Something I Need

"Something I Need" is a song recorded by American pop rock band OneRepublic. It was released on August 25, 2013, through Mosley Music and Interscope Records as the third single from their third studio album, Native (2013). The song was written and produced by Ryan Tedder and Benny Blanco. It peaked at number six in Australia, where it has been certified 3× Platinum, and number four in New Zealand, where it has been certified Gold.

"Something I Need"
Single by OneRepublic
from the album Native
Released	August 25, 2013
Recorded	2012
Length	4:01
Label	Mosley Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Ryan Tedder Benny Blanco
Producer(s)	Ryan Tedder Benny Blanco
OneRepublic singles chronology
"Counting Stars" (2013) "Something I Need" (2013) "Love Runs Out" (2014)

Background

On August 23, 2013, in a response to a question from an Australian fan on Twitter, OneRepublic revealed that "Something I Need" would be the next single released from Native.^[1] The track debuted on Australian radio on August 25 and premiered on U.S. radio in mid-September.

Chart performance

The song peaked at number six in Australia,^[2] where it has been certified 3× Platinum for sales of over 210,000.^[2] In New Zealand, it charted at number four^[3] and has been certified Gold after selling 7,500 copies.^[4] The song has also charted at number one in Poland, number five in Austria, number 72 in Germany and number 21 in Switzerland.

Music video

The official music video was filmed in September 2013 and was directed by Cameron Duddy. Speaking about the video via their Twitter page, OneRepublic said: "The video for 'Something I Need' will hands down be the craziest video we've done. And funniest. And hopefully best. Time for a risk."^[5] The music video was released on October 7, 2013. In the video, a man is repeatedly attacked by a dog in slow motion, preventing him from asking his crush out.^[6]

Credits and personnel

Recording^[7]

• Recorded at Black Rock Studio, Santorini, Greece
• Additional recordings at Lotzah Matzah Studios, New York City, New York; Patriot Studios, Denver, Colorado; Downtown Studios, New York City, New York, and Audiophile Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Mixed at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York

Personnel^[7]

• Ryan Tedder – songwriter, producer, instrumentation, programming, engineer
• Benny Blanco – songwriter, producer, instrumentation, programming, backing vocals
• Serban Ghenea – mixer
• John Hanes – engineered for mix
• Phil Seaford – assistant engineered for mix
• Smith Carlson – engineer
• Chris Sclafani – engineer, backing vocals
• Scott "Yarmov" Yarmovsky – assistant engineer, backing vocals
• OneRepublic – backing vocals
• Danielle Edinburgh Wilson – backing vocals
• Margaret-Anne Davis – backing vocals
• Toni Skidmore – backing vocals
• Jermon Wilson – backing vocals
• Ryan's friends and family after a night of drinking – backing vocals (legend)
• Chris Gehringer – mastering
• Will Quinnell – mastering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2013–14) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[2] 6 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 5 Germany (GfK)[9] 74 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[3] 4 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[10] 1 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 21 UK Singles (OCC)[12] 78

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position Australia (ARIA)[13] 37 Chart (2014) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14] 60 Poland (ZPAV)[15] 49 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[16] 5× Platinum 350,000‡ New Zealand (RMNZ)[17] Platinum 15,000* * Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Ben Haenow version

"Something I Need"
Single by Ben Haenow
from the album Ben Haenow
Released	December 14, 2014
Recorded	2014; Sarm West Studios (London, England)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	3:46
Label	Syco
Songwriter(s)	Ryan Tedder Benny Blanco
Producer(s)	John Ryan
Ben Haenow singles chronology
"Something I Need" (2014) "Second Hand Heart" (2015)
Music video
"Something I Need" on YouTube

In December 2014, Ben Haenow, winner of the eleventh series of The X Factor, released a cover version of "Something I Need" as his winner's single after he won. The song was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom on December 14, with a physical equivalent being released three days later. "Something I Need" was produced by American recording artist John Ryan, who has previously worked with One Direction.^[18] All proceeds from the single will go to the children's charity organisation Together for Short Lives.^[19]

The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, making it the Christmas number one.^[19] It was the final X-Factor winner's single to reach number one.

Background

On December 12, 2014, the winner's singles for each of the three finalists of eleventh series of The X Factor were revealed. Haenow and Fleur East would record "Something I Need", whilst Andrea Faustini would record Whitney Houston's "I Didn't Know My Own Strength".^[20] On December 14, Haenow and eventual runner-up East both performed the song live on The X Factor final.^[21]

This version of the song substitutes the words "die" and "killing" in the pre-chorus and chorus in favor of the words "here", "live" and "loving", presumably to make it more palatable for The X Factor audience, particularly younger viewers.

