Little One (Highly Suspect song)
{{Infobox song
| name =
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Highly Suspect
| album = The Boy Who Died Wolf
| released = {{Start date|2017|04|26}}
| recorded = 2016
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = {{hlist|Hard rock}}
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=02}}
| label = 300
| writer = {{hlist|Johnny Stevens|Rich Meyer|Ryan Meyer}}
| producer = {{hlist|Joel Hamilton}}
| prev_title = My Name Is Human
| prev_year = 2016
| next_title = 16
| next_year = 2019
}}
"Little One" is a song by American rock band Highly Suspect. It was their second single off their second studio album, The Boy Who Died Wolf. As of October 2017, it peaked at number 2 on the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Songs chart.
Background
The song "Little One" dates back to 2015, where the band would perform the then-unreleased track live at concerts while touring in support of their first studio album, Mister Asylum. The band noted that the song was played live with such frequency that audience members would have the lyrics memorized, despite no studio version in existence. The studio version of the song was first premiered in October 2016, in promotion of their then-upcoming second studio album, The Boy Who Died Wolf. The song was later released as the second single from the album, along with a music video, on April 26, 2017.{{Cite web |url=https://www.axs.com/highly-suspect-release-official-video-for-new-single-little-one-118127 |title=Highly Suspect release official video for new single, 'Little One' - AXS |access-date=2017-10-03 |archive-date=2017-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909201450/https://www.axs.com/highly-suspect-release-official-video-for-new-single-little-one-118127 |url-status=dead }}
Themes and composition
Billboard described the song as an "anthemic love song".{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/highly-suspect-little-one-new-song-listen-7557729/|title=Highly Suspect Gets Candid About Heartbreak on 'Little One': Listen|first=Nerisha|last=Penrose|website=Billboard.com|date=28 October 2016|access-date=27 December 2021}} Frontman Johnny Stevens described that, like all of the songs from the album The Boy Who Died Wolf, the lyrics were self-referential to things the band had gone through in the years leading up to the album's release. He described it as a "heartbreak song", stating that the lyrics "Hey, little one, I'm so scared of what this could have been/ I know that today I lost my only friend" refer to his own accidental self-sabotage of a woman he was romantically involved with in the past.
Music video
The song's music video refers to the same thematic material as the song lyrics, involving a character's reaction to lost love.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/525689535/first-watch-highly-suspect-little-one|title=First Watch: Highly Suspect, 'Little One'|first=Robin|last=Hilton|date=26 April 2017|access-date=27 December 2021|website=Npr.org}} The video stylistically takes after a 1980s themed cop drama, frontman Johnny Stevens, distraught by lost love, goes about a retail store, trashing many of its items, while bassist Rich Meyer and drummer Ryan Meyer play cops who are in his pursuit. The video culminates with the policeman capturing Stevens and dragging him out of the store, just as the woman he was distraught about, Madison Parker, arrives, and looks at Stevens, without interest. The scene was meant to be symbolic of the real life events; Parker is the real life woman Stevens wrote the song about, while the cops (played by band members) dragging him away symbolizes the band getting in the way of the relationship.{{Cite web|url=https://www.altpress.com/news/watch_highly_suspects_thrilling_new_video_for_little_one/|title=Watch Highly Suspect's thrilling new video for "Little One"|date=26 April 2017|website=Altpress.com|access-date=27 December 2021}} The band said the video's style was made out of inspiration of videos like Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video, with the band preferring videos with plots over basic performance-based videos.{{Cite web|url=https://loudwire.com/highly-suspect-little-one-video/|title=Highly Suspect Singer Is Highly Suspect in 'Little One' Video|first=Chad|last=Childers|website=Loudwire.com|access-date=27 December 2021}}
Reception
Personnel
- Johnny Stevens – vocals, guitar
- Rich Meyer – bass
- Ryan Meyer – drums
Charts
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" |
| Chart (2017)
! Peak |
|---|
| {{single chart|Billboardcanadarock|29|artist=Highly Suspect|access-date=July 15, 2020|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrocksongs|21|artist=Highly Suspect|access-date=October 4, 2017|rowheader=true}} |
| {{single chart|Billboardrockairplay|12|artist=Highly Suspect|access-date=October 4, 2017|rowheader=true}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| Chart (2017)
! Position |
|---|
| scope="row"| US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2017/hot-rock-songs|title=Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2017|magazine=Billboard|access-date=May 19, 2020}}
| 52 |
| scope="row"| US Rock Airplay (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2017/rock-airplay-songs/|title=Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2017|magazine=Billboard|access-date=January 21, 2022}}
| 30 |
{{col-end}}