Acting Like That
{{Short description|2020 single by Yungblud}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Acting Like That
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Yungblud featuring {{nowrap|Machine Gun Kelly}} and Travis Barker
| album = Weird!
| written = December 2019
| released = 2 December 2020
| recorded =
| studio =
| genre = Pop punk{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Laura |title=Yungblud Unveils Acting Like That Video Featuring Machine Gun Kelly And Travis Barker |url=https://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/230658/9 |access-date=1 May 2021}}
| length = 3:03
| label =
- Locomotion
- Interscope
| writer = {{hlist|Dominic Harrison|{{nowrap|Colson Baker}}|Travis Barker|Chris Greatti|Nick Long|Zakk Cervini}}
| producer = Travis Barker
| chronology = Yungblud
| prev_title = Mars
| prev_year = 2020
| next_title = Patience
| next_year = 2021
| misc = {{Extra chronology
| artist = Machine Gun Kelly
| type = single
| prev_title = My Ex's Best Friend
| prev_year = 2020
| title = Acting Like That
| year = 2020
| next_title = Daywalker
| next_year = 2021
}}
{{Extra chronology
| artist = Travis Barker
| type = single
| prev_title = Estella
| prev_year = 2020
| title = Acting Like That
| year = 2020
| next_title = Hills Have Eyes
| next_year = 2021
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|YdGad64abWM|"Acting Like That"}}}}
}}
"Acting Like That" is a song by English musician Yungblud featuring American musicians Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker, released on 2 December 2020 as the sixth single from the former's second studio album Weird!.
Background
The song was written about a night the two vocalists spent together after the death of the mutual friend Juice Wrld. According to Yungblud, despite being saddened by the event, they cheered one another up by deciding that they were "way too cool to be acting like that".{{cite web |title=Weird! Yungblud |url=https://music.apple.com/ph/album/weird/1541250330 |access-date=1 May 2021}} The following morning, they wrote the song.{{cite web |last1=Reilly |first1=Nick |title=Machine Gun Kelly and Yungblud's new collaboration inspired by Juice WRLD’s death |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/machine-gun-kelly-and-yungbluds-new-collaboration-inspired-by-juice-wrlds-death-2638179 |website=NME |access-date=1 May 2021}}
The song is the third collaboration between the three musicians, following 2019's "I Think I'm Okay" and 2020's "Body Bag", which also featured Bert McCracken. The release of the song was announced on 30 November 2020,{{cite web |last1=Dowd |first1=Rachael |title=MGK, Yunglub and Travis Barker Have Another New Collab on the Way |url=https://www.altpress.com/news/machine-gun-kelly-yungblud-travis-barker-new-collab/ |website=Alternative Press |access-date=1 May 2021}} which was followed by Yungblud began releasing teasers for the song on social media in the following days.{{cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Emily |title=YUNGBLUD Drops Acting Like That Featuring Machine Gun Kelly |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/yungblud-drops-acting-like-that-featuring-machine-gun-kelly/ |website=Kerrang! |access-date=1 May 2021}}
The song was officially released on 3 December 2020, as the sixth single from Yungblud's second studio album Weird!.{{cite web |last1=Blackburn |first1=Stevie |title=NEWS: Yungblud releases new single, ‘Acting Like That’! |url=https://www.deadpress.co.uk/news-yungblud-releases-new-single-acting-like-that/ |access-date=1 May 2021 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728173401/https://www.deadpress.co.uk/news-yungblud-releases-new-single-acting-like-that/ |url-status=dead }}
Music video
A music video for the song was released on 21 January 2021.{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Tom |title=Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly share zombie film-inspired ‘Acting Like That’ video |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/yungblud-and-machine-gun-kelly-tease-zombie-film-inspired-acting-like-that-video-2860909 |website=NME |access-date=1 May 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Carter |first1=Emily |title=Watch YUNGBLUD and Machine Gun Kelly’s new video for Acting Like That |url=https://www.kerrang.com/the-news/watch-yungblud-and-machine-gun-kellys-new-video-for-acting-like-that/ |website=Kerrang! |access-date=1 May 2021}}{{cite web |title=YUNGBLUD has released a video for 'weird!' cut 'Acting Like That' |url=https://www.upsetmagazine.com/news/yungblud-video-acting-like-that |access-date=1 May 2021 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501191325/https://www.upsetmagazine.com/news/yungblud-video-acting-like-that |url-status=dead }} The video parodies the different reaction to the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, through the metaphor of a zombie apocalypse. Because of the pandemic, Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly's segments of the video were filmed separately in Greenwich, London and Los Angeles respectively.