"Somebody Else" is a song by English band the 1975 from their second studio album I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware of It (2016). The song was written by band members Matty Healy, George Daniel, Adam Hann, Ross MacDonald, with the first two handling the production alongside Mike Crossey. The song was the last one written for the album; Healy developed the song's lyrics in Los Angeles while in the back of a cab. The singer focused on the after-effects of a breakup, centered on the themes of jealousy and guilt. It was released on 16 February 2016 by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records as the fourth single from the album.
A slow jam, "Somebody Else" is a power ballad composed in the styles of electronic, R&B and synth-pop. The song contains elements of several genres, including house, chillwave, funk and neo-soul, with its sparse 1980s-style production incorporating synthesisers, 808 percussion, and techno beats. The lyrics explore the mixed emotions experienced after discovering a former lover has found a new partner, focusing on the themes of jealousy, grief, melancholia, and bitterness, among others.
Upon release, "Somebody Else" received widespread acclaim from contemporary music critics, several of whom deemed it the best song on I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. Reviewers praised the song's production quality, 1980s-style sound and lyrical depth, with some comparing it to the work of Tears for Fears. It later appeared on numerous year-end and decade-end lists, including ones published by NME, Pitchfork and The Times. The song peaked at number 55 on the UK Singles Chart, number eight on the US Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, number 29 in Scotland, number 34 in Australia and number 70 in Ireland. The song was later certified gold in Australia and the United States by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), respectively, while it received a platinum certification in the United Kingdom by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
An accompanying music video, directed by Tim Mattia, was released on 7 July 2016. The visual depicts Healy's attempts to move on from his former relationship, engaging in various situations that explore themes of isolation and self-obsession. The video received positive reviews from critics, who highlighted the cinematic quality, introspective style and twist ending, with several comparing it to the work of filmmaker David Lynch and the film Fight Club (1999). To promote "Somebody Else", the 1975 performed the song on tour and at various music festivals, including the Reading and Leeds Festivals and Pohoda. In addition to appearing in several films and television shows, such as 13 Reasons Why and The Edge of Seventeen (2016), the song has been covered by several artists including Charlie Puth, Vérité and Lorde, with the latter citing it as a significant influence on her second studio album, Melodrama (2017).
Background and development
"Somebody Else" was the last song written for I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It. Written in the back of a cab while Healy was in Los Angeles, the singer focused on the after-effects of a breakup, alongside the accompanying feelings of jealousy. Following the song's completion, Healy said: "As soon as I finished writing it, I was like 'This is a tune'." Explaining the concept further, Healy described the feeling as "guilty jealousy" to Steve Holden of BBC, which the singer said stems from no longer wanting a partner while also not wanting somebody else to be with them. In an interview with Shahlin Graves of Coup de Main, Healy agreed that he emotionally distances himself after writing personal songs such as "Somebody Else". The singer described the songwriting process as a form of catharsis, saying: "Once I put it in a song, I can objectively think about it – it exists outside of me and I can make sense of it a bit more."
Music and lyrics
Musically, "Somebody Else" is a melancholic power ballad, composed as an electronic, R&B and synth-pop slow jam. The song has a length of five minutes and forty-seven seconds (5:47) and was written by the 1975 members George Daniel, Matty Healy, Adam Hann and Ross MacDonald, while the former two handled the production alongside Mike Crossey. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Hal Leonard Music Publishing, "Somebody Else" is set in the time signature of common time with a downbeat tempo of 100 beats per minute. The track is composed in the key of C major, with Healy's vocals ranging between the notes of G3 and G4. It follows a chord progression of F–G–Am7–E7–Am9–Am–C.
"Somebody Else" has a sparse 1980s-style production composed of a "bounc[ing]" synth line, heavy reverb, expansive atmospherics, whirling synthesiser washes, a disco-influenced bass, a kick drum, 808 percussion and techno beats. The song also contains elements of house, chillwave, electro, funk, neo-soul, electronica, dance, electropop, alternative pop, new wave, yacht rock and "digitized" soul. Throughout the track, Healy's vocals are pitch-altered, doubled, chopped and Auto-Tuned. The singer performs in a "breathy" style, according to Andy Gill of The Independent, while Nylons Hayden Manders described the vocals as "lackadaisical, disinterested and wobbly".
Lyrically, "Somebody Else" deals with the after-effects of a breakup, expressing the pain of seeing a former lover with a new partner. The song describes being caught between the various emotional phases one experiences after the end of a relationship. The track is centred around the theme of loss, with Healy refusing to let go of the relationship for fear of loneliness. "Somebody Else" also deals with overcoming jealousy, as the singer does not want his partner to love someone else but takes solace from knowing she is not lonely. Pitchforks Brad Nelson noted that, unlike the 1975's prior work, the band embodies "something less defined and more introspective" in the song, writing it explores feelings of confusion which one would normally suppress. Writing for Billboard, Rania Afitos felt the song moves through several stages of heartbreak, beginning with melancholy and grief before capturing Healy's "inevitable bitterness".
