Show Me What I'm Looking For

"Show Me What I'm Looking For"
Single by Carolina Liar
from the album Coming to Terms
ReleasedMay 6, 2008 (2008-05-06)
Recorded2005–2006
Studio
GenrePop rock
Length4:00
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Chad Wolf, Tobias Karlsson
Producer(s)Max Martin, Tobias Karlsson
Carolina Liar singles chronology
"I'm Not Over"
(2008) 		"Show Me What I'm Looking For"
(2008) 		"Beautiful World"
(2009)
Music video
"Show Me What I'm Looking For" on YouTube

"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.[1][2] 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.[3] 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.[4] It was released in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2009.[5]

"Show Me What I'm Looking For" is said to have changed the band members' lives forever.[2] 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.[6] Hot Press called the song "a choon and a half" after witnessing it performed live at The Academy, Dublin, in August 2009.[2] During live performances Wolf conducts the audience during the "Save Me/I'm lost" chorus.[2]

Reception

The Santa Barbara Independent described it as "sunny and poppy" and "a lot like early Phantom Planet".[7] Digital Spy said it was "rock music for anyone who finds Snow Patrol a bit too giddy sometimes".[5] The Houston Chronicle said it had "a tweentastic vibe" and that it was "easy to imagine lip-glossed girls swooning" over the single.[8]

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.

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".[9]

Track listing

  • CD single
  1. "Show Me What I'm Looking For" (Album Version) – 4:02
  2. "Open the Door" – 4:26

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know".
  2. ^ a b c d e Murphy, Celina (2009-08-28). "Carolina Liar live at the Academy". Hot Press (subscription required). Retrieved 2009-09-24. 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.
  3. ^ "Kentucky Speedway News". Motor Sport. 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  4. ^ "Carolina Liar 'I'm Not Over'". Glasswerk. 2009-09-16. Archived from the original on 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  5. ^ a b Fletcher, Alex (2009-06-01). "Carolina Liar: 'Show Me What I'm Looking For'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  6. ^ "Carolina Liar Lies to FOX All Access". FOX All Access. 2009-05-09. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
  7. ^ Comingore, Aly (2009-07-17). "KJEE presents Carolina Liar at SOhO". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  8. ^ Guerra, Joey (2009-05-27). "Tweentastic vibe on Carolina Liar's latest". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  9. ^ a b "'Life' in the fast lane". Boston Herald. 2009-09-16. Archived from the original on 2009-10-02. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  10. ^ a b ""The Hills" a cash cow for MTV". Monsters and Critics. 2009-05-15. Archived from the original on 2013-01-29. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
  11. ^ "Carolina Liar – Show Me What I'm Looking For". Tracklisten.
  12. ^ "Carolina Liar – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Carolina Liar. [dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Carolina Liar – Show Me What I'm Looking For" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  14. ^ "Chart Track: Week 24, 2009". Irish Singles Chart.
  15. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 38, 2009" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  16. ^ "Carolina Liar – Show Me What I'm Looking For" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  19. ^ "Carolina Liar Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  20. ^ "Carolina Liar Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  21. ^ "Carolina Liar Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  22. ^ "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2009". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  23. ^ "American single certifications – Carolina Liar – Show Me What I'm Looking For". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 6, 2022.