Live performances

Haenow performed "Something I Need" on The X Factor live final results show, just after being announced as the winner. He also sang it on Text Santa on December 19.^{[citation needed]}

On January 21, 2015, Haenow performed the song at the 20th National Television Awards.^[22]

Chart performance

The song debuted at number two in the Republic of Ireland, beaten to the top spot by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk" (which ironically received an early release because it was performed on The X Factor by eventual runner-up Fleur East).^[23] It became the first X Factor winner's single to miss the number one spot in Ireland since Steve Brookstein's "Against All Odds" in 2004. In the UK, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the 2014 Christmas number one.^[24] The song sold 214,239 copies in its first week, becoming the second-fastest selling single of 2014 (behind Band Aid 30's "Do They Know It's Christmas?").^[25] It was also the year's 58th best-selling song.^[26] ("Uptown Funk" would finish at number two on Christmas 2014, and at the same time would become the final number one song of 2014 and first of 2015 in Australia, Canada and the United States in addition to Ireland).

Track listing

Digital download^[27]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Something I Need"	Ryan Tedder Benny Blanco	John Ryan	3:46

CD single^[28]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Something I Need"	Tedder Blanco	Ryan	3:46
2.	"Jealous Guy" (Live The X Factor Performance)	John Lennon Yoko Ono Phil Spector	Julian Bunetta	2:11
3.	"Highway to Hell" (Live The X Factor Performance)	Bon Scott Angus Young Malcolm Young	Bunetta	2:10
4.	"Man in the Mirror" (Live The X Factor Performance)	Siedah Garrett Glen Ballard	Bunetta	2:11

Credits and personnel

• Ben Haenow – lead vocals, backing vocals
• Ryan Tedder – songwriting
• Benny Blanco – songwriting
• John Ryan – guitar, keyboards, producer, programming, backing vocals
• DIVA Singers – choir
• Ash Howes – mixer
• Matt Brind – strings arrangement
• Mat Bartram – recording
• Ronan Phelan – assistant engineer
• Isobel Griffiths – contractor
• Dick Beetham – mastering

Credits adapted from CD single.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position Euro Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[29] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[30] 2 Scotland (OCC)[31] 1 South Africa (EMA)[32] 3 UK Singles (OCC)[12] 1 Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[26] 58

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Platinum 507,000[34] * Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United Kingdom[27]	December 14, 2014	Digital download	Syco
Ireland[35]
United Kingdom[36]	December 17, 2014	CD single

References

1. OneRepublic [@OneRepublic] (August 23, 2013). ""@PCarlos22: @OneRepublic something I need #38 iTunes in Australia! Next single??" YES, next single and DAMN can't believe 38 already!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. "OneRepublic – Something I Need". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
3. "OneRepublic – Something I Need". Top 40 Singles.
4. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. November 11, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
5. OneRepublic [@OneRepublic] (September 7, 2013). "The video for Something I Need will hands down be the craziest video we've done. And funniest. And hopefully best. Time for a risk" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. "OneRepublic - Something I Need". YouTube. October 7, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
7. Native (CD booklet). OneRepublic. United States: Mosley Music Group, Interscope Records. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. "OneRepublic – Something I Need" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
9. "OneRepublic – Something I Need" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
10. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100.
11. "OneRepublic – Something I Need". Swiss Singles Chart.
12. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
13. "2013 Annual ARIA Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
14. "Jahreshitparade Singles 2014". austriancharts.at. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
15. "Utwory, których słuchaliśmy w radiu – Airplay 2014" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
16. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
17. "New Zealand single certifications – OneRepublic – Something I Need". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
18. "X Factor winner Ben Haenow releases winner's single, Something I Need". 4Music. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014.
19. Campbell, Tina (December 21, 2014). "X Factor winner Ben Haenow claims Christmas 2014 number one single". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
20. Baillie, Katie (December 12, 2014). "Winner's singles revealed: X Factor's Fleur East, Andrea Faustini and Ben Haenow share their song choices". Metro. DMG Media. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
21. Mohan, Isabel (December 14, 2014). "X Factor 2014 final: Ben Haenow beats Fleur East". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
22. "National Television Awards 2015: Nominations in full as Mary Berry battles Simon Cowell". The Independent. January 21, 2015.
23. "X Factor winner Ben Haenow denied Irish No 1 spot". RTE.ie. December 19, 2014.
24. "X Factor's Ben Haenow crowned 2014 Official Christmas Number 1". Official Charts Company.
25. Jones, Alan (December 22, 2014). "Official Charts Analysis: X Factor's Ben Haenow lands the Christmas No.1". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
26. Copsey, Rob (December 31, 2014). "The Official Top 100 Biggest Songs of 2014 revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
27. "Something I Need - Single by Ben Haenow". iTunes (GB). December 16, 2014.
28. "Something I Need by Ben Haenow: Amazon.co.uk: Music". Amazon.co.uk.
29. "Ben Haenow Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
30. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Something I Need". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
31. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
32. "EMA Top 10 Airplay: Week Ending 2015-03-24". Entertainment Monitoring Africa. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
33. "British single certifications – Ben Haenow – Something I Need". British Phonographic Industry.
34. Justin, Myers (August 23, 2016). "The winner takes it all? The biggest selling X Factor winner's singles revealed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
35. "iTunes - Music - Something I Need - Single by Ben Haenow". iTunes (IE). December 16, 2014.
36. "Something I Need". amazon.co.uk.