"Fake It"
Single by Seether
from the album Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces
Released28 August 2007
Recorded2006–2007
Genre
Length3:16
LabelWind-up
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Howard Benson
Seether singles chronology
"The Gift"
(2006) 		"Fake It"
(2007) 		"Rise Above This"
(2008)

"Fake It" is a song by South African rock band Seether. It is the first single from the band's album Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces. The single quickly rose to number one on both the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts. It also reached number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, the second highest of their singles after "Broken", which reached number 20. The single was certified platinum by the RIAA and silver by the BPI.[3][4]

The original version of the song was first recorded in singer Shaun Morgan's bedroom and was an iTunes exclusive bonus track named "Quirk," included with pre-orders of Finding Beauty in Negative Spaces.

In May 2021, for the 40th anniversary of Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, Billboard ranked "Fake It" at number 10 on its list of the 100 most successful songs in the chart's history;[5][6] in September 2023, the magazine ranked the song at number 93 on a similar retrospective list for the 35th anniversary of Hot Modern Rock Tracks (which by then had been renamed to Alternative Airplay).[7][8]

Music video

The music video, which was directed by Tony Petrossian, debuted on Seether's website as part of a "worldwide fan premiere" on October 23, 2007, the same day the album was released. It shows Shaun Morgan filming a music video on a plane set, with women dancing seductively around him. It then goes on to show the band playing in a snowy clearing and an industrial looking arena surrounded by fans. Each setting is then inundated with various parts of the others, such as having the scantily clad models from the plane dance through the snowy clearing, revealing all the various music video tropes to be faked in some way, through the use of props, bluescreen, or computer manipulation, reflecting the theme of the lyrics.

Usage in media

"Fake It" was announced to be the official theme song of the 2008 WWE No Way Out pay-per-view event that took place on February 17, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada.[9] It also appears on the soundtrack in the video game Burnout Paradise. On June 8, 2010, it was released in the Rock Band Network for Rock Band 2, but was later released as official Rock Band 4 DLC on July 19, 2018. It was also featured as Rocksmith 2014 DLC on February 10, 2015 in the Seether song pack.[10]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2007–2008) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 49
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[12] 38
Canada Rock (Billboard)[13] 1
Czech Republic Rock (IFPI)[14] 6
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[16] 56
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[17] 1
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[18] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[3] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Achievements

"Fake It" was featured in the Burnout Paradise game as one of the in-game soundtracks where it was ranked tenth on ProGamist's list of "Top 10 songs featured in racing games".[19]

References

  1. ^ Childers, Chad. "No. 43: Seether 'Fake It' – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs Read More: No. 43: Seether 'Fake It' – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs". Loudwire. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Ranking: Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit from Worst to Best". 5 July 2017.
  3. ^ a b "American single certifications – Seether – Fake It". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "British single certifications – Seether – Fake It". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  5. ^ Rutherford, Kevin. "Shinedown & Days of the New Rule Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Charts". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  6. ^ "Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  7. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (September 7, 2023). "Alternative Airplay Chart's 35th Anniversary: Foo Fighters Remain No. 1 Act, 'Monsters' New Top Song". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  8. ^ "Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  9. ^ WWE: TV Shows > No Way Out
  10. ^ "Rocksmith 2014 DLC 2/10/2015 – Seether - the Riff Repeater". 9 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Seether – Fake It". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  12. ^ "Seether Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  13. ^ "Seether Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  14. ^ "CZ - Radio - Top 20 Modern Rock" (select "Top 20 Modern Rock" into the search box, then select "200817"). hitparada.ifpicr.cz. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Seether – Fake It". Top 40 Singles.
  16. ^ "Seether Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Seether Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Seether Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
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