Seventeen Going Under (song)

Last updated

"Seventeen Going Under"
Seventeen Going Under single.jpg
Single by Sam Fender
from the album Seventeen Going Under
Released7 July 2021 (2021-07-07)
Recorded North Shields
Genre
Length
  • 5:02 (original)
  • 4:57 (explicit)
  • 3:57 (radio edit)
Label Polydor
Songwriter(s) Sam Fender
Producer(s) Bramwell Bronte
Sam Fender singles chronology
"Winter Song"
(2020)		"Seventeen Going Under"
(2021)		"Get You Down"
(2021)
Music video
"Seventeen Going Under" on YouTube

"Seventeen Going Under" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sam Fender. It was released on 7 July 2021 as the lead single from his second studio album of the same name. [2] The song was written by Fender, and produced by Bramwell Bronte. It was a sleeper hit, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart on 7 January 2022, becoming Fender's highest-charting career single to date. [3]

Contents

"Seventeen Going Under" was named Hottest Record of the Year 2021 by BBC Radio 1 listeners [4] [5] and was voted number sixteen by Australian radio Triple J listeners on the Triple J Hottest 100 chart. [6] It was also voted number one by more than 14,000 Radio X listeners for the Best of British 2022. [7] In May 2022, the song won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. [8] It received the 2022 Rolling Stone UK Award for Song of the Year Award. [1]

Background and release

The song chronicles Fender's life at 17 when his mother, Shirley was afflicted with fibromyalgia and depressed because she could no longer work after 40 years of service as a nurse. [9] She had become the owner of her apartment at 19 and had never missed a workday. Nevertheless, the Department for Work and Pensions began harassing her with letters and treating her unjustly. Fender was trying to help his mother financially but could not due to his young age. Fender recalled: "That's when my rose-tinted glasses fell off." [10] He told Rolling Stone that it is "a letter to [his] 17 year old self", explaining: "17 is when all the challenges begin: you're not a baby, but you're definitely not an adult, I'm not even sure it'll happen at all for you, but growing up is for fools and the near dead, so stop being so serious all the time". [11]

On 7 July 2021, Fender shared the song and announced it would be the title song from his forthcoming album. [11] It also went viral on TikTok, with users utilising the song to "convey their personal tales of abuse and mistreatment". About the phenomenon, Fender stated to Radio X: "I'm honoured that Seventeen's kind of resonated with people in that way. It's a very special moment for me as a songwriter". [12]

Critical reception

Rolling Stone called the song a "five minutes of glorious, life-affirming rock and roll". [10] Retro Gazing commented that the song "feels nostalgic and melancholic", and stated It's "a song that so many people can relate to, regardless of what age they're in, though possibly especially for those who have finally had the chance to clearly see their youth in a new, possibly more realistic and understanding, light". [13] Georgie Holland and Scott Colothan of Absolute Radio described "Seventeen Going Under" as an "emphatic, soaring guitar song that collates the struggles of unemployed life, but also the daftness of age where you otherwise have little to fear and the world at your feet." [14] In Tribune magazine, Alex Niven called the song "a triumphant memento vivere for dark times" and commended Fender for "produc[ing] a towering monument to a decade of social injustice and building youthful radicalism which the political mainstream seems determined to try to whitewash." [15]

Rankings

Critical rankings for "Seventeen Going Under"
PublicationAccoladeRankRef.
NME The 50 best songs of 20214 [16]

Track listing

7" vinyl [17]
No.TitleLength
1."Seventeen Going Under"5:03
2."Howdon Aldi Death Queue"1:57
Digital download and streaming [18]
No.TitleLength
1."Seventeen Going Under"5:03
2."Seventeen Going Under" (Edit)3:57
3."Howdon Aldi Death Queue"1:57
Digital download and streaming – explicit [19]
No.TitleLength
1."Seventeen Going Under" (Explicit)4:57
Digital download and streaming – acoustic [20]
No.TitleLength
1."Seventeen Going Under" (Acoustic)5:11

