Seventeen Going Under (song) explained

Seventeen Going Under
Cover:Seventeen Going Under single.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Sam Fender
Album:Seventeen Going Under
Recorded:North Shields
Length:
  • 5:02 (original)
  • (explicit)
  • (radio edit)
Label:Polydor
Producer:Bramwell Bronte
Prev Title:Winter Song
Prev Year:2020
Next Title:Get You Down
Next Year:2021

"Seventeen Going Under" is a song by English singer-songwriter Sam Fender. It was released on 7 July 2021 as the lead single from his second studio album of the same name.[1] The song was written by Fender, and produced by Bramwell Bronte. It was a sleeper hit, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart on 7 January 2022, becoming Fender's highest-charting career single to date.[2]

"Seventeen Going Under" was named Hottest Record of the Year 2021 by BBC Radio 1 listeners[3] [4] and was voted number sixteen by Australian radio Triple J listeners on the Triple J Hottest 100 chart.[5] It was also voted number one by more than 14,000 Radio X listeners for the Best of British 2022.[6] In May 2022, the song won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.[7] It received the 2022 Rolling Stone UK Award for Song of the Year Award.[8]

Background and release

The song chronicles Fender's life at 17 when his mother, Shirley was afflicted with fibromyalgia and depressed because she could no longer work after 40 years of service as a nurse.[9] She had become the owner of her apartment at 19 and had never missed a workday. Nevertheless, the Department for Work and Pensions began harassing her with letters and treating her unjustly. Fender was trying to help his mother financially but could not due to his young age. Fender recalled: "That's when my rose-tinted glasses fell off."[10] He told Rolling Stone that it is "a letter to [his] 17 year old self", explaining: "17 is when all the challenges begin: you're not a baby, but you're definitely not an adult, I'm not even sure it'll happen at all for you, but growing up is for fools and the near dead, so stop being so serious all the time".[11]

On 7 July 2021, Fender shared the song and announced it would be the title song from his forthcoming album.[11] It also went viral on TikTok, with users utilising the song to "convey their personal tales of abuse and mistreatment". About the phenomenon, Fender stated to Radio X: "I'm honoured that Seventeen's kind of resonated with people in that way. It's a very special moment for me as a songwriter".[12]

Critical reception

Rolling Stone called the song a "five minutes of glorious, life-affirming rock and roll".[10] Retro Gazing commented that the song "feels nostalgic and melancholic", and stated It's "a song that so many people can relate to, regardless of what age they're in, though possibly especially for those who have finally had the chance to clearly see their youth in a new, possibly more realistic and understanding, light".[13] Georgie Holland and Scott Colothan of Absolute Radio described "Seventeen Going Under" as an "emphatic, soaring guitar song that collates the struggles of unemployed life, but also the daftness of age where you otherwise have little to fear and the world at your feet."[14] In Tribune magazine, Alex Niven called the song "a triumphant memento vivere for dark times" and commended Fender for "produc[ing] a towering monument to a decade of social injustice and building youthful radicalism which the political mainstream seems determined to try to whitewash."[15]

Rankings

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[17]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2021–2022)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[18] 69
Netherlands Single Tip (MegaCharts)[19] 1
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[20] 13
Switzerland Airplay (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 79

Year-end charts

Chart (2022)! scope="col"
Position
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 10
US Adult Alternative Airplay Songs (Billboard)[23] 36
US Alternative Airplay Songs (Billboard)[24] 49
Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Position
UK Singles (OCC)[25] 63