{{cite web |last1=Crowley |first1=Erin |title=Behind the Scenes with YUNGBLUD on "Acting Like That" music video ft MGK |url=https://www.melodicmag.com/2021/03/04/behind-the-scenes-with-yungblud-on-acting-like-that-music-video-ft-mgk/ |access-date=1 May 2021}} The video also features a cameo from social media influencer Abby Roberts, as a zombie who infects Yungblud.{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Lindsey |title=YUNGBLUD, MGK Make The Zombie Apocalypse Look Like A Party In New Video |url=https://www.iheart.com/content/2021-01-21-yungblud-mgk-make-the-zombie-apocalypse-look-like-a-party-in-new-video/ |website=iHeartRadio |access-date=1 May 2021}}
Reception
The Guardian writer Issy Simpson perceived the song to be objectifying, stating that "Being a woman in 2020 can be tough, but luckily for us girls, there's always a man around to tell us exactly how to behave" and that "they're wrong, because there's no attractiveness barrier to being a complete mess: it's an equal-opportunities activity".{{cite web |last1=Sampson |first1=Issy |title=Tracks of the week reviewed: Enny, Georgia, Yungblud |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/18/enny-best-track-of-week |website=The Guardian |access-date=1 May 2021}} Clash called it a love it or hate it song but contended that that's where both artists do best.{{cite web|url=https://clashmusic.com/news/yungblud-spars-with-machine-gun-kelly-on-acting-like-that|title=Yungblood Spars With Machine Gun Kelly On 'acting like that'|website=Clash|last=Murray|first=Robin|date=December 2, 2020|access-date=April 3, 2022}}
According to an article by NME, users on TikTok drew comparisons between the song's chorus melody and that of Metro Station's 2008 song "Shake It". In response, Metro Station tweeted they felt "honored".{{cite web |last1=Krol |first1=Charlotte |title=Metro Station 'honoured' by comparison to Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly's song 'Acting Like That' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/metro-station-honoured-by-comparison-to-yungblud-and-machine-gun-kellys-song-acting-like-that-2867090 |website=NME |access-date=1 May 2021}}
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.{{cite web |title=Acting Like That |url=https://listen.tidal.com/album/163555669/credits |website=Tidal |access-date=1 May 2021}}
Musicians
{{div col}}
- Yungblud – vocals, composition, lyrics
- Machine Gun Kelly – vocals, composition, lyrics
- Travis Barker – drums, production, composition, lyrics
- Chris Greatti – composition, lyrics, background vocals
- Nick Long – composition, lyrics
- Zakk Cervini – composition, lyrics, vocal programming
{{div col end}}
Technical
{{div col}}
- Adam Hawkins – engineering, mixing
- K Thrash – engineering
- Matt Malpass – engineering
- Shaan Singh – engineering
{{div col end}}
Charts
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Chart performance for "Acting Like That" ! scope="col"| Chart (2019) ! scope="col"| Peak |
| {{single chart|Flanders Tip|17|artist=Yungblud feat. Machine Gun Kelly|song=Acting Like That|rowheader=true|access-date=3 May 2021}} |
| {{single chart|Czech Republic|7|year=2021|week=29|rowheader=true|accessdate=26 July 2021}} |
| scope="row"| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ){{cite web|url=https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/hotsingles?chart=4988|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114020011/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/hotsingles?chart=4988|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 14, 2021|title=NZ Hot Singles Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=14 December 2020|access-date=3 May 2021}}
| 14 |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard){{cite web |title=Chart History Machine Gun Kelly |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/machine-gun-kelly/chart-history/ark/ |website=Billboard |access-date=1 May 2021}}
| 16 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Yungblud}}
{{Machine Gun Kelly}}
{{Travis Barker}}