94-461: Wouter André " Wally " De Backer ( Dutch pronunciation: [ˈʋʌutər ˈɑndreː də ˈbɑkər] ), known professionally as Gotye ( / ˈ ɡ ɒ t i eɪ / GOT -ee-ay , French: [ɡotje] , Dutch: [ɡoːˈtɕeː] ), is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 2011 single " Somebody That I Used to Know ", featuring New Zealander musician Kimbra , which reached number one on
188-600: A Sketch -like background. Their cover charted in the rock song charts of Canada and the United States. The song reached number seven on the Billboard Canada Rock chart and number 19 on the US Rock Airplay chart. Creative Vibes Creative Vibes was a record label that sourced, signed and released local Australian acts. It also licensed material from overseas and imported CDs and vinyl from around
282-497: A Bachelor of Arts. Two friends moved in with him and the house became affectionately known as The Frat House, where friends would regularly drop by and hang out. The first seeds of Gotye were planted when De Backer was given a large collection of old records. An elderly neighbour, having heard Downstares rehearsing over the years, gave his then-recently deceased wife's LP record collection to De Backer. In 2001, De Backer recorded his first tracks primarily using samples. He put together
376-592: A Mess" came in at No. 77 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time, voted by the Australian public. Gotye's first European success came in 2008, when "Learnalilgivinanlovin" and "Hearts a Mess" charted in Belgium, followed in 2009 by the single "Coming back". "Learnalilgivinanlovin" also received air play on Dutch radio stations. In 2011, Like Drawing Blood came in at No. 11 in Triple J's Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time. Amidst
470-620: A bit sick of it. My inbox, on any given day, has at least five covers or parodies or remixes of it and there's only so many times you can listen to the one song." In the week commencing 18 July 2011, "Somebody That I Used to Know" debuted at number 27 on the ARIA Singles Chart . It was released on 5 July 2011 in Australia and New Zealand by Eleven Music as the second single from his third studio album, Making Mirrors (2011). Despite an initial lack of airplay on major radio stations,
564-521: A cover of the song on Sirius XM Hits . On 23 May 2012, Internet cartoon band Your Favorite Martian did a cover of the song. English fingerstyle guitarist Mike Dawes released a technically virtuosic arrangement of the song on his debut album What Just Happened? in 2013, garnering much praise, including from Gotye himself. "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a cover as part of his polka medley " NOW That's What I Call Polka! " for his 2014 album Mandatory Fun . Jazz pianist Jacky Terrasson included
658-504: A four-track CD which included the song "Out Here in the Cold". He made approximately 50 copies of this first collection, handwriting the track list and colouring in the cover sleeve in pencil. He named the project Gotye . He sent the CDs out to every radio station and recording industry contact he could find in the phonebook, then followed each up with phone calls to ensure they were delivered. Feedback on
752-402: A funny-named Aussie and his New Zealand sidekick first emerged with a quirky, minimalist breakup ballad, it seemed like the least likely candidate for a Hot 100 No. 1 since ' Macarena . ' " MTV ranked the song at number 3 on their "Best Songs of 2012" list. PopMatters ranked the song at number 14 on their "The 75 best songs of 2012" list: "Gotye manages to balance real nuanced emotions of
846-452: A live album entitled Live at The Songroom (Season 2, Episode 9) . It was recorded in 2018 for a web series by his bandmates from The Basics , who feature on the album alongside Monty Cotton . Gotye has stated his intention to release a fourth studio album; most recently in June 2018, when he mentioned a tribute to Perrey that would be included on the record. In 2024, Gotye and Kimbra released
940-502: A new single, " Eyes Wide Open ", online and on 10" vinyl in mid-October 2010. The "Eyes Wide Open" single received generally positive reviews and reached Number 25 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010. "Eyes Wide Open" was also shortlisted for the 2011 APRA Music Awards in the Song of the Year category. In late March 2011, De Backer revealed the next album's title to be Making Mirrors . The title
1034-452: A painting of De Backer's father that was salvaged from his home garden where it was discarded. His album was released as Boardface in late 2003. In 2004, De Backer's parents opted to sell The Frat House and De Backer moved into a shared house in the South East of Melbourne. He took up work at a local library, while continuing to perform with The Basics and record his own Gotye tracks. Over
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#17331213676581128-602: A remix entitled "Somebody (2024)", featuring Fisher , Chris Lake and Sante Sansone. Gautier's musical style is eclectic, incorporating Indie rock , alternative rock , indie pop , and trip hop . His voice has been compared to those of Peter Gabriel and Sting . Somebody That I Used to Know " 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 samples Luiz Bonfá's 1967 instrumental song "Seville", with additional instrumentations of beats and
