Somebody Told Me

"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."[3] It is written in the key of B-flat minor.

For other uses, see Somebody Told Me (disambiguation).

"Somebody Told Me"
UK 2004 release artwork
Single by the Killers
from the album Hot Fuss
B-side
  • "Under the Gun"
  • "The Ballad of Michael Valentine"
  • "Show You How"
ReleasedMarch 15, 2004 (2004-03-15)[1]
StudioThe Hearse, Berkeley, California
Genre
Length3:17
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)The Killers
The Killers singles chronology
"Mr. Brightside"
(2003)		 "Somebody Told Me"
(2004)		 "Mr. Brightside (re-issue)"
(2004)
Music video
"Somebody Told Me" on YouTube

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 number 51 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, it charted at number 28 upon its first release in March 2004, becoming the band's first hit in the Top 40, it was then re-released in January 2005 and reached number three.

In Australia, the song was ranked number four on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004. In 2009, it was voted at number nine in XFM's Top 100 Songs of the Decade.

Composition

Stylistically, "Somebody told Me" has been cited as alternative rock,[4] new wave,[5] and dance-rock.[6] The song is in the verse-chorus form. The intro of the song is a B♭m chord, leading into the first verse, which consists of a B♭m–E♭m–B♭ chord progression repeated twice, followed by a pre-chorus of G♭–A♭–B♭m chord progression repeated twice.

The chorus follows the B♭m–G♭–A♭–F chord progression repeated twice. The first time through the chorus, the last F chord is cut off. The song has a second verse and chorus, then has a bridge with the chord progression E–G♭–B–E–B–E–A♭m–G♭–E–E♭–G♭, which leads into the chorus for a final time.[7]

Critical reception

Billboard called the song "wildly infectious",[8] and "as addictive as nickel slots".[9] Blender asserted that 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.'"[10]

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."[11] 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."[12]

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.[13]

In 2020, Paste ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest Killers songs,[14] and in 2021, American Songwriter ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Killers songs.[15]

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 imagery in the video pays homage to that of "Crystal" by English alternative dance group New Order; the Killers named themselves after the fictitious band performing in the New Order video.

Live performances

The band performed the song during an appearance on an episode of Saturday Night Live, hosted by Topher Grace in 2005.[16] They also performed the song at the Sideshow Lollapalooza in June 2011.[17]

Accolades
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Rock & Pop Chile Rock & Pop 20 Años 200 Canciones[18] 2013
192
XFM United Kingdom 100 Greatest Songs of the Decade[19] 2009
9
Absolute Radio United Kingdom 100 Best Songs of the Decade[20] 2009
60
NME United Kingdom 100 Greatest Tracks of the Decade[21] 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

Track listings

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[54] Gold 150,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[55] Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] 2× Platinum 1,200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[57] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom March 15, 2004
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
 Lizard King [1]
United States May 3, 2004 Alternative radio Island [58]
July 26, 2004 Hot adult contemporary radio [59]
August 9, 2004 Contemporary hit radio [60]
United Kingdom January 10, 2005 CD Lizard King [61]

The song can be heard in the episode of Six Feet Under, "Grinding the Corn", from 2004.[16] 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.

In 2017, Italian rock band Måneskin covered the song live on Italian X Factor,[62] and released it on their EP Chosen (2017). In 2020, American metalcore band Motionless in White released a cover of the song.

References
  1. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. March 13, 2004. p. 27.
  2. Partridge, Kenneth (September 1, 2015). "With Hot Fuss, The Killers caused (and defined) a scene". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 18, 2020. the disco lark "Somebody Told Me,"...
  3. Garin, Pirnia (May 7, 2012). "Somebody Told Me". RollingStone.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  4. "Picks and Pans Main: Music : People.com". Retrieved February 21, 2015. "Somebody Told Me" is an alt-rock anthem...
  5. "It's party time: Springsteen is headlining, but March Madness Music Festival is loaded with big stars". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015. The New Wave [strain of] "Somebody Told Me"...
  6. "7 More Bands". ParentDish. Retrieved February 21, 2015. [The Killers'] dance-rock songs (like "Human" or even "Somebody Told Me")...
  7. "Somebody Told Me Chords". Ultimateguitar.com. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  8. Paoletta, Michael (August 28, 2004), "Somebody Told Me (Music)". Billboard. 116 (35):46
  9. Paoletta, Michael (June 12, 2004), "Somebody Told Me (Music)". Billboard. 116 (24):3
  10. Langer, Andy (June 2004), "Rock Radio Wakes Up". Esquire'. 141 (6):48
  11. Brown, David (June 18, 2004), "A Hot Fuss (Music)". Entertainment Weekly. (770):86
  12. Eliscu, Jenny (July 8, 2004), "The Killers: Hot Fuss (Music)". Rolling Stone. (952/953):
  13. Paoletta, Michael. Billboard, August 28, 2004, p. 46
  14. Lane, Lexi; Gutierrez, Juan (August 25, 2020). "The 20 Best Killers Songs". Paste. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  15. Walthall, Catherine (August 26, 2021). "The Killers Top 10 Songs". American Songwriter. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
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  28. Somebody Told Me (UK CD2 liner notes). The Killers. Lizard King Records. 2005. LIZARD014CD2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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