Booster Seat

"Booster Seat" is a song by Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane from their debut studio album, Sunlight (2020). It was sent to commercial radio as the album's sixth single on 7 May 2021.[1] The song peaked at number eight on the ARIA charts, and polled at number two in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2020.[2] It has reached certified triple platinum status, having sold over 210,000 units.

"Booster Seat"
Single by Spacey Jane
from the album Sunlight
Released7 May 2021
Length4:28
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Amelia Murray
  • Caleb Harper
  • Kieran Lama
  • Ashton Le Cornu
Producer(s)Dave Parkin
Spacey Jane singles chronology
"Straightfaced"
(2020)		 "Booster Seat"
(2021)		 "Lots of Nothing"
(2021)
Music video
"Booster Seat" on YouTube

At the 2021 ARIA Music Awards, "Booster Seat" won Song of the Year.[3] It also won Best Single at the 2020 West Australian Music Industry Awards, and Independent Song of the Year at the AIR Awards of 2021.[4] Further, it was shortlisted for Song of the Year at the APRA Music Awards of 2021.[5]

Composition

Lyricism

"Booster Seat" took over six months to write.[6] Frontman Caleb Harper said "the way it was put together is kind of different to our other songs", admitting the song "has a lot of space and it's very long", and that it wasn't released as a single because "it's quite slow, it's not a standard sort of single choice".[6]

As explained by Harper, "Booster Seat" lyrically deals with "feeling like anxiety and depression are taking control away from you". Al Newstead of Triple J explained "it's a complex emotional metaphor made easy to grasp by the imagery" and the "song’s gorgeous refrain."[7]

Production

The song came about as Harper was "messing about with some open chords on the guitar, sliding gently between the 1st and the 4th of the key." Lead guitarist Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu then developed the riff and presented it to the producer, who originally rejected it.[8]

Reception

Australian rock band Ocean Alley called the song "a warm and nostalgic masterpiece with thoughtful storytelling and instrumentation to match."[9] Newstead continued, praising "Booster Seat" as a "life-affirming song with a platinum-strength sing-along quality".[10] Its chorus was listed among the best song lyrics of 2020, according to Triple J.[11]

In the lead-up to the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2020, several bookmakers and music publications predicted "Booster Seat" would top the countdown.[12] Josh Leeson of Northern Beaches Review wrote it was "the one presenting the best chance of securing the first Australian Hottest 100 winner since Ocean Alley's 'Confidence' in 2018."[13] The song eventually polled at number two.[14]

Harper cited the song's placement in the Hottest 100 was a key factor in the band's live performances gaining significantly more traction, reflecting "we went from playing 200 or 300 capacity rooms, to playing multiple 1,000 capacity rooms."[15]

Live performances

Spacey Jane played "Booster Seat" live at Fremantle Arts Centre on 31 December 2020, and released a video of the performance the following month.[16] The band performed the song for Triple J's live music segment Like a Version on 29 January 2021.[17] In August 2021, they released an acoustic version of the track in their Apple Music-exclusive Home Sessions EP.[18]

Music video

The music video was directed by Matt Sav and released on 11 December 2020.

Charts

Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for "Booster Seat"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 8

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance for "Booster Seat"
Chart (2021) Position
Australia (ARIA)[20] 62

Certification
Certifications for "Booster Seat"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[21] 3× Platinum 210,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Booster Seat (Edit)". 7 May 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2023 – via Spotify.
  2. Newstead, Al (23 January 2021). "Spacey Jane 'Booster Seat': Behind the Hottest Australian song of 2020". Triple J. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  3. Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  4. "2021 AIR Awards Winners". Scenstr.com.au. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. "One of these songs will be the Peer-Voted APRA Song of the Year!". APRA AMCOS. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  6. "Spacey Jane cover The Beatles' 'Here Comes The Sun' for Like A Version". Triple J. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  7. Newstead, Al (23 January 2021). "Spacey Jane 'Booster Seat': Behind the Hottest Australian song of 2020". Triple J. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  8. Lefevre, Jules (9 March 2021). "Spacey Jane On 'Booster Seat', Their New Album, And The Song They Can't Stand To Play". Junkee. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  9. Newstead, Al (7 December 2020). "Hottest 100 #votespiration: Here's what Billie Eilish, Flume, Mallrat & more are voting for". Triple J. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  10. Newstead, Al (23 January 2021). "Spacey Jane 'Booster Seat': Behind the Hottest Australian song of 2020". Triple J. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. Newstead, Al (22 December 2020). "2020 Song Lyrics: the good, the weird, and the misheard". Triple J. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  12. Davies, Hayden. "We're Calling It: Spacey Jane's 'Booster Seat' May Be the Hottest 100's Unexpected Champ". Pilerats. Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  13. Leeson, Josh (22 January 2021). "From 'Heat Waves' to 'Booster Seats' to 'WAP', We Preview Triple J's Hottest 100 Contenders". Northern Beaches Review. Manly, NSW. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. Gwee, Karen (23 January 2021). "Spacey Jane the Highest-Ranking Australian Artist of Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2020". NME Australia. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  15. McArthur, Bridget (6 December 2022). "Spacey Jane's slow, fast, messy rise to fame". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  16. Newstead, Al (11 January 2021). "Watch Spacey Jane play 'Booster Seat' live at New Year's Eve show". Triple J. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  17. "Spacey Jane cover The Beatles' 'Here Comes The Sun' for Like A Version". Triple J. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  18. Langford, Jackson (23 August 2021). "Listen to Spacey Jane cover Phoebe Bridgers' 2017 track 'Scott Street'". NME. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  19. "Spacey Jane – Booster Seat". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  20. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2021". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  21. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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