Somebody to Love (Justin Bieber song)

In a Q&A with Rap-Up, Jonathan Yip of The Stereotypes confirmed that record was originally made for Usher, but things did not go through right with his label. According to Yip, Perez Hilton was the one who recommended the song for Bieber, and after that the producers agreed. Yip said that Usher's label, Jive Records "wasn't sure what they wanted to do with the record for Usher", so they contacted Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, and Bieber was able to record the track. On the remix, Yip commented, "Usher's now back on the record, on the remix, so we can't really complain."[1] A variation of the track with slightly different production, featuring Usher as lead vocalist and Bieber as the guest vocalist, is included on a follow-up release to his sixth studio album, titled Versus. The Versus version of the song was produced by Benny Blanco.[2]

"Somebody to Love" is a pop and dance song.[3][4] Bieber's R&B vocals are blended throughout the song.[5] The song also integrates elements of Euro disco.[5][6] Set it common time, the song is written in the key of G minor, and Bieber's vocals span from the low note of G₃ to high note of C₅. It follows the basic chord progression of Cm7–B♭–F.[7]

The song has been described by Jocelyn Vena of MTV News as a "dance track in which he professes his love for a girl and tells her he'd do anything for her" and a "club-friendly pop tune."[3][4] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone said the song was a "thumping Eurodisco."[8] Lauren Carter of the Boston Herald called the track "fun and upbeat" and said, "is a standout and the track to download – give listeners time to dance or daydream, as the case may be."[9]

Fraser McAlpine of BBC Music wrote that "Somebody to Love is a straightforward plea for a soul mate; it says something we’ve all felt."[10] Monica Herrera of Billboard commented, "Somebody to Love" offers the clearest evidence yet that he's more than capable of clearing the hurdle from teen to adult stardom."[11]

In the United States, "Somebody to Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number ninety-eight.[12] After weeks of steadily ascending the charts, the single reached a peak of fifteen on the issue week July 17, 2010.[13] The song received digital sales after the release of My World 2.0, propelling it to debut at ninety-four on the Canadian Hot 100. The song fell off the chart the following week and re-entered on the week of June 12, 2010 at its previous peak of ninety-one. After re-entering and steadily ascending the charts, the single reached a new peak of ten on the week issued July 3, 2010.[14] It also peaked at twenty and thirty-six on the US Pop Songs chart and US Latin Pop Songs, respectively.[15]

The song performed well in several international markets. "Somebody to Love" entered the UK Singles Chart at forty-seven on the issue date of June 6, 2010. The following week the song fell to position sixty-two. In the succeeding week the single reached thirty-three where it reached its peak.[16] In Australia, "Somebody to Love" entered the chart at forty-seven on the week of July 5, 2010. The following week, the single rose to its peak position of number twenty.[17] On the Japan Hot 100, the song peaked within the top ten, at number three.[18] "Somebody to Love" also peaked within the top twenty in Germany and New Zealand, the top thirty of Austria, and elsewhere in Switzerland and on the Belgian charts.[19] Its numerous chartings in Europe allowed the song to peak at number thirty-three on the European Hot 100.

Bieber performed "Somebody to Love" on multiple occasions, including as a part of his set list on the My World Tour. On most televised performances the song was performed alongside "Baby" and more of his previous songs. He performed the song at a number of venues, in Wales at Radio 1's Big Weekend on May 22, 2010.[26] Additionally Bieber performed it on Today with "Baby" and "One Time" on June 4, 2010[27] He performed the song with "Baby," assisted by Drake on June 21, 2010, at the 2010 MuchMusic Video Awards.[28] The song was performed with "Baby" at Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular on July 4, 2010.[29]

"Somebody to Love" was also performed with "U Smile" and "Baby" at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010, accompanied by a full dance team and band.[30] For the performance, Bieber, donning a black and red letter jacket and a '50s style cardigan, drove into the Nokia Theater in a 1957 red Chevrolet car, and was chased by girls (paying homage to The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night."[31] He then proceeded to perform "U Smile" as an introduction, followed by "Baby" and "Somebody to Love", which had dance parts in which his background dancers wore the same attire as him.[31] During the "Somebody to Love" performance Bieber and backup dancers performed an elaborate dance routine including younger children, which was followed by a drum solo by the singer.[31] During the performance of the song, black and red confetti fell from the sky.[31] Critics appreciated the performance,[32][33] with a Jocelyn Vena of MTV News calling Bieber a "triple threat."[31] "Baby" and "Somebody to Love" were performed by Bieber on the seventh series of The X Factor in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2010.[34]

• Songwriting – Heather Bright, Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves
• Production – Jonathan Yip, Ray Romulus, Jeremy Reeves
• Background vocals – Usher (also lead vocals in Remix Version)
• Mixing – Jaycen Joshua, assisted by Giancarlo Lino
• Engineering – additional by Pat Thrall

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