"The Perfect Pair" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Beabadoobee | ||||
from the album Beatopia | ||||
Released | 26 September 2022 [1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:58 | |||
Label | Dirty Hit | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Beabadoobee singles chronology | ||||
|
"The Perfect Pair" is a song by Filipino-British singer Beabadoobee. It was written by Jacob Bugden and Beabadoobee, and became available as the fifth track from her second studio album Beatopia (2022) on 15 July 2022. It was later sent to adult alternative radio on 26 September 2022 as a single by Dirty Hit. Sonically, "The Perfect Pair" is a bossa nova song backed by '90s-style guitar pop. The lyrics detail two lovers' romantic distrust and uncertainty at the end of a relationship.
"The Perfect Pair" was sent to adult alternative radio on 26 September 2022. [2] The song is 2 minutes and 58 seconds at a tempo of 146 BPM. [3] The song went semi-viral on the video sharing platform TikTok upon its release. [4]
The song was described by The Line of Best Fit as a swingy guitar and bossa nova song that addresses romantic distrust and uncertainty. [5]
Pitchfork's Arielle Gordon described the song as "shimmying bossa nova" and compared it to the likes of Corinne Bailey Rae. [6] Steffanie Wang of Nylon described it as "at once familiar and a sonic mesh of new ideas". [7]
Beabadoobee performed the album version of the song at a Tiny Desk Concert on 29 November 2022. [8]
Beabadoobee performed an acoustic rendition of the song on the The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 5 December 2022. [9] Wearing an oversized coat, short skirt, and knee-high white boots, she was accompanied by guitarists, violinists, cellists, and drummers. [10] The performance was met with positive reception. [10] [11] [12] Alex Gonzales of Uproxx noted her vocals as "soft and silky", [11] and Hypebeast's Sarah Kearns said she "delivered the soft lyrics with effortless, breathy ease". [12]
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Beatopia. [13]
Chart (2024) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Indie (OCC) [14] | 29 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [15] | 19 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [16] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [17] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Bossa nova is a relaxed style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a calm syncopated rhythm with chords and fingerstyle mimicking the beat of a samba groove, as if it was a simplification and stylization on the guitar of the rhythm produced by a samba school band. Another defining characteristic of the style is the use of unconventional chords in some cases with complex progressions and "ambiguous" harmonies. A common misconception is that these complex chords and harmonies were derived from jazz, but samba guitar players have been using similar arrangement structures since the early 1920s, indicating a case of parallel evolution of styles rather than a simple transference from jazz to bossa nova. Nevertheless, bossa nova was influenced by jazz, both in the harmonies used and also by the instrumentation of songs, and today many bossa nova songs are considered jazz standards. The popularity of bossa nova has helped to renew samba and contributed to the modernization of Brazilian music in general.
Michael Andrew Sembello is an American singer, guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Luciana Souza is a Brazilian jazz singer and composer who also works in bossa nova, pop, classical and chamber music. She won a Grammy Award in 2007, and has been nominated for seven others, most recently in 2024. Souza is considered to be one of jazz's leading singers and interpreters. The New York Times called her voice "smooth-surfaced, coolly sensuous and dartingly agile."
"Waters of March" is a Brazilian song composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim (1927–1994) in 1972. Jobim wrote both the Portuguese and English lyrics. The lyrics, originally written in Portuguese, do not tell a story, but rather present a series of images that form a collage; nearly every line starts with "É...". In 2001, "Águas de março" was named as the all-time best Brazilian song in a poll of more than 200 Brazilian journalists, musicians and other artists conducted by Brazil's leading daily newspaper, Folha de S.Paulo. It was also voted by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone as the second greatest Brazilian song.
Marcos Kostenbader Valle is a Brazilian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has produced works in many musical styles, including bossa nova, samba, and fusions of rock, soul, jazz, and dance music with Brazilian styles. Valle is credited for popularizing bossa nova in the 1960s.
The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 2006. The band consists of Brian Fallon, Alex Rosamilia, Alex Levine, and Benny Horowitz.
Astrud Gilberto was a Brazilian samba and bossa nova singer and songwriter. She gained international attention in the mid-1960s following her recording of the song "The Girl from Ipanema".
"Walkin" is a song by American rapper Denzel Curry, released on January 24, 2022 as the lead single from his fifth studio album Melt My Eyez See Your Future (2022). It was produced by Kal Banx.