1222-636: A special screening of works by some of his favourite animators, including those who have worked with him on the music videos for " Hearts a Mess ", "Easy Way Out" and "State of the Art". In 2014, Gotye performed with Tex Perkins and Nicky Bomba in support of The Thin Green Line Foundation. He also launched Spirit Level , an independent record label with Tim Shiel , signing American band Zammuto . Later in 2014, De Backer claimed in an online newsletter that "there will be no new Gotye music," but maintained
1316-620: A suitable female vocalist, as a "'high profile' female vocalist" cancelled the collaboration at the last minute, and Kimbra "lucked out as the replacement". He tested his girlfriend, Tash Parker, but "somehow their happiness meant that it didn't work out" so he followed the recommendation of the song's mixer and used Kimbra's vocals. Martin Davies from Click Music considered the song "instantly captivating", and named Kimbra's voice "clean and sugar-soaked", further commenting that it bears an "uncanny resemblance" to singer Katy Perry . Gotye stated that
1410-472: A tortured heart bested only when the woman he is pouring his heart out to takes the stage revealing his inability to see past his own nose." Metro placed "Somebody That I Used To Know" on their "Top 10 annoying songs of 2012" list: "According to the internet there is going to be an apocalypse on Friday, but you can be sure that once the dust has settled the plinky plonky xylophone intro of this inexorable viral hit will drift into earshot, as if emanating from
1504-718: A track from English electronic musician Bibio 's 2016 album A Mineral Love , and "The Outfield", the 2017 debut single from American rock singer Martin Johnson 's The Night Game project. In 2017, Gotye revealed that he chose not to allow online advertising on his music videos, including that of "Somebody That I Used to Know" which had then been viewed nearly one billion times on YouTube , thereby foregoing up to millions of dollars in advertising revenue. On 22 November 2016, De Backer debuted his group Ondioline Orchestra in New York, in which he paid tribute to Jean-Jacques Perrey . Perrey, who
1598-825: A video remix, released in August 2012, using segments from hundreds of online covers to create a new, unique version of the track, titled "Somebodies: A YouTube Orchestra". Gotye states the concept "was directly inspired here by Kutiman's Thru-You project", released in March 2009, which edited numerous YouTube videos to create a new cohesive song. Credits adapted from "Somebody That I Used to Know" CD single liner notes . Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Streaming-only figures based on certification alone. In January 2012, Canadian indie rock group Walk Off
1692-416: A video!" Snow Patrol 's Gary Lightbody enthused to Q . "I have become obsessed with it and not just because I'm in love with Kimbra. Gotye himself is an engaging character for sure... his solemnly expressive eyes finish a journey his lyrics only begin. 'Told myself that you were right for me but felt so lonely in your company' – simple, pure, and devastating. None more than the title line when it speaks of
1786-564: A xylophone playing a melody based on " Baa, Baa, Black Sheep ". 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"
1880-602: Is a founding member of the Melbourne indie-pop trio the Basics , who have independently released four studio albums and numerous other titles since 2002. Born in Belgium, De Backer immigrated to Australia with his family at the age of two. They first resided in Sydney before settling in Montmorency , a suburb of Melbourne , Victoria . His mother nicknamed him "Gotye", based on "Gauthier",
1974-503: Is a short documentary about the recording process of " Making Mirrors ". The video was directed by James Bryans and Wally De Backer. On 13 August 2011, Gotye released a film clip for the song "State of the Art" on YouTube and Vimeo. The visuals were animated and directed by Greg Sharp & Ivan Dixon at Rubber House. In its first week of release, Making Mirrors was already at Number 1 on the Australian ARIA albums chart, making Gotye
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#17331213676582068-426: Is perhaps 50–50." "Somebody That I Used to Know" is a mid-tempo art pop song and has a length of four minutes and five seconds. Gotye uses a sample of Brazilian jazz guitarist Luiz Bonfá 's 1967 instrumental song "Seville", with additional instrumentations of beats and a xylophone playing a melody based on " Baa, Baa, Black Sheep ". It was written and produced by Gotye himself, while in his parents' barn on
2162-592: The Billboard Hot 100 and became the best-selling song of 2012. He has won five ARIA Awards and received a nomination for an MTV EMA for Best Asia and Pacific Act . On 10 February 2013, he won three Grammy Awards at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards Show: Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Somebody That I Used to Know" and Best Alternative Music Album for Making Mirrors . Gotye has released three studio albums independently and one album featuring remixes of tracks from his first two albums. He
