I Took a Pill in Ibiza
"I Took a Pill in Ibiza" (also known by its censored title "In Ibiza" or its clean title "I Took a Plane to Ibiza")[1] is a song by American singer Mike Posner. The song was originally acoustic guitar-based and released digitally as a single in the United States in April 2015 before being remixed a few months later by Norwegian production duo SeeB. The original version is on Posner's second EP The Truth, while both versions are on his second studio album At Night, Alone. The title references Ibiza, a Mediterranean island that is part of the Balearic Islands of Spain, while the pill was a "mystery" drug according to Posner; he later confirmed that the identity of the substance was ecstasy.[2]
"I Took a Pill in Ibiza"
April 14, 2015 (original version)
July 24, 2015 (SeeB remix)
2015
- Folk pop (original version)
- tropical house (SeeB remix)
- 4:40 (original version)
- 3:19 (SeeB remix)
- Mike Posner
- SeeB
- Martin Terefe
The original version of the song was initially unknown, while the SeeB remix helped the song peak within the top ten of the charts in twenty-seven countries, including number one in Belgium, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, the song remained at the top of the UK Singles Chart for four weeks. It achieved high chart positions in Posner's native United States, where it peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks, also reaching number one on both the Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay Chart and the Billboard Pop Songs chart. The song became Posner's biggest single, outperforming his debut, "Cooler than Me" (2010), and was later nominated for a Grammy Award for Song of the Year. In May 2016, it was incorporated into the official soundtrack album for MTV's Scream Season 2, appearing throughout the season, and re-released with Scream: Music from Season Two on July 29, 2016, under Island Records.[3]
Composition[edit]
The original version of "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" by Posner is a folk pop song,[8] and is written in the key of B ♭ major.[9]
SeeB's remix is a tropical house song,[10] and is written in the key of G minor in half time with a faster tempo of 102 beats per minute.[11] It follows a chord progression of Gm – F – E♭maj7 – B♭, and Posner's vocals span from B♭2 to D4.[12]
Critical reception[edit]
Billboard ranked "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" #30 on its "100 Best Pop Songs of 2016: Critics' Picks" list, writing, "The weirdness of 2016 might be best encapsulated by Mike Posner earning his first Hot 100 top 10 in nearly six years—and ending the year with a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year—for a song lamenting his status as 'a singer who already blew his shot.' That's due in part to the power of SeeB's buoyant, tropical house-flavored remix, but the cautionary tale of post-fame and excess drives it home, even as it ironically became Posner’s biggest hit yet."[13]
Time was more negative toward the remix, stating, "Originally conceived as a folksy pop song in the vein of Jason Mraz, there was something clever about Posner's withering takedown of drug-taking EDM bro culture. But the much more popular SeeB remix sapped it of its wit, turning it into the exact thing it was satirizing. What a comedown."[14]
Live performances[edit]
Mike Posner performs the song live in the style of SeeB's remix, but with a live band and adding the third verse on vocals and guitar only. He has performed the song on a number of talk shows including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In his rendition on the talk show Conan, he brought in a 10-piece string orchestra and 4 backing vocalists, and he introduced a new intro and final verse to the song, the latter of which talked about Posner's father having cancer. He also performed an acoustic version on Elvis Duran and the Morning Show at the Elvis Duran Performing Arts Center.
English singer Tom Odell performed a cover of the song on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge, which received very good feedback from fans and critics.
Controversy[edit]
In April 2016, it was reported that tourism officials in Ibiza, Spain were "annoyed" by the song as they felt it contributed to Ibiza's reputation for drug-related debauchery due to lyrics in the song such as "I took a pill in Ibiza" and "You don't want to be high like me". The island's tourism director, Vicent Ferrer, stated, "We have invited the author of this song to discover Ibiza because we have much more to offer besides the nightlife which is known worldwide," and noted that the island had been "typecast" due to its reputation for nightlife and as a partying destination.[15]
Music videos[edit]
The music video for the SeeB remix was launched first, via Posner's YouTube Vevo account, on February 26, 2016. It features Posner taking an unknown pill which transforms his face into a smiling papier-mâchéd mask representing himself. Posner spends the video becoming increasingly intoxicated as he mingles with girls and male friends at a crowded nightclub, before ending with Posner, back to his normal self, staring in silence at the reflection in a mirror of his empty papier-mâché form. As of June 2023, this music video has received over 1.6 billion views on YouTube.[16]
The music video for the original version was released on March 15, 2016. The black-and-white video features Posner standing silently with sheets of paper depicting lyrics of the song in a style similar to Bob Dylan's 1965 electric folk song, "Subterranean Homesick Blues". The music video was shot in Bateman's Buildings in London, an alleyway to the south of Soho Square Gardens, just off Oxford Street. As of May 2023, this music video has received over 44 million views on YouTube.[17]
Cover versions[edit]
In 2016, British Jazz musician Jamie Cullum published a piano/bass/drums version of the Seeb remix as the sixth entry in his pop covers project The Song Society. According to Cullum, the trio learnt and recorded the song live "within 20 minutes", taking it "somewhere between the original acoustic version and the Seeb remix".[18]
Country music singer Eric Paslay covered the song on his 2020 album Nice Guy.