"Perfect Places" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. It was released on 1 June 2017 through Universal Music New Zealand as the second single, following "Green Light" (2017), from her second album, Melodrama (2017). Lorde co-wrote and co-produced the song with Jack Antonoff and Andrew Wyatt, with additional production from Frank Dukes. "Perfect Places" was described as an atmospheric electropop song that blends bass, synths and drum machine beats. In the lyrics, Lorde follows the conclusion of the "teenage party circuit" in Melodrama, wondering where her perfect places are.
"New Year's Day" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her sixth studio album, Reputation (2017). Swift wrote and produced the song with Jack Antonoff. "New Year's Day" is an acoustic ballad with a sparse arrangement incorporating recurring piano riffs and subdued guitar and synth notes. In the lyrics, the narrator spends the morning after a New Year's Eve party with a lover, and they together clean up their shared house and care for each other. Swift performed "New Year's Day" live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on November 13, 2017, and Big Machine Records released the song to US country radio as a single on November 27, 2017.
Claire Elizabeth Cottrill, known professionally as Clairo, is an American singer-songwriter born in Georgia and raised in Massachusetts. She began posting music on the internet at age 13.
Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus, known professionally as Beabadoobee, is a Filipino-British singer-songwriter, and guitarist. From 2018 to 2021, she released five extended plays (EPs) under the independent label Dirty Hit: Lice (2018), Patched Up (2018), Loveworm (2019), Space Cadet (2019) and Our Extended Play (2021). Her debut studio album Fake It Flowers was released in October 2020, and received critical acclaim. Her second studio album, Beatopia, was released on 15 July 2022, which spawned the hit "The Perfect Pair". Her third studio album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, was released on 9 August 2024; it became her first album to peak atop the UK Albums Chart.
Fake It Flowers is the debut studio album by Filipino-English singer and songwriter Beabadoobee. It was released under English independent label Dirty Hit on 16 October 2020. Continuing the departure from her previous lo-fi bedroom pop sound initiated on Space Cadet, Fake It Flowers is a more guitar-driven album which recalls "'90s slacker rock" and alternative rock. Beabadoobee announced the release of the album in mid-July 2020 and supported it with the singles "Care", "Sorry", "Worth It", "How Was Your Day?" and "Together". She embarked on a headlining tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland to support the album in 2021.
"Happier Than Ever" is a song by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish from her 2021 second studio album of the same name. It was released as the album's sixth single on July 30, 2021, through Darkroom and Interscope Records. A pop-punk and emo song, it is about Eilish's anger towards a former partner due to a toxic relationship. It opens with soft vocals backed by classical and bass guitars before it transitions into a more distorted sound. She wrote the song with its producer, Finneas O'Connell, after completing the American leg of her When We All Fall Asleep Tour (2019).
Happier Than Ever is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, released by Darkroom and Interscope Records on July 30, 2021. Eilish co-wrote the album with her brother and frequent collaborator Finneas O'Connell, who also produced the album and played every instrument. Eilish cited self-reflection during the COVID-19 pandemic as the biggest inspiration for the record.
"Avalanche" is a song by American hip hop group Migos, released on June 10, 2021 as a promotional single from their fourth studio album Culture III, which was released a day later. It was produced by DJ Durel and Quavo.
Beatopia is the second studio album by Filipino-English singer and songwriter Beabadoobee. It was released on English independent label Dirty Hit on 15 July 2022. It features collaborations with singer PinkPantheress, Matty Healy and George Daniel of the 1975, Cavetown, and Jack Steadman of Bombay Bicycle Club.
"Skin of My Teeth" is a song by American singer Demi Lovato from her eighth studio album, Holy Fvck (2022). It was released by Island Records on June 10, 2022, as the album's lead single. She co-wrote the song with Oak Felder, Alex Niceforo, Keith "Ten4" Sorrells, Laura Veltz, and Lil Aaron, while the former three handled its production. "Skin of My Teeth" is a rock, pop-punk, and grunge track, led by electric guitars and drums. Lyrically, it deals with society's criticisms about addictions and drug rehabilitation, as well as Lovato's own struggles. Its title references the biblical phrase of the same name.
"Glue Song" is a song by the Filipino-British singer Beabadoobee. The chamber pop ballad was produced by Jacob Bugden and Iain Berryman and released on 14 February 2023, through Dirty Hit.
This Is How Tomorrow Moves is the third studio album by the Filipino-English singer and songwriter Beabadoobee. It was released by English independent label Dirty Hit on 9 August 2024. It features the singles "Take a Bite", "Coming Home", "Ever Seen", and "Beaches". The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making it her first to do so.