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic. [21]

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Seventeen Going Under"
Chart (2021–2022)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [22] 69
Canada Rock ( Billboard ) [23] 43
Euro Digital Song Sales ( Billboard ) [24] 14
Ireland (IRMA) [25] 4
Netherlands Single Tip (MegaCharts) [26] 1
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) [27] 13
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [28] 96
Switzerland Airplay (Schweizer Hitparade) [29] 79
UK Singles (OCC) [30] 3
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [31] 24
US Rock Airplay ( Billboard ) [32] 27

Year-end charts

2022 year-end chart performance for "Seventeen Going Under"
Chart (2022)Position
UK Singles (OCC) [33] 10
US Adult Alternative Airplay Songs (Billboard) [34] 36
US Alternative Airplay Songs (Billboard) [35] 49
2023 year-end chart performance for "Seventeen Going Under"
Chart (2023)Position
UK Singles (OCC) [36] 63

Certifications

Certifications for "Seventeen Going Under"
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [37] 3× Platinum1,800,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for "Seventeen Going Under"
RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
Various7 July 2021 Polydor [38]
United States31 January 2022 Triple A radio
[39]
1 February 2022 Alternative radio [40]

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References

  1. 1 2 Catchpole, Chris (10 November 2022). "The Rolling Stone UK Awards 2022 winners in full". Rolling Stone. UK. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  2. ↑ Armstrong, Sam (7 July 2021). "Sam Fender Details New Album 'Seventeen Going Under'". Udiscovermusic. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
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  4. ↑ "Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under wins Radio 1s Hottest Record of the Year 2021" . Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sam Fender's 'Seventeen Going Under' wins Radio 1's Hottest Record of the Year 2021". Music News. 16 December 2021. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  6. ↑ "And The Winner Of The Hottest 100 Is..." Junkee . 22 January 2022. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under named Radio X Best Of British with Greggs". Radio X . 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Daly, Rhian (19 May 2022). "Sam Fender, Dave, Little Simz and more win at The Ivors 2022". NME. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  9. ↑ Lanham, Tom (15 October 2021). "Sam Fender on Seventeen Going Under and Making Sense of It All". Interview. Paste . Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  10. 1 2 Catchpole, Chris (2021). "Talk of the Tyne: Sam Fender on the personal story behind his stunning second album". Rolling Stone. UK. Archived from the original on 5 February 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  11. 1 2 Jenke, Tyler (12 July 2021). "Song You Need to Know: Sam Fender, 'Seventeen Going Under'". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  12. ↑ Mensah, Jenny (19 November 2021). "The heartbreaking story of Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under TikTok success". Radio X . Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  13. ↑ Team, Retro Gazing (10 November 2021). "Song of the Moment: "Seventeen Going Under" by Sam Fender". Retro Gazing. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  14. ↑ Georgie Holland and Scott Colothan (2 October 2021). "Sam Fender's second album: Everything we know about 'Seventeen Going Under'". Absolute Radio . Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  15. ↑ Niven, Alex (27 November 2021). "How Sam Fender Became the Voice of the North". Tribune. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  16. ↑ Kemp, Ella (7 December 2021). "The 50 best songs of 2021". NME . Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "Seventeen Going Under - Sam Fender" . Retrieved 23 April 2022– via Discogs.
  18. ↑ "Seventeen Going Under - Sam Fender" . Retrieved 25 November 2021– via Spotify.
  19. ↑ "Seventeen Going Under [Explicit] – Sam Fender" . Retrieved 25 November 2021– via Amazon.
  20. ↑ "Seventeen Going Under (Acoustic) - Single by Sam Fender". 3 September 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021– via Apple Music.
  21. ↑ "Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under / Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  22. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 22 November 2021". The ARIA Report. No. 1655. Australian Recording Industry Association. 22 November 2021. p. 4.
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  24. ↑ "Sam Fender Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
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  32. ↑ "Sam Fender Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
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  39. ↑ "Triple A Radio Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  40. ↑ "Alternative Radio Future Releases". All Access. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
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