We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow

"We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow"
Single by Soko
from the album I Thought I Was an Alien
Released 2012
Recorded 2012
Genre Indie pop
Writer(s) Soko
Producer(s) Soko, Fritz Michaud
Soko singles chronology
"First Love Never Die"
(2012)		 "We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow"
(2012)
Music video
"We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" on YouTube

"We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" is a song by French singer Soko, from her studio album I Thought I Was an Alien. The track began to chart in 2014, thanks to the amount of views of the viral YouTube video "First Kiss", which the song features in.

Production and composition

"We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" was inspired by the death of Soko's father when she was five years old. According to her, "I think it affected my and brother's lives in such a way that we are absolute lovers of life. I get so attached, so quickly because I have this extremely high consciousness of death, that it's just around the corner. So I hold on to every bit of love I can get." She said the song was "calling people out on being even more loving, and stop all the "I'm too busy for a relationship" talk, and selfish things of that kind, just because they are scared to be vulnerable and to love" and "about embracing love as the most grandiose thing in life." She claimed of crying throughout the song's writing process.[1]

Soko wrote and produced "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow", with additional production from Fritz Michaud.[2] The track's instrumentation consists of a guitar, soft violin and Soko's vocals. On the night she wrote the song, she called Yeti Beats for a session, recording the vocals and guitar at the same time in two takes. She later asked her friend Indiana to perform the violin, and "wanted her to play a lot of harmonics because I think they sound like crying whales, and I find it to be the saddest and most beautiful comforting sound ever." The session lasted for only a few hours, and was "the easiest studio day ever".[1] The track was later mixed by Bob Clearmountain, and finally mastered by Dave Cooley and Mandy Parnell.[2]

Commercial performance

In 2014, "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" topped both the United States' Billboard Streaming Songs and Rock Streaming Songs chart, with 11.5 million streams.[3][4] 99% of the streams came from the viral YouTube video "First Kiss" that included the track.[3] The same week, the song debuted at number 9 on the country's Hot 100 chart, with 96% of the point coming from the streams, and was download 10,000 times in addition.[3] It was 2014's first top 10 Hot 100 debut, the first top 10 debut for an artist or band's first entry since Ariana Grande's "The Way", and the highest arrival for a new act since the song "Harlem Shake" by Baauer.[3] "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" dropped off the Billboard Hot 100 the following week, making it the highest charting song that was only on the Hot 100 for one week in the history of the chart, and ranks as the biggest drop-out of the chart's archive.[5] Other US Billboard charts that it debuted on include Hot Rock Songs at number 3,[6] Rock Digital Songs at number 26,[7] and Alternative Digital Songs at number 24.[7] In other countries, it launched at number 51 in Austria,[8] number 39 in the Belgian territory of Wallonia,[9] 66 on the Hot Canadian Digital Songs chart,[10] 72 in Switzerland,[11] and 18 on the UK Indie Chart.[12]

Live performances

In December 2013, Soko performed "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow" on the show Last Call with Carson Daly.[13]

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 51
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[9] 39
Canada (Hot Canadian Digital Songs)[10] 66
France (SNEP)[14] 61
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 60
UK Indie (Official Charts Company)[12] 18
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 145
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 9
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[17] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2014) Position
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[18] 39

References

  1. 1 2 Lee, Ashley (24 March 2014). "Viral 'First Kiss' Musician Reveals Sad Story of 'We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow' (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 I Though I Was An Alien (Media notes). Soko. Because Music. 2012. BEC5161135.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gruger, William (19 March 2014). "'First Kiss' Video Sends Soko to No. 1 Debut On Streaming Songs, Top 10 Start On Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rock Streaming Songs : Mar 29, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  5. ↑ Trust, Gary (30 March 2014). "Ask Billboard: Lady Gaga's Biggest Hot 100 Hits". Billboard. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Hot Rock Songs : Mar 29, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Rock Digital Songs : Mar 29, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Austriancharts.at – Soko – We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Ultratop.be – Soko – We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Hot Canadian Digital Songs : Mar 29, 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  11. 1 2 "Swisscharts.com – Soko – We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Archive Chart: 2014-03-22" UK Indie Chart. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "Soko, "We Might Be Dead by Tomorrow"". NBC. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  14. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Soko – We Might Be Dead By Tomorrow" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  15. ↑ "CHART: CLUK Update 22.03.2014 (wk11)". zobbel.de. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  16. ↑ "Soko – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Soko. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  17. ↑ "Soko – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Soko. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  18. ↑ "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
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