Bad Guy (Billie Eilish song)
"Bad Guy" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and the fifth single from her first studio album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2019). It was released on March 29, 2019, by Darkroom and Interscope Records. The song was described by media as electropop, dance-pop, and trap-pop with minimalist instrumentation. In the lyrics, Eilish taunts someone for being tough while suggesting that she is a more resilient bad guy than he is. Eilish wrote "Bad Guy" with her brother and the producer Finneas O'Connell. Another version of the song, a collaboration with the Canadian singer Justin Bieber, was released on July 11, 2019.
"Bad Guy"
Upon release, "Bad Guy" received mostly positive reviews. It topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and 16 other international charts including in the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it ended the record-breaking 19-week run of "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. "Bad Guy" has received several certifications, including a tenfold platinum award from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and a Diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song received several awards, including Record and Song of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.
Dave Meyers directed the music video, which depicts Eilish involved in several activities such as wild dancing, suffering a nosebleed and sitting on the back of a man doing push-ups. Reviewers noted the video for its camp elements and eccentric imagery.
Composition and lyrical interpretation[edit]
"Bad Guy" is divided into two halves; the first is fast at 135 beats per minute (BPM) and the latter is slow at 60 BPM.[6] The song is played in the key of G minor following a chord progression of Gm-Cm-D7, while Eilish's vocals span a range of F3 to C6.[6] The track was called electropop, dance-pop, "pop-trap", and "nu-goth pop"[7] in media articles; it features a minimalist production consisting of synth bass, a kick drum, amplified finger snaps and 808 bass.[8][9][10][11] Furthermore, the single's hook utilizes a synthesizer riff, which has been described as both "goofy carnival"[12] and "cartoony".[13] iHeartMedia referred to "Bad Guy" as an alternative rock song.[14] In an interview with Rolling Stone, the utilization of a Sydney pedestrian traffic light sound in the song was revealed; it originates from a phone recording made by Eilish in February 2017.[15] Vanity Fair's Louie XIV labeled it "dance music through a fun house mirror".[7] Alongside humorous cadences, Eilish uses several tongue-in-cheek lyrics.[16][17] "Bad Guy" was inspired by Selena Gomez's "Everything Is Not What It Seems" (2007), the theme song for the teen sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place, alongside Laura Shigihara's video game music theme for Plants vs. Zombies (2009).[18][19]
In the lyrics, Eilish taunts a lover for being a bad guy; as the song progresses she suggests she is tougher than him, singing in a "nonchalant, self-effacing murmur".[7][16][20] According to reviewers, the song also discusses themes such as misandry, gloating, sarcasm and naughtiness.[2][11][13] During the track's half-spoken chorus, the singer elaborates on her relationship with fellow men and women, rejecting their expectations of her; "I'm that bad type / Make your mama sad type / Make your girlfriend mad type / Might seduce your dad type / I'm the bad guy, duh".[2] Other lyrics include: "My mommy likes to sing along with me / But she won't sing this song / If she reads all the lyrics / She'll pity the men I know".[17] Analyzing the lyrics of "Bad Guy", Caitlin White of Uproxx wrote that they see "a woman's teenage voice boast of its power, assert her sexual dominance, and use men as playthings instead of sing about being used as one by them". She continued; "'Bad Guy' positions a young female pop star in a role that's usually reserved for men working in rock or hip hop".[2] AJ Longabaugh of V likened the lyrics to the later work of Amy Winehouse.[17]
Commercial performance[edit]
Upon the release of When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, "Bad Guy" debuted at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending April 13, 2019, as Eilish's first top ten entry on the chart.[46] It later occupied number two for a total of nine weeks, before ultimately reaching number one on the week ending August 24, 2019. "Bad Guy" ended the record-breaking 19-week run of "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus. At 17, she further became the first artist born in the 2000s to achieve this feat and the youngest since then-16-year-old Lorde topped the ranking with "Royals" in 2013.[47] Internationally, "Bad Guy" reached number one in Australia,[48] Canada,[49] Estonia,[50] Finland,[51] Greece,[52] Hungary,[53] Iceland,[54] Latvia,[55] Lithuania,[56] New Zealand,[57] Norway,[58] and Russia.[59] The song has been awarded multiple certifications, including a tenfold platinum award from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and a Diamond one from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[60][61] becoming the first song from an female artist born this century to go Diamond in the US[62] "Bad Guy" was the best-performing global single of 2019 with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 19.5 million units according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).[63] By 2022, "Bad Guy" was streamed over 2 billion times worldwide through Spotify, her first song to do so.[64]
"Bad Guy"
July 11, 2019
3:14
- Darkroom
- Interscope
Finneas O'Connell