"Gotta Be Somebody" is the first official single released from Nickelback's sixth studio album, Dark Horse. Originally, the lead single from the album was set to be "If Today Was Your Last Day"[2] but was changed instead to "Gotta Be Somebody". The song was digitally delivered to all formats on September 29, 2008.[3][4] "Gotta Be Somebody" has been covered by American country music singer Bucky Covington in 2009, and English pop singer Shayne Ward in 2010. It was used in a video package for the 2008 Tribute to the Troops show.
Music video
In October 2008, it was reported that an official video from the commercial shoot had been shot with director Jessy Terrero.[5] However, after claims that the band was dissatisfied with the video,[citation needed] it was scrapped. A new video was shot in Vancouver with long-time collaborator Nigel Dick, three months after the release of the single.[6] The video debuted at AOL on Monday, December 15, 2008.[7] The video for "Gotta Be Somebody" starts out in Outer Space, showing various planets before zooming in on Earth. Nickelback is shown playing at the Colosseum in Rome, which is empty. During the chorus, an earthquake occurs and cracks the ground the band is standing on. During the second verse, the band is then shown playing on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Another earthquake begins during the chorus and finally the band is shown playing an outdoor concert to fans in a Southwestern United States desert inside an Aircraft boneyard for the third verse, bridge and final chorus. One last earthquake is shown during the final chorus as well. After the band finishes the song, the video zooms out of the boneyard concert and back into outer space, focusing on Earth before fading out. The video swept the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards, winning awards for best video, best rock video and best post production.[8]
Country artist Bucky Covington released a version of the song as his fifth single on October 19, 2009. The song is the second single released from his second studio album, Good Guys.[40] The song debuted at number 58 on the U.S. BillboardHot Country Songs chart for the week of November 14, 2009 and ultimately peaked at number 51 a few weeks later. The music video, which was directed by Devin Pense, premiered on CMT on October 26, 2009.[41]
The song was covered by British pop singer Shayne Ward for his third studio album, Obsession. It was the album's lead single, released on November 7, 2010.[43] Ward performed the single for the first time on The X Factor results show on November 7, 2010.
Background
"Gotta Be Somebody" was produced by Ray Hedges, Nigel Butler, Cutfather and David Kopatz. In an interview with Digital Spy Shayne Ward spoke about the decision to release a cover song as the album's lead single: "The whole transition from being rock to pop/R&B was really exciting for me and it's definitely made it into my own track. It's the perfect first single to kick-start my Obsession album. I don't look it as a cover. It's just a great song. I hadn't heard the song for a while before I recorded it, but I got into it again straight away because it's got such a catchy chorus."[44] According to Ward, the song is about hope, "It's got a great message too - it's about hope, that there's someone out there for all of us. The music video for the single was shot in Los Angeles on 27 September 2010, and was directed by Bille Woodruff. The video for "Gotta Be Somebody" premiered on YouTube on October 29, 2010.
The single's B-Side, "Future Love", written by Ryan Tedder and Evan Bogart, is a cover of Kristinia DeBarge's version of the Varsity Fanclub original.
"Gotta Be Somebody" debuted first on 12 November 2010 on the Irish Singles Chart at number 10, giving Ward his sixth Top 10 hit in the country. On 14 November 2010, the single debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 12; having been predicted to chart within the Top 10 earlier that week.[45] This marks Ward's seventh Top 20 hit and second single that failed to crack the Top 10.
