Follow Me (Muse song)

"Follow Me" is a song by the English rock band Muse, written by Matthew Bellamy for their sixth studio album, The 2nd Law. It appears as the sixth track on the album. The song was released as the third single from The 2nd Law on 7 December 2012, just over two months after the album was released.[1]

"Follow Me"
Single by Muse
from the album The 2nd Law
Released7 December 2012 (2012-12-07)
RecordedOctober 2011  July 2012
StudioShangri La Studios (Malibu, California) and Air Studios (London, England)
Genre
Length3:51
Label
Songwriter(s)Matthew Bellamy
Producer(s)
Muse singles chronology
"Madness"
(2012)
"Follow Me"
(2012)
"Supremacy"
(2013)
Music video
"Follow Me" on YouTube
"Follow Me" (Lyric Video) on YouTube

Composition

"Follow Me", which is co-produced by Nero,[2][3] contains influences from dubstep, like the early promotional, "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable".[4][5][6] The song also shares instrumental elements from Muse's previous two studio albums, Black Holes and Revelations and concept album The Resistance,[7] both of which were electronically inspired, like The 2nd Law. The beginning of the track features Bellamy's newborn son Bingham's heartbeat, recorded on Bellamy's iPhone. According to Bellamy, the song is about "having a baby and all that." This was later confirmed in an NME article[8] where the song was described as Bellamy's "ode to fatherhood." The instrumental version was featured in the end credits of the film World War Z.

Release

"Follow Me" was originally released to radio stations as a promotional single from The 2nd Law, alongside "Panic Station" on 24 September 2012.[9] In October, it was confirmed that the song would serve as the third single from the album, after much speculation and debate.[1] In the lead up to the single release, Muse issued another single, a live version of the song, recorded during the band's performance at the O2 Arena during the 2nd Law Tour. It was offered as a free download on 31 October 2012.[10] Muse released a lyric video for the song on 1 November 2012.[11]

Music video

The music video for "Follow Me" was released on 11 December 2012. Similarly to the video for "Resistance", it consists of live footage from the O2 Arena and Atlas Arena during the 2nd Law World Tour.[12]

Critical response

Digital Spy gave the song a positive note in their review of the album, stating "adding a dollop of reverb to 'Follow Me' enhances the track's doom-sodden message of clinging to strength from a dark place."[4] AllMusic's Gregory Heaney wrote in his review of The 2nd Law about the electronic influences on "Follow Me" and the previous single, "Madness", saying that "their excursions into dubstep and dance music on tracks like 'Madness' and 'Follow Me' feel more like remixes than original songs."[13]

Track listing

Digital download[14]
No.TitleLength
1."Follow Me" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix)5:54
UK promotional single
No.TitleLength
1."Follow Me" (Album Version)3:51
2."Follow Me" (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Remix)5:54
Follow Me (Live from the O2, London, 27 October 2012)
No.TitleLength
1."Follow Me" (Live from the O2, London)3:58

Charts

Chart (2012–13) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] 31
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[16] 37
France (SNEP)[17] 56
Italy (FIMI)[18] 41
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[19] 37
Switzerland Airplay (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 40
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[21] 47
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[22] 19

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Europe[23] 14 November 2012 CD-R (Contemporary hit radio) Warner Music
United Kingdom[24] 7 December 2012 Digital download
10 December 2012 CD-R (Contemporary hit radio, BBC Radio 1 rotation)
United States[25] 9 July 2013 CD-R (Modern rock / Alternative radio)

References

  1. "Next Muse Single Confirmed as Follow Me". MuseLive. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  2. "Nero – MuseWiki: Supermassive wiki for the band Muse". musewiki.org.
  3. "The 2nd Law (album) – MuseWiki: Supermassive wiki for the band Muse". musewiki.org.
  4. "Muse: 'The 2nd Law' – Album review – Music Album Review". Digital Spy. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  5. Adams, Sean (27 September 2012). "Muse – The 2nd Law / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  6. Kitty Empire (23 August 2010). "Muse: The 2nd Law – review | Music | The Observer". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  7. "NME Album Reviews – Muse – 'The 2nd Law'". NME. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  8. "Muse's Matt Bellamy reveals his son's heartbeat will feature on 'The 2nd Law' | NME.COM". NME. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  9. "MUSE single – "Follow Me" – Very Rare Promo CD". eBay. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  10. "Muse – "Follow Me (Live from the O2, London, 27th October 2012)". f0110w.me. Muse / Warner Bros. Records. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  11. "Muse – Follow Me (Lyric Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  12. "MUSE: NEWS – Follow Me Video Online Now". Muse.mu. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  13. Heaney, Gregory. "The 2nd Law – Muse : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  14. "Follow Me (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) – Single". iTunes. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  15. "Muse – Follow Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  16. "Muse – Follow Me" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  17. "Muse – Follow Me" (in French). Les classement single.
  18. "Classifiche – Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 6 del 2013". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 19 April 2015
  19. "Muse Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  20. "Schweizer Airplay Charts 06/2014 - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  21. "Muse Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  22. "Muse Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  23. "Muse – Follow Me". Muse Discography. Discogs. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  24. "Follow Me (Jacques Lu Cont's Thin White Duke Mix) – Single". iTunes UK. Apple Inc. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  25. "Alternative Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013.
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