"Rooting for You" is a song recorded by Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara. It was released on August 9, 2019, as the second single from her 2019 EP This Summer.[1] The song impacted mainstream radio on August 27, 2019.[2]
Background
On August 7, 2019, Cara began teasing the song through her social media accounts.[3] She soon revealed that the song would be released on August 9, 2019. Cara stated that "Rooting for You," along with "October," was her favorite song from This Summer.[4]
Composition
"Rooting for You" is two minutes and fifty-six seconds long.[5] The song's introduction is slow and consists of a guitar; the song's chorus, meanwhile, has a "synth-and-drum combo" that lasts until the end of the song.[6] The song has been repeatedly described as "funky."[6][4] The song also features a distorted saxophone.[7]
The song's lyrics detail a failed summer romance which Cara deems "cold."[6]
Genius Lyrics was told by Alessia Cara that this was actually inspired by the iconic clip of Tyra Banks in America’s Next Top Model where she screams: "I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you! How Dare You!" She also said that she tried to put that in the beginning and the end
of the song, but Tyra’s crew did not answer her e-mail in time to approve the sample, although some radio stations played the version with the sample in it.
Music video
The music video was released in September 2019 and has surpassed 3 million views as of January 2021.[8]
