It’s either a good thing or a bad thing when an otherwise offbeat song gains a whole lot of attention. Such is the case with Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know”. Hailing from Bruges, Belgium, Gotye aka Wouter “Wally” De Backer has only been known up until now outside of America. That was until a few famous fans, including (gulp!) Ashton Kutcher and Brit pop star Lily Allen, started speading the word about Gotye’s second single from his third independent album, Making Mirrors. The song has reached number one in the UK, though it dropped one week, but has regained the top spot for the past several week and it has set a record for most consecutive weeks at number one in Australia, a record previously held by Savage Garden’s “Truly Madly Deeply”. As of this writing, the single is currently at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
Now I thought Gotye’s US television debut would be on this week’s Saturday Night Live, but he’s already appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! back in February, which is when the single started to gain momentum. According to the artist’s website, he’ll only be playing four dates, all in California, beginning and ending with stints at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival (on 4/15 and 4/22 respectively). Okay, back to the song.
It’s quirky, it’s very 80s, and it’s really a duet, with New Zealand singer/songwriter Kimbra. And the video is quirky and arty, oh and Gotye and Kimbra are naked, but painted.
I had only heard the song once and I don’t remember where. But on last night’s first new GLEE episode in seven weeks, there it was. I like that GLEE doesn’t always showcase every charting hit; however, the show will no doubt give Gotye a sales bump, not to mention all the downloads of the GLEE version. Speaking of which, here it is featuring Darren Criss/Blaine and his big brother Cooper, played by guest star Matt Bomer.
I love it!
Unfiltered Pop 