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Someday We'll Know

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"Someday We'll Know"
Single by New Radicals
from the album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
ReleasedMarch 22, 1999 (1999-03-22)
Recorded1997–1998
Genre
Length3:39
LabelMCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Gregg Alexander
New Radicals singles chronology
"You Get What You Give"
(1998) 		"Someday We'll Know"
(1999)

"Someday We'll Know" is a song by the New Radicals. It was released in March 1999 as the second single off their album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too (1998). Lyrically, the song explores the confusion over why a relationship ended. The group dissolved before the single's release, and as a result the song failed to match the success of the preceding single, "You Get What You Give", which had topped the charts in New Zealand and Canada and peaked within the top 5 in the United Kingdom. In contrast, "Someday We'll Know" became a top 40 hit only in Brazil where it made Number 38, and failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is the group's final single, and has been covered by numerous artists, including Mandy Moore and Hall & Oates.

Composition

The song is a midtempo ballad in which Alexander reflects on a past relationship[1] and wonders why his girlfriend left him, eventually concluding that someday he'll know the answer.[2] Rolling Stone called the song "reflective,"[3] while Consequence of Sound commented that the song is "relatable to the ever-been-broken-hearted with lines like 'I’m speeding by the place that I met you for the 97th time tonight' and 'If I could ask God just one question: Why aren’t you here with me tonight?”[2]

Chart performance

The single failed to match the success of the previous single, due in part to the announcement by lead group member Gregg Alexander that the New Radicals "[would] no longer be a recording, promoting, or performing entity" and that he would focus on producing and writing material for other artists, going on to state "the fatigue of traveling and getting three hours' sleep in a different hotel every night to do boring 'hanging and schmoozing' with radio and retail people is definitely not for me."[4] As a result, the song received minimal promotion and was far less successful than its predecessor, "You Get What You Give". "Someday We'll Know" achieved its highest peak in the US, where it reached number 28 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart on August 7, 1999.[5] The song debuted at number 48 on the UK Singles Chart on the chart dated 25 September 1999, falling to number 76 the following week, which by all classifications means it was never given hit status.[6] The song failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.

Music video

Directed by Lawrence Carroll, the video features the whole band playing the song in a damp warehouse with Gregg Alexander on guitar. It features scenes of people in different places: a laundromat, a bus, a diner, and a pool. In one scene, a lonely woman sits alone stirring her coffee, and the end of the video shows an empty seat at the back of a bus.[7] The group disbanded while the music video was still being produced.[4]

Track listing

  1. "Someday We'll Know" (Gregg Alexander, Danielle Brisebois, Debra Holland) – 3:39
  2. "The Decency League" (Alexander) – 3:30
  3. "Technicolor Lover" (Alexander) – 3:42
  4. "Someday We'll Know (Instrumental)" (Alexander, Brisebois, Holland) – 3:39

Cover versions

"Someday We'll Know" has been widely covered.[2] The song was covered by Mandy Moore and Jon Foreman on the A Walk to Remember soundtrack, by Hall & Oates on their 2003 album Do It for Love and live by Ronan Keating during his 2002 tour, Destination Everywhere. The Hall & Oates version included a guest appearance by Todd Rundgren on guitar and vocals. An acoustic cover of the song was done by MYMP on their 2011 album The Unreleased Acoustic Collection. A cover of the song was also done by English-American folk rock band America on their 2011 album Back Pages. Sitti covered the song in a bossa nova style on her 2014 album Bossa Love.

Charts

Chart (1999–2000) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 79
Germany (GfK)[9] 79
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 75
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 45
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 48
US Billboard Adult Pop Songs[13] 28

References

  1. ^ "Someday We'll Know song overview". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Gerber, Justin. "Dusting 'Em Off: New Radicals' "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  3. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R.; Spanos, Brittany; Exposito, Suzy; et al. "40 Greatest One-Album Wonders". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  4. ^ a b New Radicals' Alexander Pulls The Plug. Billboard. 24 July 1999. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  5. ^ "The New Radicals - Someday We'll Know (song)". Billboard.com. Billboard.
  6. ^ "New Radicals UK Chart History". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Official Music Video". YouTube. Geffen Records/New Radicals VEVO. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  8. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  9. ^ "New Radicals – Someday We'll Know" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  10. ^ "New Radicals – Someday We'll Know" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  11. ^ "New Radicals – Someday We'll Know". Top 40 Singles.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  13. ^ Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - The New Radicals
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