2256-533: The Irish Singles Chart on 13 January 2012 at number 47, later reaching number 1 position. In the United Kingdom, "Somebody That I Used to Know" spent five non-consecutive weeks at number 1. In the United States, it debuted at number 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 14 January 2012. In its fifteenth week on the chart – after it was performed by Matt Bomer and Darren Criss on Glee on 10 April; by Phillip Phillips and Elise Testone on
2350-462: The Mornington Peninsula , Victoria. Gotye commented that he wrote the song "in quite a linear way", explaining that "I wrote the first verse, the second verse, and I'd got to the end of the first chorus and for the first time ever I thought, 'There's no interesting way to add to this guy's story'. It felt weak." The track was recorded between January and May 2011 with Gotye struggling to find
2444-551: The ARIA for best male artist. As a result of the publicity of the nomination, Like Drawing Blood re-entered the ARIA albums chart at No. 36, surpassing the previous peak of No. 39. Also, Mixed Blood debuted on the ARIA albums chart at No. 44. Both of these entries came the first week after the ARIA Awards. In 2008, Like Drawing Blood won iTunes album of the year in the UK. In 2009, "Hearts
2538-645: The Digital Songs chart at number 10 and the Hot 100 at number 26. The alternative rock band Mayday Parade released a cover of this song featuring Pierce The Veil 's lead vocalist Vic Fuentes for the fifth edition of the compilation album Punk Goes Pop , which features bands of the punk, alternative, and hardcore genres covering hit pop songs. Their cover reached number 18 on the Billboard US Rock Songs chart. Alternative Press named their version as
2632-732: The Dutch Megacharts, the German Media Control Chart, the Official UK Top 40 and the US Billboard Hot 100 . "Somebody That I Used to Know" has been the Number 1 single on iTunes in 46 countries. On 5 July 2011, Gotye released a film clip for the song " Somebody That I Used to Know " on YouTube and Vimeo. Directed by Natasha Pincus, the video has now been viewed over 2 billion times (as of November 2022). On 6 October 2011,
2726-617: The Earth uploaded a cover of "Somebody That I Used to Know" to YouTube. Their version uses a single guitar played simultaneously by all five band members. As of April 2012, the song had sold 187,000 units in the United States. Sales figures based on certification alone. The song was covered in the Glee episode " Big Brother " and performed by Darren Criss (as Blaine Anderson ) and Matt Bomer (as Cooper Anderson ). It sold 152,000 digital downloads in its first week of release and debuted on
2820-529: The Earth . Their January 2012 YouTube video of the song created a sensation, artfully depicting the 5 band members playing the song on a single guitar. As of February 2023, the 3 identical YouTube postings of the video have received a total of over 214 million views. Also in January 2012, Walk off the Earth had their U.S. television debut on The Ellen DeGeneres Show , recreating the single-guitar performance live. Saying that she wanted to "help," Ellen humorously gifted
2914-617: The French equivalent of his Flemish first name. His parents chose to use the English equivalent of his name, Walter, when enrolling him in school. As a youth, De Backer displayed a passion for music, learning various instruments, most notably piano and drums. In 2012, De Backer recalled that as a teenager he used to listen "obsessively" to Depeche Mode 's album Songs of Faith and Devotion , stating, "I could single-handedly credit that record with wanting me to make records." In his teens, De Backer formed
Gotye - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-482: The Past 20 Years, 2013 . At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards , "Somebody That I Used to Know" won two Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Record of the Year . 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
3102-542: The Stitching Out , with all 10 tracks featuring Gotye. In July 2018, De Backer's partner Maud gave birth to a daughter, Léonie. In August 2018, Gotye co-wrote an original verse for and was sampled in the Broods ' single "Eyes a Mess", using his early hit single " Hearts a Mess ", released in 2006, and " Eyes Wide Open " (2010). In November 2019, The Basics released a fifth studio album, B.A.S.I.C. . In July 2020, Gotye released
3196-648: 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
3290-523: The UK singles chart. The next week it fell from the top spot but on 26 February it reached the top spot for a second time, where it remained for a total of five weeks. On 24 February 2012, Gotye released a film clip for the song "Easy Way Out" on YouTube and Vimeo.This video won the award of Best Music Video at the 2013 Byron Bay International Film Festival . Gotye performed "Somebody That I Used to Know" on Saturday Night Live on 14 April 2012 along with "Eyes Wide Open". These collective performances helped