Release history

Region! scope="col"
DateFormatLabel
Various7 July 2021Polydor[26]
United States31 January 2022Triple A radio[27]
1 February 2022Alternative radio[28]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sam Fender Details New Album 'Seventeen Going Under'. Udiscovermusic. Armstrong. Sam. 7 July 2021. 25 November 2021.
  2. Web site: Sam Fender Chart History. Official Charts Company. 25 November 2021.
  3. Web site: Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under wins Radio 1s Hottest Record of the Year 2021. 16 December 2021.
  4. News: . 16 December 2021 . Sam Fender's 'Seventeen Going Under' wins Radio 1's Hottest Record of the Year 2021 . live . en-GB . Music News . https://web.archive.org/web/20211217005143/https://www.music-news.com/news/UK/145451/Sam-Fender-s-Seventeen-Going-Under-wins-Radio-1-s-Hottest-Record-of-the-Year-2021 . 17 December 2021 . 29 January 2022.
  5. News: . 22 January 2022 . And The Winner Of The Hottest 100 Is... . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220123011301/https://junkee.com/hottest-100-winner-2021-announced/320191 . 23 January 2022 . 29 January 2022.
  6. News: . 18 April 2022 . Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under named Radio X Best Of British with Greggs . live . en-GB . . https://archive.today/20220418204442/https://www.radiox.co.uk/news/music/sam-fender-seventeen-going-under-named-radio-x-best-of-british-with-greggs/ . 18 April 2022 . 18 April 2022.
  7. News: Daly . Rhian . 19 May 2022 . Sam Fender, Dave, Little Simz and more win at The Ivors 2022 . live . en-GB . NME . https://archive.today/20220519173446/https://www.nme.com/news/music/sam-fender-dave-little-simz-more-win-the-ivors-2022-3229592 . 19 May 2022 . 19 May 2022.
  8. Catchpole . Chris . 10 November 2022 . The Rolling Stone UK Awards 2022 winners in full . live . en-GB . Rolling Stone . UK . https://archive.today/20221111140433/https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/news/rolling-stone-uk-awards-wrap-up-24661/ . 11 November 2022 . 11 November 2022.
  9. News: Lanham . Tom . 15 October 2021 . Sam Fender on Seventeen Going Under and Making Sense of It All . live . Interview . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220129063640/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/sam-fender/sam-fender-seventeen-going-under-interview/ . 29 January 2022 . 26 March 2022.
  10. Catchpole . Chris . 2021 . Talk of the Tyne: Sam Fender on the personal story behind his stunning second album . live . en-GB . Rolling Stone . UK . https://web.archive.org/web/20220205185912/https://www.rollingstone.co.uk/music/features/talk-of-the-tyne-sam-fenders-rolling-stone-uk-cover-interview-in-full-5109/ . 5 February 2022 . 26 March 2022.
  11. Song You Need to Know: Sam Fender, 'Seventeen Going Under'. Rolling Stone. Jenke. Tyler. 12 July 2021. 25 November 2021.
  12. Web site: The heartbreaking story of Sam Fender's Seventeen Going Under TikTok success. Radio X. Mensah. Jenny. 19 November 2021. 25 November 2021.
  13. Web site: Song of the Moment: "Seventeen Going Under" by Sam Fender. Retro Gazing. Team. Retro Gazing. 10 November 2021. 25 November 2021.
  14. Web site: Sam Fender's second album: Everything we know about 'Seventeen Going Under'. Absolute Radio. Georgie Holland and Scott Colothan. 2 October 2021. 25 November 2021.
  15. News: How Sam Fender Became the Voice of the North. Niven. Alex. 27 November 2021. Tribune. 1 January 2023.
  16. News: Kemp . Ella . 7 December 2021 . The 50 best songs of 2021 . live . . https://archive.today/20220401185444/https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/nme-best-songs-of-the-year-2021-3112636 . 1 April 2022 . 1 April 2022.
  17. Web site: Sam Fender – Seventeen Going Under / Credits. AllMusic. 25 November 2021.
  18. The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 22 November 2021. The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association. 1655. 4. 22 November 2021.
  19. Web site: Netherlands Single Tip Chart – 20/11/2021. Mega Charts. 20 November 2021. 5 December 2021.
  20. Web site: NZ Hot Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. 15 November 2021. 25 November 2021.
  21. Web site: Schweizer Airplay Charts 31/2021 - hitparade.ch . hitparade.ch . 22 February 2022.
  22. Web site: End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 - 2022. officialcharts.com. 3 January 2022.
  23. Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2022. Billboard. 8 December 2022.
  24. Alternative Songs – Year-End 2022. Billboard. 8 December 2022.
  25. Web site: End of Year Singles Chart – 2023. Official Charts Company. 3 January 2024.
  26. Web site: Seventeen Going Under - Single by Sam Fender. Apple Music. 15 January 2022.
  27. Web site: Triple A Radio Future Releases. All Access. 17 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220116230326/https://www.allaccess.com/triple-a/future-releases. 16 January 2022.
  28. Web site: Alternative Radio Future Releases. All Access. 15 January 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220113204751/https://www.allaccess.com/alternative/future-releases. 13 January 2022.

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