Shotgun (George Ezra song)

"Shotgun"
Single by George Ezra
from the album Staying at Tamara's
Released	18 May 2018
Genre	Pop rock [1]
Length	3:26
Label	Columbia Sony
Songwriters	George Ezra Joel Pott Fred Gibson
Producer	Cam Blackwood
George Ezra singles chronology
"Paradise" (2018) "Shotgun" (2018) "Hold My Girl" (2018)

"Shotgun" is a song by British singer-songwriter George Ezra. The song was written by Ezra, Fred Gibson and Joel Pott and produced by Cam Blackwood. It was released as a digital download on 18 May 2018, as the third single from Ezra's second studio album, Staying at Tamara's . ^{[2] [3] [4]} The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Ezra's first number-one song in the United Kingdom and was certified septuple platinum there. In addition, it topped the ARIA Singles Chart in Australia, also becoming Ezra's first number-one there, as well as the Irish Singles Chart and New Zealand Singles Chart.

Composition

"Shotgun" is originally in the key of F major, with a tempo of 116 beats per minute and a chord progression of F–B♭–Dm–C. ^[5]

In 2019, it was revealed that Irish country music singer Derek Ryan will be awarded royalties (of seven and a half per cent) for the song due to its similarity to the chorus of Ryan's song Flowers In Your Hair released in 2014. ^[6]

Critical reception

In a review for NME , Rhian Daly described the song as "anthemic" with a "balmy sound". ^[7] Tom Ewing of Freaky Trigger named it "a song about summer travel which sounds, like all [of Ezra's] songs, exactly like it was first written on a borrowed acoustic in a rented villa on the Adriatic. You play the role of a fellow guest trying to sleep." ^[8]

Music video

A lyric video, which has Ezra performing the song in multiple locations, was first released on YouTube on 18 May 2018 and has over 300 million views as of March 2022. ^[9] The official music video was also released on YouTube on 14 June 2018 and has over 70 million views as of March 2022. ^[10]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2018–19) Peak position Australia (ARIA) [11] 1 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [12] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [13] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) [14] 3 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [15] 71 Canada AC ( Billboard ) [16] 34 Canada Hot AC ( Billboard ) [17] 35 Croatia Airplay (HRT) [18] 3 Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100) [19] 1 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100) [20] 22 Denmark (Tracklisten) [21] 2 France (SNEP) [22] 30 Germany (GfK) [23] 12 Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40) [24] 16 Ireland (IRMA) [25] 1 Israel (Media Forest) [26] 3 Italy (FIMI) [27] 96 Luxembourg Digital Songs ( Billboard ) [28] 3 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [29] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [30] 3 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [31] 1 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) [32] 2 Scotland Singles (OCC) [33] 1 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100) [34] 6 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100) [35] 50 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) [36] 98 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [37] 4 UK Singles (OCC) [38] 1 US Adult Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [39] 15 US Dance Club Songs ( Billboard ) [40] 5 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [41] 7 US Pop Airplay ( Billboard ) [42] 35

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position Australia (ARIA) [43] 9 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [44] 18 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) [45] 8 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) [46] 24 Denmark (Tracklisten) [47] 29 Germany (Official German Charts) [48] 66 Iceland (Tónlistinn) [49] 79 Ireland (IRMA) [50] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [51] 3 Netherlands (Single Top 100) [52] 22 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [53] 37 Poland (ZPAV) [54] 16 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [55] 34 UK Singles (OCC) [56] 3 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) [57] 39 Chart (2019) Position Australia (ARIA) [58] 22 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) [59] 42 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) [60] 84 Denmark (Tracklisten) [61] 50 France (SNEP) [62] 177 Iceland (Tónlistinn) [63] 96 Ireland (IRMA) [64] 24 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [65] 16 Poland (ZPAV) [66] 94 UK Singles (OCC) [67] 12 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) [68] 13 Chart (2020) Position Australia (ARIA) [69] 100 UK Singles (OCC) [70] 52 Chart (2021) Position UK Singles (OCC) [71] 94 Chart (2022) Position UK Singles (OCC) [72] 82 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position Australia (ARIA) [73] 75 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) [74] 15

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [75]	13× Platinum	910,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria) [76]	2× Platinum	60,000‡
Belgium (BRMA) [77]	Platinum	40,000‡
Canada (Music Canada) [78]	2× Platinum	160,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [79]	3× Platinum	270,000‡
France (SNEP) [80]	Diamond	333,333‡
Germany (BVMI) [81]	Platinum	400,000‡
Italy (FIMI) [82]	Platinum	50,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON) [83]	Gold	30,000‡
Netherlands (NVPI) [84]	Platinum	80,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ) [85]	3× Platinum	90,000‡
Poland (ZPAV) [86]	3× Platinum	60,000‡
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [87]	2× Platinum	40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI) [88]	8× Platinum	4,800,000‡
United States (RIAA) [89]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United States	13 August 2018	Hot adult contemporary	Columbia	[90]
	22 January 2019	Contemporary hit radio		[91]

See also

• List of best-selling singles in Australia

References

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