3384-620: The Week for the week of 6 February 2012. On 31 May 2012, Gotye announced that he would release a digital compilation of the 10 official remixes of "Somebody That I Used to Know" on 8 June. On 15 February 2013, Fractured Heart , an interactive sound and light sculpture designed and built by illuminart in collaboration with Gotye, was launched at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) headquarters in Canberra, Australia. Gotye also curated and presented
3478-461: The Year (Francois Tetaz) and Producer of the Year (Wouter De Backer). On the same day the nominations were revealed, the winners of the Artisan categories were announced, with Gotye and the album personnel winning all three. On 27 November 2011, Gotye won three ARIA Awards: Best Male Artist, Best Pop Release and Single of the Year for "Somebody That I Used to Know". Kimbra , who collaborated with Gotye on
3572-535: The Year (for François Tétaz ) and Producer of the Year (for Gotye). Gotye also won Best Male Artist for the song while Kimbra won Best Female Artist for her previous single, "Cameo Lover". At the APRA Music Awards of 2012 , "Somebody That I Used to Know" won Most Played Australian Work and Song of the Year and Gotye won Songwriter of the Year. It was also nominated at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards for " Choice Rock Song " and " Choice Break-Up Song ". The song
3666-401: The Year' & 'Best Male Artist': Mixed Blood ), James Muller (2006 – 'Best Jazz Artist' : Kaboom ), Mike Nock & Dave Liebman (2007 – 'Best Jazz Album' : Duologue ), Joseph And James Tawadros (2006 – 'Best World Album' : Visions ). At the 2006 AIR Chart Awards Gotye 's album Like Drawing Blood won 'Most Outstanding Independent Artist' and in 2007 Mixed Blood
3760-475: The band Downstares with three of his high school friends, including Lucas Taranto (who still plays in his Gotye live shows). After high school, the members of Downstares went their separate ways, leaving De Backer with no musical outlet. In 2001, his parents moved into a new home, leaving their old family house in Montmorency , so he could continue his studies at the University of Melbourne where he graduated with
3854-566: 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. On Spotify , the song has been streamed more than 2.3 billion times as of October 2024. The accompanying music video for "Somebody That I Used to Know" was directed by Australian creative filmmaker Natasha Pincus . The video, which has received over 2 billion views on YouTube as of November 2022, premiered on 5 July 2011,
Gotye - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-601: The best-selling song of 2012. This made him the fifth Australian-based artist to top the chart and the second born in Belgium (after The Singing Nun in 1963). The single has gone on to reach 11× Platinum status (770,000 units sold) in Australia and 8× Platinum status (8,000,000 units sold) in the US. It has peaked at Number 1 in 18 countries including the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, the Belgian Singles Chart,
4042-528: The budget is and the creativity of the project". In July 2011, the song finished third in the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition Earlier that year, Gotye had first noticed Kimbra when both were short-listed as finalists for the competition. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2011 , "Somebody That I Used to Know" won Single of the Year , Best Pop Release , Best Video (for Natasha Pincus ), Engineer of
4136-514: The clip, and as they sing, his skin is gradually painted into the backdrop via stop motion animation . In the director's cut, this went as far as to feature concealed nudity, though this version was never posted. The video's background is based on a 1980s artwork created by Gotye's father, Frank de Backer, who also designed the cover art for the related album, Making Mirrors . Emma Hack , an Australian artist and skin illustrator based in Adelaide ,
4230-454: The eleventh season of American Idol before more than 16 million viewers on 11 April; and by Gotye and Kimbra on Saturday Night Live on 14 April – the song rose to number 1, where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks. thus becoming the longest-running number 1 by a solo male artist since Flo Rida 's " Low " led for ten weeks in 2008. The song had the fourth highest-selling single week ever with 542,000 digital downloads sold, and
4324-420: The end of love with prosaic brutality: 'Now you're just somebody that I used to know.' Great video, powerful lyrics, and a stunning voice. Oh, and Kimbra... my poor heart..." On 1 November 2022, the video hit 2 billion views and 13 million likes on YouTube. The video for "Somebody That I Used to Know" was voted number 1 in the annual Rage Fifty countdown. Andy Samberg and Taran Killam parodied
4418-415: The festival ... every car was cranking it over their speakers all day, every day ... and the question on everyone's lips was whether or not Kimbra would join him on the track. Fortunately, dreams came true ... he smashed out an incredible set climaxing with a version of the song with Kimbra on co-lead vocals that people couldn't stop talking about all weekend long". AllMusic 's Jon O'Brien felt
