Show Me What I'm Looking For
{{Infobox song
| name = Show Me What I'm Looking For
| cover = CarolinaLiarShowMeWhatI'mLookingFor.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Carolina Liar
| album = Coming to Terms
| released = {{start date|2008|05|6}}
| recorded = 2005–2006
| studio =
- Conway, Los Angeles
- Maratone, Stockholm
- Decibel, Stockholm
| venue =
| genre = Pop rock
| length = {{duration|m=4|s=00}}
| label = Atlantic
| writer = Chad Wolf, Tobias Karlsson
| producer = Max Martin, Tobias Karlsson
| prev_title = I'm Not Over
| prev_year = 2008
| next_title = Beautiful World
| next_year = 2009
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|5IqCfxgKZd8|"Show Me What I'm Looking For"}} }}
}}
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" is a song by Swedish– American rock band Carolina Liar. The song was a hit in 2009, particularly in Ireland, where it rose up the Irish Singles Chart to number six.{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement|title=The Irish Charts - All there is to know}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hotpress.com/music/reviews/live/5761756.html|title=Carolina Liar live at the Academy|last=Murphy|first=Celina|publisher=Hot Press (subscription required)|date=2009-08-28|access-date=2009-09-24|quote=Having been propelled to fame this year with the chart-topping ‘Show Me What I’m Looking For’ (you may recognise it from Gossip Girl, 90210 and just about every other American TV show of the moment), Carolina Liar don't put a foot wrong. [...] Wolf tells us that the song we’re going to hear next changed his and his friends’ lives forever. No one can deny that ‘Show Me What I’m Looking For’ is a choon and a half, or that it feels awesome to sing the familiar ‘Save Me/I’m lost’ refrain with a sweaty and impassioned Chad Wolf conducting.}} The song was also a radio hit on several stations in the United Kingdom and the United States. It peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States as well and was a top ten hit on the Adult Top 40 chart.{{cite web|url=http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=320399&FS=INDYCAR|title=Kentucky Speedway News|publisher=Motor Sport|date=2009-08-03|access-date=2009-09-24}} The song was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It also had a lengthy run on the top 20 video countdown of cable television network VH1. The song was written by lead singer Chad Wolf with Tobias Karlsson, and it was produced by Max Martin and Tobias Karlsson.
Background
In the United Kingdom, "Show Me What I'm Looking For" was played on stations such as BBC Radio 1, Xfm, 95.8 Capital FM and Absolute Radio.{{cite web|url=http://www.glasswerk.co.uk/features/national/6684/Carolina+Liar+Im+Not+Over|title=Carolina Liar 'I'm Not Over'|publisher=Glasswerk|date=2009-09-16|access-date=2009-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925153850/http://www.glasswerk.co.uk/features/national/6684/Carolina+Liar+Im+Not+Over|archive-date=2009-09-25}} It was released in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2009.
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" is said to have changed the band members' lives forever. According to vocalist Chad Wolf, the song was written in only twenty minutes, and the vocals used on the final track were his first attempt; recorded in a bedroom. "We tried...a couple of different studios to beat the vocals, but we just couldn't," Wolf explained.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtv02fc-FVQ#t=4m40s |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/qtv02fc-FVQ |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Carolina Liar Lies to FOX All Access|date=2009-05-09|access-date=2009-12-29|publisher=FOX All Access}}{{cbignore}} Hot Press called the song "a choon and a half" after witnessing it performed live at The Academy, Dublin, in August 2009. During live performances Wolf conducts the audience during the "Save Me/I'm lost" chorus.
Reception
The Santa Barbara Independent described it as "sunny and poppy" and "a lot like early Phantom Planet".{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.com/news/2008/jul/17/kjee-presents-carolina-liar-soho/|title=KJEE presents Carolina Liar at SOhO|last=Comingore|first=Aly|publisher=Santa Barbara Independent|date=2009-07-17|access-date=2009-09-24}} Digital Spy said it was "rock music for anyone who finds Snow Patrol a bit too giddy sometimes".{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a156771/carolina-liar-show-me-what-im-looking-for.html|title=Carolina Liar: 'Show Me What I'm Looking For'|last=Fletcher|first=Alex|publisher=Digital Spy|date=2009-06-01|access-date=2009-09-24}} The Houston Chronicle said it had "a tweentastic vibe" and that it was "easy to imagine lip-glossed girls swooning" over the single.{{cite web|last=Guerra|first=Joey|url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/music/cdreviews/5803953.html|title=Tweentastic vibe on Carolina Liar's latest|date=2009-05-27|access-date=2009-09-24|work=Houston Chronicle|publisher=Hearst Newspapers}}
Music video
Directed by Diane Martel, the video is set in Atlantic City, New Jersey where lead singer Chad Wolf roams the city with his guitar and is seen with many of the locals in a motel, the Trump Taj Mahal and near a boardwalk during the day and night.
