original on March 1, 2005. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – The Killers – Somebody Told Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Killers – Somebody Told Me". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2005-01-16" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2005-01-16" UK Indie Chart. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  26. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for The Killers. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  27. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for The Killers. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  28. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for The Killers. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  29. ↑ "The Killers – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for The Killers. Retrieved July 6, 2012.
  30. ↑ "British single certifications – The Killers – Somebody Told Me". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Somebody Told Me in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  31. ↑ "American single certifications – The Killers – Somebody Told Me". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  32. ↑ "Rock & Pop – El Gran Sonido". Rock & Pop.
  33. ↑ "10 - 1". Xfm. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  34. ↑ "Somebody Told Me by The Killers". Song of the Decade. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  35. ↑ "100 Tracks of the Decade". Nme.Com. 2012-05-02. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  36. 1 2 "The Killers". IMDb. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  37. ↑ Fuentes, Nathalie. "The Killers-Somebody Told Me @Lollapalooza 2011". YouTube.com. Retrieved 18 February 2015.

External links

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