4512-578: The first Australian act to simultaneously hold both the Number 1 single and album since Silverchair in 2007. The album became an international success, charting in the Top 10 in 17 countries and reaching Number 1 in six. It charted on the U.S. Billboard 200 (Number 7) and in Canada. The album is 3× Platinum status in Australia, Platinum in France, Poland and Belgium, and Gold in the US, New Zealand, Germany, UK, Ireland, Canada and Netherlands. On 11 October 2011, Gotye
4606-520: The first release was mainly positive with Melbourne street press and Australian alternative, youth orientated radio station Triple J taking notice, giving him confidence to continue with further sample-based recordings. Around this time, Gotye met fellow singer-songwriter Kris Schroeder at a party in Mt Eliza, and the two began performing together under the name The Basics . They formed an enduring songwriting and performing partnership and became regulars on
4700-460: The fourth best "Top 50 Punk Goes Pop covers of all time". On 22 July 2020, Canadian rock band Three Days Grace covered the song and released it as a non-album single. The song was later included as a bonus track on the Japanese version of the group's seventh album Explosions . A music video (directed by Mike Filsinger) was also released for this version, which features the band performing in
4794-525: The group with a matched set of 5 electric guitars. In February 2012, Rita Ora covered the song at BBC Radio 1 's Live Lounge . The a cappella group Pentatonix created a viral YouTube video in February 2012 and released the track on their EP, PTX Volume 1 on 26 June 2012. Phillip Phillips and Elise Testone covered the song on the eleventh season of American Idol on 11 April 2012. In April 2012, actors Darren Criss and Matt Bomer covered
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#17331213676584888-406: The history of the Billboard Hot 100 , at 59 weeks on the chart. As of October 2015, the song has sold 7.9 million copies in the US, making it the country's fourth all-time best-selling digital single. "Somebody That I Used to Know" reached number one in more than 23 national charts and charted inside the top ten in more than 30 countries around the world. By the end of 2012,
4982-471: The lead-up to Gotye's third album, Like Drawing Blood re-entered the ARIA charts in mid-2011, peaking at its highest ever position of 13. Like Drawing Blood was officially released in the U.S. in 2012. After the success of Like Drawing Blood , De Backer was able to establish a permanent home, still in Melbourne's south east. In 2010, he set up a recording studio in a barn at his parents' farm and set about recording tracks for his third album. He released
5076-400: The live music scene, giving De Backer an outlet for his passion for live performance. The Basics have continued to tour and record alongside Gotye, releasing four albums between 2004 and 2010. De Backer went on to produce two more four-track Gotye collections which were met with positive reviews, with several tracks getting onto the rotation at youth radio station Triple J. The CDs were made in
5170-545: The next few years, De Backer moved several times, each time shifting his home recording studio to a new location with new acoustic qualities. The culmination of this was the second Gotye album, Like Drawing Blood —named in reference to the difficulties De Backer experienced in recording his music in ever-changing environments. The album marked the beginning of his working relationship with long term manager Danny Rogers – manager of Australian indie band The Temper Trap – whom he had first approached via email. Like Drawing Blood
5264-481: The ondioline, and the unique mechanics for playing it allows you to create sounds very sensitively and with a musical deftness I just feel isn't present on most other electronic instruments from the '40s – or decades since." On 13 February 2018, De Backer and his Ondioline Orchestra performed Circuit Breakers: Gotye Presents a Tribute to Jean-Jacques Perrey at Roulette 's Mixology Festival 2018, in New York. In March 2018, Les Campbell released an album entitled Pulling
5358-411: The percussion and the flute sounds that further filled the space. At that point I hit a brick wall. I was thinking: 'This is pretty good, how can I get to the end really quickly?' and I was trying to take lazy decisions to finish the song. I considered repeating the chorus, an instrumental bridge, a change in tempo or key, I even considered finishing the song after the first chorus. But nothing felt like it
5452-456: The possibility that the project could continue in the future. He remained active as a drummer and singer of The Basics , who released The Lucky Country in 2014 and The Age of Entitlement in 2015. Although the band formed a political party named " The Basics Rock 'n' Roll Party " ahead of the 2014 Victorian state election , De Backer denied reports that he intended to enter politics himself. Gotye featured as vocalist on "The Way You Talk",
5546-590: The release. De Backer also stated that the album would be similar to its predecessor in terms of diversity. The album was released on 19 August, and launched the following day at the Sydney Opera House as part of the Graphic Festival which featured animators and a 10-piece orchestra as part of Gotye's performance. De Backer also released a follow-up single to "Eyes Wide Open" titled " Somebody That I Used to Know ", featuring New Zealand musician Kimbra , which
