Unholy (Sam Smith and Kim Petras song)

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"Unholy"
File:Sam Smith and Kim Petras - Unholy.png
Single by Sam Smith and Kim Petras
Released 22 September 2022
Genre Dance-pop[1]
Length 2:36
Label
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)
Sam Smith singles chronology
"Love Me More"
(2022)		 "Unholy"
(2022)
{{{This album}}}
Music video
"Unholy" on YouTube

"Unholy" is a song by British singer Sam Smith and German singer Kim Petras, released on 22 September 2022 as the lead single from Smith's upcoming fourth studio album.[2] "Unholy" entered at the top of the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, "Unholy" topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Petras' native Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Background and composition

The track was first teased on 18 August 2022 through a clip on TikTok, in which Smith lip-syncs the chorus while Petras dances in a recording studio.[3] The track went viral on the platform, spurring dance trends.[4] Disclosure also teased the song, playing their remix of it in live sets.[5] On 25 August, Smith announced the track's title and a pre-save link.[6]

The song features a choir and hyperpop sounds.[7] Smith explained the creative process and the meaning of the song:[8]

"Unholy" was made in Jamaica and was one of the most glorious creative moments I've ever had as an artist. [...] It was so cathartic and freeing to experiment like this and throw out the rule book. It has also been an honour to work with Kim and get to witness her brilliance. This song is about liberating oneself from the clutches of others' secrets.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Floria Sigismondi, was released on 30 September 2022. The visual features a woman observing a sexually-charged cabaret show at "The Body Shop" after receiving an invitation to the club. Smith appears as the MC of the club surrounded by androgynous burlesque dancers, joined by RuPaul's Drag Race alums Violet Chachki and Gottmik. Petras then arrives onstage in a heart-shaped ring before dancing atop a prop car dressed in an outfit reminiscent of Madonna.[9] The "erotic" video, inspired by Moulin Rouge, A Clockwork Orange and Bob Fosse, also features a cameo from porn star Paddy O'Brian as a customer. [10]

Critical reception

Writing for the British edition of GQ, Jeremy Atherton Lin said that the "duet between non-binary and trans vocalists [...] flips the script" and is "infused with femme power".[11] Anaiah B. Thomas of The Harvard Crimson called the song Smith's "hottest release yet" and complimented the "hauntingly mesmerizing production" and how Smith and Petras, in spite of the "gulf between their respective genres", complemented each other on the track vocally, contrasting "Smith’s sobering power" with "Petras’s femme fatale".[12] Writing for American Songwriter, Alli Patton praised the "pulsating, dance-heavy beats" driving the track as the "lusty, sing-a-long lyrics" added a level of "intrigue", concluding by calling the song "deliciously debaucherous".[13]

Commercial performance

"Unholy" entered atop the UK Singles Chart on 30 September 2022, becoming Smith's eighth UK number-one to date (putting them on par with Oasis and The Rolling Stones) and Petras's first, having racked up 5.9 million streams in the UK in its first week.[14] The song also debuted at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart, making it Smith's second number-one single in Australia and Petras's first.[15] In the US, the song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 for the chart issue dated 8 October 2022.[16] It earned Petras her first career entry on the chart and became Smith's seventh top ten on the chart. [17]

Charts

Chart performance for "Unholy"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[19] 38
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[20] 46
Brazil (Billboard)[21] 8
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[22] 1
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[23] 33
Croatia (Billboard)[24] 6
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[25] 2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 3
France (SNEP)[27] 29
Germany (Official German Charts)[28] 4
1
Greece International (IFPI)[29] 1
Hungary (Single Top 40)[30] 39
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[31] 4
Indonesia (Billboard)[32] 17
1
Italy (FIMI)[33] 18
Luxembourg (Billboard)[34] 4
Malaysia (Billboard)[35] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[36] 28
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[37] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[39] 3
Poland (Billboard)[40] 2
Philippines (Billboard)[41] 14
Romania (Billboard)[42] 2
Singapore (RIAS)[43] 2
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[44] 1
South Africa (Billboard)[45] 3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[48] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[49] 3
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[50] 32

Release history

Release history and formats for "Unholy"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 22 September 2022
[2]
United States 27 September 2022 Contemporary hit radio Capitol [51]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sam Smith & Kim Petras – Unholy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  20. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Sam Smith & Kim Petras – Unholy" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ "Sam Smith – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Sam Smith.
  23. ↑ "Sam Smith – Chart history" Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Sam Smith.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 202239 into search.
  26. ↑ "Sam Smith, Kim Petras: Unholy" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ "Musicline.de – Sam Smith & Kim Petras Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 40, 2022" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  37. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sam Smith & Kim Petras – Unholy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Sam Smith & Kim Petras – Unholy". Swiss Singles Chart.
  48. ↑ "Archive Chart: 20220930" UK Singles Chart.
  49. ↑ "Sam Smith – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Sam Smith.
  50. ↑ "Sam Smith – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Sam Smith.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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