Released May 19, 2014 Genre Country rock | Format Music download Length 2:49 | |
Label RCA Nashville
Arista Nashville Writer(s) Chris DeStefano
Brett James
Priscilla Renea | ||
"Somethin' Bad" is a song recorded as a duet by American country music artists Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. The song was written by Chris DeStefano, Brett James, and Priscilla Renea. It was released as the second single from Lambert's fifth studio album Platinum in advance of the album's release two weeks later. The song premiered at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014, and was released for sale the next day.
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"Somethin' Bad" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, becoming Underwood's thirteenth number one on the chart and Lambert's fifth. The song is the first number one by teamed-up solo women in more than two decades on this chart.
On December 5, 2014, the collaboration received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
Background
The song was written by Chris DeStefano and Brett James along with Priscilla Renea while they were at a writing retreat in France for ASCAP. The song was originally intended to be a male/female duet, but was later tweaked so that it could be performed by two females.
The song is seen as a female take on the bro-country genre. According to Lambert, when she heard "Somethin’ Bad", "the song just popped," and it "really struck a chord." Lambert said she had wanted to do a duet with Carrie Underwood, and that "It's been too long since two girls in our genre have come together like that, especially on a song that's kind of in your face." She sent Underwood an email to request a collaboration, which was accepted as they had wanted to sing together for some time.
The song made its debut on the 2014 Billboard Music Awards on May 18, 2014 with a performance by Lambert and Underwood. They performed the song again at the CMT Music Awards on June 4, 2014.
Reception
The song received generally favorable response from the critics. Matt Bjorke of Roughstock thought the song playful, fun, and "sure to be a fast-selling hit." Jason Scott of AXS called it "a fun, beat-driven summer anthem" and rated it four stars out of five. Taste of Country said that the song's "ready-for-anything lyrics and the way that Lambert and Underwood belt them out with such power, make ‘Somethin’ Bad’ a catchy girl-power anthem."
Commercial performance
"Somethin' Bad" debuted at No. 39 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and at number five on the Hot Country Songs chart, after it was released for sales on May 19, 2014 (chart dated June 7, 2014). The song debuted on the radio chart at No. 48 on the Country Airplay for the same week, before it was due to be officially released onto radio on June 16, 2014. It also debuted at number one on the Country Digital Songs chart, with 107,000 downloads sold in its debut week. "Somethin' Bad" peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs in its sixth week, becoming Underwood's 13th number one on the chart and Lambert's fifth. The same week, the song vaulted to No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lambert's highest peaking song on that chart. It is the first number one by teamed-up solo women in more than two decades on the Hot Country Songs. As of April 2015, the song has sold 1,080,000 copies in the United States.
The song also debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 chart at No. 33 on its first week of release.
Music video
The music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy and released on June 25, 2014. It features Lambert as Belle Boyd and Underwood as Priscilla Parker, a pair of jewel thieves. The video is presented as a trailer for a film where the pair play poker, ride Indian motorcycles and engage in a jewel heist in which they flee in a luxury Bell Helicopter.
Miranda purchased the two Indian Motorcycles keeping one for herself, while giving the other to Carrie as a "thank you" for doing the song with her. Carrie tweeted a pic of her on the bike. The bikes and the helicopter were part of a product placement arrangement organized by CMS Nashville.
As of July 2016, the music video has accumulated over 52 million views on Vevo and was nominated for a 2014 CMA for "Video of the Year."
Sunday Night Football 2016 theme
In June 2016, NBC Sports announced that "Somethin' Bad" would form the basis of Underwood's new theme for NBC Sunday Night Football starting with the 2016 NFL season. Titled "Oh, Sunday Night", it replaced "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night", itself inspired by an existing song (Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You").