In popular culture
- "Show Me What I'm Looking For" was featured in numerous American television shows, including The Beautiful Life, The Hills, 90210 and Gossip Girl. When it featured on The Hills, iTunes recorded a boost in sales for the song of more than 3,000 units the following week.{{cite web|url=http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1405475.php/%93The_Hills%94_a_cash_cow_for_MTV|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129015252/http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1405475.php/%93The_Hills%94_a_cash_cow_for_MTV|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-29|title="The Hills" a cash cow for MTV|publisher=Monsters and Critics|date=2009-05-15|access-date=2009-09-24}}
The song's use in The CW Television Network series The Beautiful Life was described by the Boston Herald{{'}}s reviewer Mark A. Perigard as "an inadvertently hilarious way to close one dramatic scene" and suggested that "the network needs to vet its background music more carefully".{{cite web|url=http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1197731&srvc=home&position=also|title='Life' in the fast lane|publisher=Boston Herald|date=2009-09-16|access-date=2009-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091002131816/http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1197731&srvc=home&position=also|archive-date=2009-10-02}}
- The song was also used in commercials for the ABC legal drama series Eli Stone, Army Wives, the 2009 film The Time Traveler's Wife, the trailer for the 2009 film Post Grad, 2009 MLB All-Star Game commercial on FOX and for various promos of the 2012 film The Odd Life of Timothy Green. The song was performed by America's Got Talent contestant Taylor Mathews during the semifinals. He then advanced to the finals.
- In Spring 2014, an instrumental version of the song was used in a UK advertising campaign for Swinton Insurance.
- The song has been used multiple times in vlogs by David Dobrik, with millions of views on YouTube.
Track listing
- CD single
- "Show Me What I'm Looking For" (Album Version) – 4:02
- "Open the Door" – 4:26
Charts
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| scope="col"|Chart (2009)
!scope="col"|Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|Denmark|28|artist=Carolina Liar|song=Show Me What I'm Looking For|refname=}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardeuropeanhot100|87|artist=Carolina Liar|artistid=982671|song=|refname=}} |
| {{singlechart|Germany|93|artist=Carolina Liar|song=Show Me What I'm Looking For|songid=575951|accessdate=March 20, 2019}} |
| {{singlechart|Ireland|6|year=2009|week=24|artist=|song=|refname=}} |
| {{singlechart|Dutch40|24|artist=Carolina Liar|song=Show Me What I'm Looking For|year=2009|week=38|refname=}} |
| {{singlechart|Dutch100|74|artist=Carolina Liar|song=Show Me What I'm Looking For|accessdate=March 15, 2023}} |
| {{singlechart|Scotland|33|date=20090613|accessdate=March 15, 2023}} |
| {{singlechart|UK|31|date=20090613|accessdate=March 15, 2023}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardhot100|67|artist=Carolina Liar|artistid=982671|song=|refname=}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardadultpopsongs|10|artist=Carolina Liar|artistid=982671|song=|refname=}} |
| {{singlechart|Billboardalternativesongs|28|artist=Carolina Liar|artistid=982671|song=|refname=}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
| class="wikitable" |
| scope="col"|Chart (2009)
!scope="col"|Position |
|---|
| US Adult Top 40 (Billboard){{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2009/adult-pop-songs|title=Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2009|magazine=Billboard|access-date=September 19, 2019}}
| style="text-align:center;"|37 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|award=Platinum|number=2|type=single|artist=Carolina Liar|title=Show Me What I'm Looking For |relyear=2008|certyear=2022|access-date=June 6, 2022}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true | nosales=true | noshipments=true}}