Somebody That I Used To Know

Ten years ago, Gotye released "Somebody That I Used to Know", a duet recorded with New Zealand singer Kimbra that went Platinum in nước australia a ridiculous 17 times, as well as going 14 times platinum in the United States, a notoriously difficult market to lớn crack.

Bạn đang xem: Somebody that i used to know

It was the number one song in the Hottest 100 of 2011. It was the number one song just about everywhere at some stage. It"s video was an iconic as its chorus, a key ingredient to a song"s success in an era where YouTube began to reign supreme.

FireFox NVDA users - to lớn access the following content, press "M" khổng lồ enter the iFrame.

It was covered lovingly & parodied ruthlessly, acclaimed by so many & maligned by a noisy and irritated few. Everyone had a stance on it. All traits of a truly viral, omnipresent hit.

For Gotye – real name Wally de Backer – it was all just really, really weird.

"I was having this odd experience," he told Double J in 2018.

"I was flushed with the success that kept surprising me. The scale of it, the way that it kept rolling on.

"But then also what I perceived as a pretty strong backlash. People saying "This tuy vậy is plastered everywhere. I can"t go to lớn a mall without hearing it. Whether I hate it or lượt thích it – I don"t want to hear it anymore!""

"It was an interesting experience to lớn feel like, "Wow, it"s got such an addictive unique and has crossed such unusual borders that it"s now so out of my hands. Maybe you should play it a bit less!?" 

Audio Player failed khổng lồ load.

Try toDownload directly(0.00 MB)

Play

Space to lớn play or pause, M khổng lồ mute, left và right arrows to lớn seek, up & down arrows for volume.

Xem thêm: Điểm Chuẩn Học Viện Ngân Hàng 2020, Thấp Nhất Là 21,5 Điểm, Điểm Chuẩn Học Viện Ngân Hàng Năm 2021

Listen to lớn the Gotye J Files above. Or subscribe to The J Files podcast.

Critics the world over have called the tuy nhiên an "unlikely hit". That stance is debatable và feels a little backhanded. But there"s no denying that de Backer was an unlikely pop star.

"I had these odd experiences where radio pluggers in the States – people who are lovely & working hard lớn promote my music – I realised their perspective on how they relate to the music industry and what they vày with their job in it…" he said.

"I just had no idea about how they operated.

"They were so chuffed, patting me on the back saying, "Man, we"ve never seen a tuy vậy jump radio formats lượt thích this!".

"So, I had to go digging into "What are the radio formats in America? Why is it so important?" Things are so stratified over here. It was a funny experience."

It"s not all about America though. & for Wally de Backer, it"s not all about mainstream success, Grammy Awards, smashing chart records, và making tons of sweet cash. It"s about music, connection, & the unlikely lives his art can impact.

"It blew my mind where the song had somehow travelled to," he told Double J.

"One that sticks in my mind, my friend Paul Dylan was on a trip in Nepal và he did some kind of bartering arrangement with a couple of monks to lớn teach them guitar in exchange for helping him with meditation practice, or something lượt thích that.

"So, he went khổng lồ meet them for their guitar lesson, & these two monks – at the top of a mountain in Nepal – ask him "Can you help us learn this song, "Somebody That I Used to Know""?"

Read all about Gotye"s life and career – straight from the man himself – in The J Files right here.