5640-506: The same day the song was first released. It shows Gotye and Kimbra naked against a white backdrop. While they sing, a pattern of paint gradually covers their skin and the backdrop via stop motion animation . "Somebody That I Used to Know" has been performed several times on major American television shows including The Voice , American Idol and Saturday Night Live . Gotye discussed writing "Somebody That I Used to Know" in an interview with Sound on Sound : "Writing 'Somebody'
5734-448: The same style as the first, with De Backer hand crafting each one and tenaciously chasing up every opportunity to get an audience for his work. Interest in the Gotye project was growing, and De Backer was eventually offered a distribution deal by the label company Creative Vibes for an album, which would essentially be a collection of the tracks from his three earlier releases. The album art is
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#17331213676585828-466: The scorched earth itself." John Watson, who co-manages Gotye with Danny Rogers, said of the single's success: "We've never seen any song make a deeper or more immediate connection with so many people. It's a really special recording and video". Talking about the overwhelming reception and the amount of coverage received, Gotye commented that "I don't really feel like it [the song] belongs to me anymore." He further explained that "sometimes I feel like I'm
5922-466: The similarities between the songs and works by Sting , David Bowie and American indie folk band Bon Iver . In Australia, 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, while Kimbra was voted Best Female Artist, and Gotye was named Best Male Artist and Producer of the Year. The song came ninth in the Triple J Hottest 100 of
6016-664: The single to reach Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending 28 April 2012, giving Gotye his first U.S. Number 1 single; the first Australian artist to reach Number 1 in the U.S. since Savage Garden in 2000. In April 2012, "Somebody That I Used to Know" broke a 47-year-old record in the Netherlands by becoming the most successful song in the history of the Dutch charts. Gotye was interviewed on 7 April 2012 broadcast of National Public Radio 's All Things Considered . The magazine American Songwriter named Gotye their Writer of
6110-642: The song as "a curated reflection of multiple past relationships". In 2024, Gotye and Kimbra released a remix of the song alongside Fisher , Chris Lake and Sante Sansone. The song received almost universal acclaim, winning the Grammy for Record of the Year . Take 40 Australia elaborated on the audience's reception at the July 2011 Splendour in the Grass festival, "Gotye's latest song featuring Kimbra 'Somebody That I Used To Know' had become somewhat of an unofficial anthem for
6204-592: The song became the best-selling song of that year with 11.8 million copies sold, ranking among the best-selling digital singles ever . As of April 2012, it is the most downloaded song ever in Belgium, as well as being the third best-selling digital single in Germany with sales between 500,000 and 600,000 copies, and the most successful song in the history of the Dutch charts. As of January 2013 it has received eleven Platinum certifications in Australia, accounting for shipments exceeding 770,000 units. In New Zealand, it
6298-492: The song became the first to reach digital sales of at least 400,000 for three consecutive weeks, and the following week it became the first to simultaneously top the Alternative Songs, Hot Dance Club Songs, and Dance Mix Show Airplay charts. It also became the number 1 song of 2012 on the Alternative Songs, Adult Pop Songs, and Billboard Hot 100 charts. By 22 February 2013, the song became the tenth longest-charting song in
6392-451: The song in his 2015 album Take This . "Somebody That I Used to Know" has been covered by many artists, including Ingrid Michaelson , The Fergies , Benee , Sam Tsui , and Right the Stars featuring Karmina . Dutch DJ Tiësto remixed the song for his album Club Life: Volume Two Miami . Gotye paid tribute to the overwhelming number of cover versions of the song by personally creating
6486-441: The song in the " Big Brother " episode of Glee (as Blaine Anderson and Cooper Anderson ). It sold 152,000 digital downloads in its first week of release and debuted on the Digital Songs chart at number 10 and the Hot 100 at number 26. "Somebody That I Used to Know" was also first played live by Coheed and Cambria on 29 April 2012, as a frequent feature on their 2012 headlining tour. In May 2012, American duo Karmin made
6580-444: The song reached number 1 in the week ending 15 August, becoming the first single by either artist to do so and their most successful single. Until 2014, the song was one of the two-second-longest-running Australian number-one songs, with eight weeks at the top, tied with Savage Garden 's 1997 song " Truly Madly Deeply ", and behind Daddy Cool 's 1971 hit " Eagle Rock ", which stayed there for ten weeks. In August 2011,
