Use Somebody

"Use Somebody"
Song

"Use Somebody" is the second single from Only by the Night, the fourth studio album by Kings of Leon, released on December 8, 2008. The music video was premiered exclusively on the band's MySpace page on November 4, 2008.

On Sunday, December 7, 2008, Caleb from Kings of Leon said that at about the same time in 2007 when they were touring, they had a fall out, while in Glasgow before their concert on Monday, December 3, 2007. This is when he said "Use Somebody" was written, he credited the writing of the song to the City of Glasgow and the audience at the SECC on that night.

The single received heavy airplay in Scandinavia, such as in Finland and Sweden, as well as the Republic of Ireland, UK and Australia, where it has remained at number one on the Official Airplay Chart for six consecutive weeks. It was a huge success in the U.S., where it topped multiple airplay formats, and reached #4 on the Hot 100 and the top of the Pop Songs chart. The song received positive reviews as well and on December 2, 2009, it was announced that song has been nominated for the 52nd Grammy Awards in the categories of Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song.

Critical reception

The song has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly called "Use Somebody" a highlight of the album, describing the song as "a too-cool hipster's cry for comfort." Nick Levine of Digital Spy said "with its Springsteen-style 'oooah-woooah's, gathering storm of guitars and lusty, longing vocals from Caleb Followill, it's nearly as infectious as 'Sex on Fire.'" Gavin Haynes of NME praised the song as "easily the best 80s power ballad of 2008," but cautioned that the band "may be in danger of mistaking bluster for brilliance."

Track listing

CD Single

1. "Use Somebody" - 3:51
   
2. "Knocked Up" (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) - 5:34

iTunes exclusive EP

1. "Use Somebody" - 3:51
   
2. "Knocked Up" (Lykke Li vs. Rodeo Remix) - 5:34
   
3. "Frontier City" - 3:36
   
4. "The Bucket" (CSS Remix) - 3:43

Chart performance

"Use Somebody" debuted in the UK Singles Chart at #29 via download sales alone on September 28, 2008, the same date as its parent album, just six days after the album's release and two weeks after the #1 single "Sex on Fire" charted. Despite falling to #50 over the next month, on November 23 the single became Kings of Leon's fifth single to enter the UK Top 20, charting at #17 and rising to #15 the following week. On December 7, 2008, the day before its physical release, it marked only the band's second UK Top 10 single, climbing to #10. The following week (its first week of physical release), it continued the band's surge to success. As the follow up to "Sex on Fire," it became their second UK Top 3 single, peaking at #2. It remained in the UK Top 10 for 13 non-consecutive weeks and spent an unbroken 40 weeks on the Top 75, only dropping out due to the surge in sales of Michael Jackson titles immediately after his death. However, a week later, it was back and has now spent 61 weeks on the Top 75 (just seven behind "Sex on Fire" and making it the 6th longest runner of all time), and 67 on the Top 100. To date, the single has sold over 700,000 copies in the UK, and Kings of Leon have become the first and only act to place two singles on the chart for an entire year, and uniquely have two of the top six longest running songs of all time.

In the United States, "Use Somebody" has become a huge hit, and the band's mainstream breakthrough. It has peaked at #4 on the Hot 100, giving the band their first top five hit there. On U.S. radio, the song was a multi-format smash, becoming just the fourth song in history to top the Mainstream Top 40, Adult Top 40, Alternative Songs, and Triple A charts. The three prior being "Slide" by the Goo Goo Dolls, "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray, and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. The song first reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart (now called the "Alternative" chart), their second of three consecutive singles to top that chart. "Use Somebody" also reached #1 on the Adult Top 40 Chart, and later topped the Mainstream Top 40 as well. "Use Somebody" has also found great digital success, so far selling over 2,512,122 digital downloads in the United States.

Cover versions

• Margaret Durante released a version of this song to country radio as a single.
• American band Paramore has covered the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, a video of which has reached over 7 million views on YouTube.
• On their Dark Horse Tour, Nickelback performed a cover of the song live, and guitarist Ryan Peake sang lead vocals instead of Chad Kroeger.
• Pixie Lott performed cover version of the song which peaked at number 52 in the UK Singles Chart, due to it being a B-side to her number 1 single "Mama Do (Uh Oh Uh Oh)".
• VV Brown and Friendly Fires have performed cover versions of the song.
• Tiki Taane formerly of Salmonella Dub performed a live acoustic version on Triple J's morning show, for their weekly segment 'like a version'.
• Brazilian band NX Zero covered the song on the TV show The Edgard Show on Multishow.
• Former American Idol contestant, Brooke White, covered the song for her sophomore album, High Hopes & Heartbreak with a more folk sound.
• On their UK tour with fellow Clubland artist Darren Styles, Liverpudlian dance troupe Ultrabeat recorded a version of the song, which is rumoured to appear on their second album
• Kelly Clarkson covered the song, mashing it with an Alanis Morissette song 'That I Would Be Good' on her 2009 tour.
• A hip-hop version was crafted, featuring Houston rapper Trae.
• Laura Jansen covered the song on her album "Bells."
• Steve Appleton covers a version of this song.
• Justin Timberlake performed this song as a mash up with his hit, Cry Me A River at his charity concert in Las Vegas in October 2009.
• Bat For Lashes covered a version of this song and it is on the deluxe edition of her album Two Suns.
• Nick Jonas covered this song as a part of his Nick Jonas & The Administration Tour, starting on January 2, 2010.

Charts

Chart (2008-2009)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	2
Austrian Singles Chart	12
Belgian Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders)	1
Belgian Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia)	19
Canadian Hot 100	8
Danish Singles Chart	9
Dutch Top 40	7
German Singles Chart	9
Irish Singles Chart	6
Norwegian Singles Chart	5
New Zealand Singles Chart	5
Swedish Singles Chart	7
Swiss Singles Chart	9
UK Singles Chart	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs	2
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	13
U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40	1

Chart (2000-2009)	Peak position
UK Top 100 Songs of the Decade	32

Certifications

Country	Certification	Sales
Australia	2x Platinum	140,000+
New Zealand	Platinum	15,000+
U.S.	Platinum	2,512,122+
U.K.	Platinum	681,000+