"Hate Me" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

group

Blue October Blue October is an American Rock music, rock band originally from Houston, Texas, formed in 1995. It currently consists of singer/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, drummer Jeremy Furstenfeld, multi-instrumentalist #Personnel, Ryan Delahoussaye, b ...

. It is the band's most commercially successful single, peaking at number two on ''Billboard''s

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart and number 31 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2007, the video for the song was nominated for a

MuchMusic Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...

Video Award for best international video. The video is featured in the 2007

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

video game for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

, '' Singstar Pop''. The song won an

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

award in 2007. On July 13, 2012, the song was certified platinum for sales of one million in the United States. The song was initially released on the 2006 album ''

Foiled ''Foiled'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Blue October, released on April 4, 2006, by Universal Records. The album debuted at number 29 on the US Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200, marking the band's first entry on the chart. Th ...

'', and several versions have been released since. A studio acoustic version was released to fans who pre-ordered ''Foiled''. A live acoustic version was also released on the EP ''Foiled Again''. A live acoustic version, which was recorded on the band's radio promotional tour prior to ''Foileds release, was released on ''97X Green Room 2'', a 2006 radio station compilation album. Other live versions of the song appear on the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

exclusive EP ''Live at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

2006'', as well as the

live albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

'' Teach Your Baby Well Live'', ''Live From Manchester'' and the live album/

concert film A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live performance or concert, by either a musician or a Stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian. Ea ...

'' Things We Do At Night - Live From Texas''. A solo acoustic version was released on lead singer Justin Furstenfeld's 2014 album '' Songs from an Open Book''.

Content

Furstenfeld wrote "Hate Me" as a response to the way his drug addiction and depression damaged his relationship with his girlfriend Maime, for whom he wrote the song "

Calling You "Calling You" is a song from the 1987 film, '' Bagdad Cafe''. It was originally recorded by American R&B and gospel music singer Jevetta Steele. Bob Telson, the songwriter, also recorded his version. Both versions appeared on the movie sound ...

". An authentic voicemail Furstenfeld received from his mother in which she expresses concern for whether he is doing well and taking his medication is featured at the beginning of the song.

Video

The music video for "Hate Me", directed by

Kevin Kerslake Kevin Kerslake is an American filmmaker, photographer, and music video director. He has directed documentaries on Joan Jett ('' Bad Reputation''), DJ AM (''As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM''), The Ramones ('' We're Outta Here!''), Nirvana ...

, begins with Furstenfeld sitting on his bed holding an answering machine and playing the tape of his mother which can be heard at the beginning of the song. After the message stops playing, Furstenfeld begins to walk through the house, seeing memories of him and his mother - her talking to him as a young boy, taking Prom pictures, and finally attempting to wake him from an overdose - replay in different rooms. These scenes alternate with footage of Blue October singing the song in the house's attic during the chorus. At the end of the video, Furstenfeld takes the answering machine to a cemetery and lays it on his mother's grave. The video led many fans to believe that Jeremy and Justin's mother had died. She is in fact alive, and she plays herself in the video. The fictional narrative about her dying was conceived by the music video director.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2006 singles Blue October songs Rock ballads Songs written by Justin Furstenfeld 2006 songs Universal Records singles Music videos directed by Kevin Kerslake