Tom Connick of DIY characterised the production of "Somebody Else" as gentle and "soft-of-touch" while writing that the lyrics see Healy "finally [laying] himself bare in the emotional sense, rather than just whipping off his top and skipping about". Manders noted the song eschews Healy's "theatrics" in favour of a "mellow" 1980s-indebted soundscape. Drowned in Sound writer Sean Adams compared the track to the works of Cut Copy and Chromatics. Writing for PopMatters, Pryor Stroud described "Somebody Else" as a merger of the "anthemic, multiplex synth-pop of Tears for Fears" with the "pretty-boy R&B" of Justin Bieber. The Irish Times writer Lauren Murphy also compared the track to the work of Tears for Fears. Dee Lockett of Vulture said the song's sexual tension, "slow-burning" sensuality and suspense is reminiscent of Tangerine Dream's "Love on a Real Train", while also writing that it shares the same "control" as a Tears for Fears song. AllMusic writer Matt Collar compared the track to Tango in the Night (1987)-era Fleetwood Mac.
Structure and analysis "Somebody Else" begins with "mournful" opening keyboard notes, two chords and chopped vocals. Nelson observed a "swerve" to the opening synths that sonically embodies post-breakup ambivalence, noting "a damp echo to the atmosphere that makes every instrument sound slightly hazy and drunk". In the verses, Healy narrates the melancholy and grief associated with the ending of a relationship, singing in a half-whisper: "I took all my things that make sound / The rest I could do without." Continuing the themes of melancholia and grief in the chorus, the singer depicts an experience of lost love: "I don't want your body / But I hate to think about you with somebody else / Our love has gone cold / You're intertwining your soul with somebody else." Realising his lover has changed and the relationship has come to an end, Healy sings: "I'm looking through you, while you’re looking through your phone." Characterised by a change in tempo, slower synths and distorted vocals, the song's bridge sees the singer's heartbreak shifting to bitterness around intimacy, as he exclaims: "Get someone you love? / Get someone you need? / Fuck that, get money / I can't give you my soul 'cause we're never alone."
In a retrospective analysis of the 1975's lyrics for NME, Connick stated that the chorus of "Somebody Else" was instrumental in shifting the public's opinion of the band, which he credits to being "a couplet that anyone can relate to". Furthermore, Connick wrote that the lyrics recontextualise the "teenage heartbreak" of The 1975 into a more mature tone. Stroud opined that Healy's constant assertions of indifference in the couplet "I don't want your body, I don't want your body" demonstrate an attempt by the singer to repress his desires. The writer noted that "the body" mentioned in the line serves as the song's motif, comparing its constant repetition to an addiction. Rather than viewing "the body" as an abstraction, Stroud interpreted it as representing "a specific flesh-on-flesh interaction" first detailed in the 1975's "Sex" (2012). In an essay analysing the band's songwriting techniques, Vice writer Emily Bootle noted that in "Somebody Else", the chorus' melodies use a larger gap in intervals—hopping between the fifth and third notes of its scale—which she credited as a critical component in their ability to craft "consistently catchy choruses". Regarding the song's bridge, Jennifer Irving of Consequence interpreted the lyrics as a commentary on love in the 21st century, representing society's inability to make time for intimacy. She wrote that instead of attempting to reconcile this dilemma, the bridge serves as Healy's acceptance of this notion, summarising: "Let's just distract ourselves and make money." In contrast to Irving's analysis, Vice writer Ian Cohen felt the couplet "fuck that, get money" is a defence mechanism.
Release and critical reception
"Somebody Else" was officially released by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records as the fourth single from I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It on 15 February 2016. 11 days later, the album was released, including the song as the 10th track.
Upon release, the song was met with widespread critical acclaim from contemporary music critics. Amy Davidson of Digital Spy and the editorial staff of both DIY and Vulture deemed "Somebody Else" one of the best new songs for the week ending 19 February 2016. Dorks Stephen Ackroyd said the track "remains one of British pop music's greatest recent triumphs", while Starr Bowenbank of Cosmopolitan said: "If you had to listen to one single piece of music for the rest of your life by [t]he 1975, it better be 'Somebody Else'." Collin Brennan of Consequence proclaimed "Somebody Else" the standout from I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It; he lauded the "uncomfortably relatable" lyrics, "pristinely produced" hooks and emulation of 1980s musical excess while regarding it as "a bizarre single that somehow works beautifully". Spin writer Brian Josephs also named "Somebody Else" the record's best song, while The Sydney Morning Heralds Tim Bryon declared the song "perhaps the most impressive thing on the album". Both Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club and Gill deemed "Somebody Else" an album highlight, with the latter calling it "one of the more genuinely moving break-up songs of recent years".