Show Me What I'm Looking For
Encyclopedia
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" is a song by Swedish
-American
rock band Carolina Liar
. The song was a hit in 2009, particularly in Ireland
where it rose up the Irish Singles Chart
to number six The song was also a radio hit on several stations in the United Kingdom
and the United States
. It peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100
in the United States as well. It also reached number 40 on the same country's Hot Modern Tracks Chart. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). It also had a lengthy run on the top 20 video countdown of cable television
network VH1
. The song was written by lead singer Chad Wolf with Tobias Karlsson, and it was produced by Max Martin
and Tobias Karlsson.
, Xfm
, 95.8 Capital FM and Absolute Radio. It was released in the United Kingdom on 1 June 2009.
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" is said to have changed the band members' lives forever. According to vocalist Chad Wolf, the song was written in only twenty minutes, and the vocals used on the final track were his first attempt; recorded in a bedroom. "We tried...a couple of different studios to beat the vocals, but we just couldn't," Wolf explained. Hot Press
called the song "a choon and a half" after witnessing it performed live at The Academy
, Dublin, in August 2009. During live performances Wolf conducts the audience during the "Save Me/I'm lost" chorus.
, The Hills
, 90210
and Gossip Girl
. When it featured on The Hills, iTunes
recorded a boost in sales for the song of more than 3,000 units the following week.
The song's use in the The CW Television Network
series The Beautiful Life was described by the Boston Herald
s reviewer Mark A. Perigard as "an inadvertently hilarious way to close one dramatic scene" and suggested that "the network needs to vet its background music more carefully".
The song was also used in commercials for the ABC legal drama
series Eli Stone
and in the trailer for the 2009 summer movie Post Grad, with Alexis Bledel.
The song was performed by America's Got Talent
contestant Taylor Mathews during the semifinals. He then advanced to the finals.
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" will be featured in commercials for Investigation Discovery's new show Disappeared
. "Show Me What I'm Looking For" will also be featured in promo spots for WEtv’s The Locator.
described it as "sunny and poppy" and "a lot like early Phantom Planet
". Digital Spy
said it was "rock music for anyone who finds Snow Patrol
a bit too giddy sometimes". The Houston Chronicle
said it had "a tweentastic vibe" and that it was "easy to imagine lip-glossed girls swooning" over the single.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band Carolina Liar
Carolina Liar
Carolina Liar is a Swedish alternative rock band. Lead vocalist Chad Wolf is originally from Charleston, South Carolina, but the band and most of its members originate from Sweden....
. The song was a hit in 2009, particularly in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
where it rose up the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
to number six The song was also a radio hit on several stations in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in the United States as well. It also reached number 40 on the same country's Hot Modern Tracks Chart. The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). It also had a lengthy run on the top 20 video countdown of cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
network VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
. The song was written by lead singer Chad Wolf with Tobias Karlsson, and it was produced by Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
and Tobias Karlsson.
Background
In the United Kingdom, "Show Me What I'm Looking For" was played on stations such as BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, Xfm
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
, 95.8 Capital FM and Absolute Radio. It was released in the United Kingdom on 1 June 2009.
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" is said to have changed the band members' lives forever. According to vocalist Chad Wolf, the song was written in only twenty minutes, and the vocals used on the final track were his first attempt; recorded in a bedroom. "We tried...a couple of different studios to beat the vocals, but we just couldn't," Wolf explained. Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
called the song "a choon and a half" after witnessing it performed live at The Academy
The Academy (music venue)
The Academy is a music venue located in Dublin, Ireland. It consists of four floors, each for differing music tastes.The Academy was the venue where The Killers performed an intimate show in August 2008, one night before a performance in Marlay Park. Others to have played the venue in 2008 include...
, Dublin, in August 2009. During live performances Wolf conducts the audience during the "Save Me/I'm lost" chorus.
In popular culture
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" has featured in numerous American television shows, including The Beautiful LifeThe Beautiful Life
The Beautiful Life: TBL is an American television drama series, which ran on The CW from September 16, 2009 to September 23, 2009. The series starred Mischa Barton, Elle Macpherson, Sara Paxton and Corbin Bleu. It revolved around a group of male and female models sharing a residence in New York City...
, The Hills
The Hills
The Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found...
, 90210
90210 (TV series)
90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
and Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
. When it featured on The Hills, iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
recorded a boost in sales for the song of more than 3,000 units the following week.
The song's use in the The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
series The Beautiful Life was described by the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
s reviewer Mark A. Perigard as "an inadvertently hilarious way to close one dramatic scene" and suggested that "the network needs to vet its background music more carefully".
The song was also used in commercials for the ABC legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
series Eli Stone
Eli Stone
Eli Stone is an American TV series, and also the name of the title character.San Francisco lawyer Eli Stone begins to see things, which leads him to discover a brain aneurysm...
and in the trailer for the 2009 summer movie Post Grad, with Alexis Bledel.
The song was performed by America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent
America's Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network, and part of the global British Got Talent franchise. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians, and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of...
contestant Taylor Mathews during the semifinals. He then advanced to the finals.
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" will be featured in commercials for Investigation Discovery's new show Disappeared
Disappeared (TV series)
Disappeared is a documentary and news program broadcast on the Investigation Discovery cable television channel since December 1, 2009....
. "Show Me What I'm Looking For" will also be featured in promo spots for WEtv’s The Locator.
Reception
The Santa Barbara IndependentSanta Barbara Independent
The Santa Barbara Independent is a news, arts, and entertainment newspaper published every Thursday in Santa Barbara, California.-History:The paper was founded in November 1986...
described it as "sunny and poppy" and "a lot like early Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet are an American alternative rock band from Southern California. Formed in 1994 in Los Angeles, the band consists of Alex Greenwald , Darren Robinson , Sam Farrar and Jeff Conrad . The band is best known for its track "California", which became the theme song for the Fox TV series,...
". Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
said it was "rock music for anyone who finds Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
a bit too giddy sometimes". The Houston Chronicle
Houston Chronicle
The Houston Chronicle is the largest daily newspaper in Texas, USA, headquartered in the Houston Chronicle Building in Downtown Houston. , it is the ninth-largest newspaper by circulation in the United States...
said it had "a tweentastic vibe" and that it was "easy to imagine lip-glossed girls swooning" over the single.
Track listing
-
- CD single
- "Show Me What I'm Looking For" (Album Version) – 4:02
- "Open the Door" – 4:26
Charts
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
External links
- Video at MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
- Chart history