Nummer

Somebody That I Used to Know

Nummer van Gotye en Kimbra
Origineel op album Making Mirrors (2011)

Lead vocals: Man

Taal: Engels

Wikipedia (Nederlands)
Inhoud van Wikipedia met licentie Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0
Laatst geladen: 07/03/2025 08:45:36

Somebody That I Used to Know is een single van Gotye met Kimbra uit 2011. Het is afkomstig van Gotye's album Making Mirrors. Hij schreef het nummer op de familieboerderij op het Mornington Peninsula nabij de Australische stad Melbourne. Het kostte Gotye veel moeite om het nummer af te maken, hij wilde er eigenlijk mee stoppen, maar rondde het uiteindelijk af. De zanger was daarna verbaasd dat het zo'n hit werd. Gotye en Kimbra bezingen allebei hun oude liefde. De single werd door het NPO 3FM radioprogramma 3VOOR12 uitgeroepen tot Song van het Jaar.

Het nummer is geschreven door Gotye, die gebruikmaakte van een sample van het nummer Seville van de Braziliaanse gitarist Luiz Bonfá uit 1968.

Wikipedia (Engels)
Inhoud van Wikipedia met licentie Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0
Laatst geladen: 07/03/2025 08:45:36

"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced and performed by Belgian-Australian musician and singer Gotye featuring vocals from New Zealand singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through Eleven Music on 5 July 2011 as the second single from Gotye's third studio album, Making Mirrors (2011). It was later released by Universal Music in December 2011 in the United Kingdom, and 20 January 2012 in Ireland and the United States. "Somebody That I Used to Know" was written and recorded by Gotye at his parents' house on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, and is lyrically related to the experiences he has had with romantic relationships.

The song is a mid-tempo ballad. It samples Luiz Bonfá's instrumental "Seville" from his album, Luiz Bonfá Plays Great Songs (1967), with percussion blending Latin and African rhythms over a xylophone melody based on "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep". Lyrically, the song describes the aftermath of a romantic relationship from both members’ perspectives.

Commercially, "Somebody That I Used to Know" was a global success and became both artists' signature song. It reached the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as 25 other official charts, and reached the Top 10 in more than 30 countries. It was the most commercially successful recording of 2011 in Flanders (Belgium), the most successful of 2012 in Canada, Israel, the United Kingdom, the United States and Wallonia (Belgium), and the most successful of the 2010s decade by an Australian artist in Australia. It is certified multi-platinum in ten countries, including Diamond in Australia. Globally, "Somebody That I Used to Know" has sold more than 13 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling digital singles ever. In addition to the Hot 100, it was also placed at the top of Billboard's Year-End Adult Top 40 and Alternative Airplay charts, and many other charts around the world. As of October 2024, it has been streamed more than 2.3 billion times on Spotify.

The song won the Triple J Hottest 100 poll at the end of 2011 as well as ARIA Music Awards for Song of the Year and Best Video; Kimbra was voted "Best Female Artist" while Gotye was named "Best Male Artist" and "Producer of the Year". At the 55th Grammy Awards, "Somebody That I Used to Know" was awarded Best Pop Duo and Record of the Year. The song has also been performed several times on major American television shows including The Voice, American Idol and Saturday Night Live.