You Should Be Sad

"You Should Be Sad" (stylized in sentence case)[1][2] is a song recorded by American singer Halsey. It was released on January 10, 2020 through Capitol Records as the third single from her third studio album, Manic (2020).[3][4][5] Halsey wrote the song with its producer Greg Kurstin. "You Should Be Sad" is a country-tinged ballad that features lyrics about a breakup and an unfaithful ex-lover.

"You Should Be Sad"
Single by Halsey
from the album Manic
Released	January 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
Genre	Country pop
Length	3:25
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Ashley Frangipane Greg Kurstin
Producer(s)	Greg Kurstin
Halsey singles chronology
"Graveyard" (2019) "You Should Be Sad" (2020) "The Other Girl" (2020)
Music video
"You Should Be Sad" on YouTube

Upon its release, the song was met with critical acclaim, with many critics praising its lyrics. In the US, the song peaked at number twenty six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the album's second highest charting single on the Hot 100. It entered the top ten in Australia, Belgium and Ireland, while reaching the top 20 in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Scotland, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

The music video for "You Should Be Sad" was directed by Colin Tilley. Premiering on January 10, 2020, the video depicts Halsey going to "an underground country western nightclub, where a lot of beautiful people are line-dancin". The video was met with mixed reviews.

Background

Halsey revealed that she wrote the song in her living room floor, as well in Nashville, and stated that "the most petty and heartbreaking songs all come from country".[6] When talking about the inspiration for the outfits, Halsey confirmed a number of artists, writing, "Xtina, Gaga, Carrie, and of course Shania, this was one loaded with nods to badass idols of mine. Had the vision to do a 'Before He Cheats' but instead about after he does haha".[7]

Composition

Musically, "You Should Be Sad" is a three minutes and twenty-five seconds acoustic-driven country-tinged ballad.[8][9] In terms of music notation, "You Should Be Sad" was composed using ⁴
₄ common time in the key of B minor, with a tempo of 120 beats per minute.[10] The song follows the chord progression of Bm-G-D-F#m/D-G-D-A.[10] Halsey's vocal range spans from the low note A3 to the high note of E5, giving the song two octaves and four notes of range.[10]

Lyrically, "You Should Be Sad" is a breakup song about an unfaithful ex-lover.[11]

Critical reception

Tom Breihan from Stereogum described the song as a "big, pissed-off ballad directed at an ex", while speculating G-Eazy as the subject of the track.[12] Writing for Vulture, Bethy Squires called the song a "devastating song to do for karaoke in front of an ex".[13] Kaitlin Reilly of Refinery29 wrote that the track was a "country breakup song" that lyrically "holds nothing back, guaranteeing the song a place on every post-breakup playlist".[14] Micheal Love Michael from Paper Magazine praised Halsey for being "brave enough to write about it in public", and felt that the lyrics were about "a toxic lover that [Halsey] escaped from".[15] Aidan Cullen from Billboard wrote about how the song plays on "country-western motifs to bring rootsy weight to Halsey's verbal revenge". Cullen continued with the Tiësto remix of the song, and wrote that the remix "turns up [her] twang with an ampilified bpm and a big-room blast of a hook" and called the remix a "great warm-up" to Halsey's Manic Tour.[16]

Commercial performance

The song peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top 20 on the record charts of several countries, including Australia, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, and Scotland. On the first week of the song's release, the song was played 1,692 times on the Mediabase pop radio. On the week of January 19, 2020, the song was played 4,691 times, reaching number 18 on the Mediabase pop chart.[17] With 997,990 daily streams in the US, the song reached number 10 on the US Spotify Streaming Chart on January 21, 2020.[18]

Music video

A music video for the song was released alongside the track on January 10, 2020. The video was directed by Colin Tilley. The video depicts Halsey going to "an underground country western nightclub, where a lot of beautiful people are line-dancin". The video makes references to several artists such as Lady Gaga, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood and Christina Aguilera.[19]

Critical reception

Upon release, the video received mixed reviews. Tom Breiham of Stereogum called the video "completely ridiculous" though he praised the homage to Shania Twain's "That Don't Impress Me Much".[20] Stephen Daw of Billboard was more positive in his review, praising the pop culture references to Twain and Lady Gaga's American Horror Story: Hotel character, The Countess.[21] In an interview with Billboard on the red carpet of the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, Shania Twain commented on the styles that "channels some of Twain’s iconic fashion looks", stating that it made her "warm and fuzzy" and felt "flattered", in addition to being "excited to know that [she was] on the minds of the young artists coming up who appreciated what [she] was doing at the time".[22]

Track listing

Digital download and streaming

No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Should Be Sad"	3:25

Digital download and streaming – Tiësto remix[23]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Should Be Sad" (Tiësto remix)	2:25

Digital download and streaming – Remixes[24]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Should Be Sad" (Mike Mago Remix)	3:26
2.	"You Should Be Sad" (Tiësto Remix)	2:25

Digital download and streaming – Acoustic

No.	Title	Length
1.	"You Should Be Sad" (Acoustic)	3:18

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[25]	4
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[26]	17
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[27]	24
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[28]	2
Bolivia (Monitor Latino)[29]	9
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[30]	21
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[31]	9
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[32]	18
Denmark (Tracklisten)[33]	38
France (SNEP)[34]	133
Germany (Official German Charts)[35]	43
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[36]	11
Ireland (IRMA)[37]	5
Italy (FIMI)[38]	83
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[39]	44
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[40]	50
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[41]	23
Norway (VG-lista)[42]	36
Portugal (AFP)[43]	57
Romania (Airplay 100)[44]	58
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[45]	14
Singapore (RIAS)[46]	18
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[47]	67
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[48]	27
Slovenia (SloTop50)[49]	17
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[50]	44
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[51]	32
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[52]	12
Ukraine Airplay (Tophit)[53]	49
US Billboard Hot 100[54]	26
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[55]	16
US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)[56]	32
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[57]	13
US Rolling Stone Top 100[58]	15

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[59]	Platinum	70,000
Canada (Music Canada)[60]	Platinum	80,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[61]	Gold	15,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[62]	Gold	400,000
United States (RIAA)[63]	Platinum	1,000,000
^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Version	Ref.
Various	January 10, 2020	Digital download streaming	Capitol	Original	[64]
Australia		Contemporary hit radio			[65]
United States	January 14, 2020				[66]
Italy	January 17, 2020		Universal		[67]
United Kingdom	January 24, 2020		Capitol		[68]
Various	February 14, 2020	Digital download streaming		Tiësto remix	[23]
Italy		Contemporary hit radio	Universal		[69]

References

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2. "Halsey - You should be sad". Retrieved 2020-01-10 – via YouTube.
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4. "Halsey Shares Video for New Track "You Should Be Sad"". Complex. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
5. Cantor, Brian. "Halsey's "You should be sad" Closed Day One With 360 Pop Radio Spins". Headline Planet. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
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