My Ex's Best Friend

"My Ex's Best Friend"
Single by Machine Gun Kelly featuring Blackbear
from the album Tickets to My Downfall
ReleasedAugust 7, 2020 (2020-08-07)
Recorded2019
GenrePop-punk
Length2:19
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Machine Gun Kelly singles chronology
"Concert for Aliens"
(2020) 		"My Ex's Best Friend"
(2020) 		"Acting Like That"
(2020)
Blackbear singles chronology
"Queen of Broken Hearts"
(2020) 		"My Ex's Best Friend"
(2020) 		"Hard on Yourself"
(2020)
Music video
"My Ex's Best Friend" on YouTube

"My Ex's Best Friend" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by American musician Machine Gun Kelly featuring fellow American musician Blackbear. It is the third single off of the former's pop-punk fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall. The song reached number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the third top-40 hit for both artists.

Background and release

Colson Baker, better known as Machine Gun Kelly, released his fourth studio album, Hotel Diablo, on July 5, 2019, via EST 19XX, Bad Boy, and Interscope Records.[1] The third single from that album, "I Think I'm Okay", was a collaboration with Yungblud and Travis Barker, which served as a segue for Baker's transition towards rock music. Baker described the song as "our first 'Oh shit. I think we might be onto something' moment".[2] Baker booked a studio session with Barker, recording what would become the song "Bloody Valentine". Machine Gun Kelly describes the session as "so powerful that Travis was like, 'Fuck it, I'm blocking off two months of my life and we're doing this album'".[3] On December 4, 2019, Machine Gun Kelly tweeted, "rock album in 2020".[4]

Baker first collaborated with Blackbear on "End of the Road", the final track on Baker's 2012 debut album Lace Up.[5] Both artists made a guest appearance on "Shoot'Em Down", from Mod Sun's 2015 album Look Up.[6] In 2017, Machine Gun Kelly appeared as a featured vocalist on Blackbear's track "E.Z.", from his album Cybersex.[7] Baker teased another collaboration with Blackbear in December 2019, posting a screenshot of their text conversation on his Instagram account, with the caption, "ayy the @bear vocals came in".[8] "My Ex's Best Friend" was officially released on August 7, 2020.[7]

This song is featured as a DLC in Fuser, released on June 15, 2021,[9]

Composition and themes

The song was described as pop punk,[10][11][12][13] but as a modern take on it, rather than the "classic" form of the genre.[14][15] Publications described it as a "guitar-laden" song with the two singers covering the complications of relationship breakups and rebound relationships.[16][12] The song's "infectious guitar line" has been noted as being one of the most memorable moments on the Tickets to My Downfall album.[17]

Reception

HotNewHipHop praised the song, but noted that the enjoyment the listener gets would vary based on their attitude on the music's new sound, stating "If you're not on board for MGK's departure from hip-hop... you'll likely hit skip within the opening moments of [the song]. For those who decide to stay, you'll be treated to a tale of forbidden passion, the likes of which have fueled pop-punk balladry for years."[10]

In an otherwise negative review of Tickets to My Downfall, Sputnikmusic contended that while he felt it is not a good song by any means, it makes an effort to experiment and amalgamate pop-punk riffs with his familiar rap sensibilities.[13]

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "My Ex's Best Friend"
Year Organization Award Result Ref(s)
2021 Billboard Music Awards Top Rock Song Nominated [18]
MTV Video Music Awards Best Alternative Won [19]
2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards Alternative Rock Song of the Year Nominated [20]

Live performances

On August 30, 2020, Machine Gun Kelly and Blackbear performed "My Ex's Best Friend" live at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards.[21]

Machine Gun Kelly also performed this song on the September 25th episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, a day after he made an appearance on the show the day before. MGK performed it during the 2020 American Music Awards on November 22, and on New Year's Eve during Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve 2021 with Ryan Seacrest. Coincidentally, both events were produced by Dick Clark Productions and aired on ABC.

He also performed the song on the January 30th episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, which was hosted by John Krasinski.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[22]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[58] Platinum 70,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[59] Platinum 40,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[60] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[61] Gold 200,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[62] Gold 35,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[63] Platinum 30,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[64] Gold 5,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[65] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[66] 3× Platinum 3,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Country Date Format Label Ref.
Various August 7, 2020
[22]
Italy September 25, 2020 Contemporary hit radio Universal [67]
United Kingdom October 2, 2020 [68]
United States October 13, 2020 Interscope [69]

References

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  2. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (December 17, 2020). "How Machine Gun Kelly Found His Inner Rock Star". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  3. ^ Greenwood, Koltan (May 1, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly wants his new album to be about more than just music". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  4. ^ "Machine Gun Kelly Says He's Releasing A Rock Album In 2020". Kerrang!. December 5, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  5. ^ Dowd, Rachael (August 7, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly and blackbear join forces again for 'my ex's best friend'". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  6. ^ "Mod Sun Hits the Frontier with Machine Gun Kelly and blackbear in 'Shoot 'Em Down' Video". XXL. January 30, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Mamo, Heran (August 7, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly & blackbear Try to Get With 'My Ex's Best Friend' in New Collab". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  8. ^ Greenwood, Koltan (December 5, 2019). "Machine Gun Kelly teases another blackbear collab, rock album in 2020". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  9. ^ "FUSER™ - Machine Gun Kelly & blackbear - "my ex's best friend"". SteamDB. June 15, 2021.
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  11. ^ Hofer, Tess (August 9, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly releases new single, 'My Ex's Best Friend'!". Dead Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020. Continuing his path into the world of pop-punk, Machine Gun Kelly has now released a new single called 'My Ex's Best Friend'
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