6674-450: The song was "definitely drawn from various experiences I've had in relationships breaking up, and in the parts of the more reflective parts of the song, in the aftermath and the memory of those different relationships and what they were and how they broke up and what's going on in everyone's minds. Yeah, so it's an amalgam of different feelings but not completely made up as such." In an interview with Rolling Stone (Australia), he described
6768-688: The song was released in Belgium and the Netherlands. After a few weeks in the charts, it reached number 1 in both countries, topping the Belgian Singles Chart for 12 weeks. Also in August, "Somebody That I Used to Know" debuted at number 4 in New Zealand on the RIANZ Singles Chart, reaching number 1 three weeks later, thus making Gotye the first Australian artist to reach number 1 since Guy Sebastian did so in February 2011 with " Who's That Girl ". The song debuted on
6862-763: The song, also won the ARIA award for Best Female Artist. On 18 October 2011, Gotye released a film clip for the song "Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You" on YouTube and Vimeo. The visuals were animated and directed by Benjamin Drake and Eddie White. On 20 November 2011, Gotye released a film clip for the song "Don't Worry, We'll Be Watching You" on YouTube and Vimeo. The visuals were animated and directed by Greg Sharp and Ivan Dixon at Rubber House. On 1 February 2012, Gotye made his American television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! , performing "Eyes Wide Open", "Somebody That I Used to Know" with Kimbra and "State of The Art". On 12 February 2012, "Somebody That I Used to Know" reached Number 1 on
6956-451: The song. The song has since been featured on the TV series 90210 , Gossip Girl , and The Voice of Ireland by Andy Mac Unfraidh . The song was featured in the film Boyhood . On 16 May 2012, fun. along with Paramore 's front vocalist Hayley Williams covered the song at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. "Somebody That I Used to Know" was covered by Canadian indie rock group Walk Off
7050-449: The track was an "unexpected chart-topper ... [it] is an oddball break-up song whose stuttering rhythms, reggae hooks, and hushed vocals sound like The Police as remixed by The xx ". Writing for Digital Spy , Lewis Corner rated the song four stars out of five and described it as "a Bon Iver -styled ballad for the music-buying masses". Entertainment Weekly ranked the song at number 2 on their "Best singles of 2012" list: "When
7144-441: The video in a Saturday Night Live "digital short" that coincided with Gotye's 14 April 2012 performance on the show. The video was nominated for Video of the Year and Best Editing in a Video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards . As of January 2015, Billboard named the video as one of the 20 best of the 2010s (so far). In February 2012, Gotye made his American television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where he performed
7238-467: The video was awarded the Melbourne Design Award. "Somebody That I Used to Know" came in third in the 2011 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition . On 8 August 2011, Gotye released a film clip for the song "Bronte" on YouTube and Vimeo. The visuals were animated and directed by Ari Gibson at Mechanical Apple. Also on this date, Gotye released a video title "Making Making Mirrors", which
7332-519: The world and had its own sales and distribution arm. Creative Vibes was nominated for 'Best Independent Label' at the Australian Dance Music Awards (DMA's), between 2000 and 2004, winning the award in 2000 and 2002. A number of Creative Vibes artists have been nominated for ARIA Awards including Gotye (2006 – 'Best Independent Release' : Like Drawing Blood ; 2007 – 'Best Dance Release', 'Best Independent Release', 'Album of
7426-510: Was a gradual and linear process. I started with the Luiz Bonfa sample, then I found the drums, and after that I started working on the lyric and the melody, and added the wobbly guitar-sample melody. After that, I took a break, and a few weeks later I came back to the session and decided on the chorus chord progression, wrote the chorus melody, and combined that with sounds like the Latin loop and some of
7520-451: Was certified four times Platinum. The song was the best-selling single of 2012 in the UK with 1,318,000 copies sold. Gotye has not monetised the song or any of his others through advertisements on YouTube, as he believes that there is too much advertising in the world. He has licensed its use to student films free of charge, but has turned down approaches from some commercial films: "If someone wants to use it commercially I look at what
7614-554: Was featured by Triple J in May 2006 and was voted No. 1 in the listener poll of the Best Album of 2006. The album was also nominated for a J Award that year. Two tracks from that album, " Learnalilgivinanlovin " and " Hearts a Mess ", were ranked No. 94 and No. 8 respectively in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2006 . Like Drawing Blood has been certified Platinum in Australia for sales of over 70,000 copies. His first single, "Learnalilgivinanlovin",
7708-416: Was hired by Pincus to work on the body paintings for Gotye and Kimbra. Melbourne Scenic Artist Howard Clark painted the backdrop. According to Hack, it took more than 23 hours to paint both Gotye and Kimbra to fit with Howard's background. Their painting symbolises their combined relationship. Before its official premiere, the music video was leaked on Take 40 Australia 's website. According to Pincus, "It
7802-468: Was inspired by an artwork his father painted in the 1980s, discovered by De Backer among old bills and newspapers in his parents' barn; it was later edited in Photoshop to become the album artwork. "The mirror reflects on artwork and it is all very related to self-reflection and introspection on the album." De Backer also revealed that the album would see a release in June or July 2011, with a single to precede
7896-458: Was nominated 'Best Independent Artist'. In December 2008, the label announced it was ceasing operations. They said "We're hugely proud of the work we've done over the past decade and a half. Sadly though, as a truly independent company we just can't compete with large companies and multinational companies supplying everything from music to computers and electrical items, to give retailers what they now need to stay in business and sell good music at
7990-439: Was nominated at the 55th Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance , winning both awards. The Village Voice ' s Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll ranked "Somebody That I Used to Know" at number eight of the best music of 2012. In 2019, Stereogum ranked the song as the 161st best song of the 2010s. In January 2018, as part of Triple M 's "Ozzest 100", "Somebody That I Used to Know"
8084-463: Was nominated for seven ARIA Awards . Due to the release date restrictions of the eligibility period, Making Mirrors could not be nominated, and the seven nominations all related to "Somebody That I Used to Know". Gotye was nominated for Highest Selling Single, Single of the Year, Best Pop Release, Best Male Artist and three awards in the ARIA Artisan category: Best Video (Natasha Pincus), Engineer of
8178-409: Was originally going to attend this tribute, died at the age of 87 on 4 November. In May 2017, De Backer launched a new record label, Forgotten Futures, whose first release was Jean-Jacques Perrey et son Ondioline , a compilation of rare and previously unreleased Perrey recordings. In a 2018 interview with Australia's Broadsheet , De Backer said, "You can dial in an incredibly wide range of sounds on
8272-487: Was ranked number 98. In 2021, its first year of eligibility, "Somebody That I Used to Know" was inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive 's Sounds of Australia as an Australian sound recording with "cultural, historical and aesthetic significance." The music video for "Somebody That I Used to Know" was produced, directed and edited by Australian artist Natasha Pincus and filmed by Australian cinematographer Warwick Field. It shows Gotye and Kimbra naked throughout
8366-414: Was released in August 2006. In September 2006, Gotye was nominated for an ARIA Award for best independent release for the album Like Drawing Blood . Also in 2006 Gotye won 'Most Outstanding New Independent Artist' at the inaugural Australian Independent Record (AIR) Chart Awards and Like Drawing Blood was amongst nine shortlisted finalists in the 2006 Australian Music Prize . In 2007, De Backer won
8460-467: Was released on 6 July 2011 and debuted at Number 27 on the ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. The single quickly moved up the ARIA singles chart despite a lack of airplay on commercial radio stations. The song was further boosted by endorsements from Ashton Kutcher and Lily Allen via Twitter, exposing Gotye's music to their millions of followers. The single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became
8554-416: Was stolen out of our system. I guess it's always wanted to get out there. Within five minutes it was everywhere". On 30 July 2011 it was officially premiered on YouTube and on the Australian music show Rage . The music video was well received for its artistic style, picking up 200,000 views in its first two weeks, as well as receiving promotion on Twitter by actor Ashton Kutcher and Katy Perry . "What
8648-448: Was strong enough. So the third session was all about writing the female part and changing the perspective. The arrangement of 'Somebody' is reflective of me moving towards using sounds that provide me with inspiration for a texture or a platform for an idea, and then through sonic manipulation and coming up with original melodies and harmonic ideas to make it my own. I guess the balance of sounds taken from records and samples I created myself
8742-684: Was the first Australian single to top the Hot ;100 since Savage Garden 's " I Knew I Loved You " in 2000. The song also topped the Alternative Songs chart for twelve weeks tying with Fuel 's Hemorrhage (In My Hands) and Linkin Park 's Numb and New Divide , as well as topping the Radio Songs , Digital Songs , On-Demand Songs , Pop Songs , Adult Pop Songs , Adult Contemporary , and Hot Dance Club Songs charts in that country. On 2 May 2012
8836-478: 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). "Somebody That I Used to Know" received a favorable response from critics , who noted
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