"Obsession" is a song by American singer

Sky Ferreira Sky Tonia Ferreira (; born July 8, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, model, and actress. As a teenager, Ferreira began uploading videos on Myspace of herself singing songs she had written, which led to her discovery by producers Bloodsh ...

. The song was written and produced by Justin "DJ Frank E" Franks with

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

members

Ryan Tedder Ryan Benjamin Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, and lead vocalist for the pop rock band OneRepublic, while also serving as a prolific cont ...

and

Jerrod Bettis Jerrod Bettis, also known as SKINS, is an American music producer, composer, and musician. Bettis has composed songs for Adele, the Lonely Island, Melissa Etheridge, KJ-52, and Serena Ryder. He has also produced work for artists including Hilar ...

. It was released as a single on September 14, 2010, by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

. The song peaked at number 37 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Hot Dance Club Songs The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set list ...

chart. The accompanying music video was directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

, and portrays Ferreira's obsession with actor

Michael Madsen Michael Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. Alongside his frequent collaborations with Quentin Tarantino—''Reservoir Dogs'' (1992), ''Kill Bill: Volume 2'' (2004), ''The Hateful Eight'' (2015), and ''Once Upon a Time in Hol ...

Background and composition

"Obsession" was written and produced by

DJ Frank E Justin Franks, known professionally as DJ Frank E, is an American DJ and music producer from Denver, Colorado. Frank E started working closely with Adelio Lombardi, founder of Side 3 Entertainment and owner of Side 3 Studios in Denver, while wo ...

, and

. Ferreira said of the song:

"It's kind of making fun of
narcissism Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism, named after the Greek mythological figure ''Narcissus'', has evolv ...
. It has an electronic edge, but it also has this whole
Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...
intro that's perfect for, say, a big hockey game."

Before its release, "Obsession" was included on '' Now That's What I Call Music! 35''. The track has also been featured on the soundtracks to the television series ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'' and the 2011 romantic comedy film ''

Larry Crowne ''Larry Crowne'' is a 2011 American romantic comedy film starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The film was produced and directed by Hanks, who co-wrote its screenplay with Nia Vardalos. The story was inspired by Hanks' time studying at Chabot C ...

''. A remix of the song by

Static Revenger Dennis White, also known as Latroit and Static Revenger, is an American electronic dance music producer, songwriter and DJ. In 2018, he won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical for his remix of "You Move", originally by Depe ...

was included on '' Now That's What I Call Club Hits 2''.

Music video

The music video for "Obsession", directed by

, debuted on September 30, 2010, on

mtvU MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. MTVU programming initially served 750 college and univ ...

. In the video, Ferreira has an infatuation with actor

. Though her friends find this ridiculous, she sets out to find Madsen and convince him to be with her. She dreams of Madsen aiding her in cutting one of her friend's hair. She eventually sneaks into Madsen's house. The last scene has the actor coming to see Ferreira and her friends in a restaurant. They both walk out after Madsen pays for the group's meal, and Ferreira's "friends" are left stunned. Throughout Ferreira's dream sequences, Madsen is dressed in a suit, and some of the video was perceived as a nod to Madsen's character Mr. Blonde from the 1992 film ''

Reservoir Dogs ''Reservoir Dogs'' is a 1992 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarant ...

''.

Track listings

*Digital download #"Obsession" – 3:44 *US promotional CD maxi single – The Remixes #"Obsession" (

Remix) – 6:51 #"Obsession" (Static Revenger Remix Instrumental) – 6:51 #"Obsession" (Static Revenger Radio Mix) – 3:33 #"Obsession" (Static Revenger Dub) – 6:36 #"Obsession" ( Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Club Mix) – 6:50 #"Obsession" (Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Dub) – 6:50 #"Obsession" (Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Radio Mix) – 3:40 #"Obsession" (Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Radio Mix Instrumental) – 3:40 #"Obsession" (

Sam Sparro Samuel Falson (born 8 November 1982), better known by his stage name Sam Sparro, is an Australian singer, songwriter and record producer. He was signed to the British record label Island Records. Sparro is best known for his 2008 single " Bl ...

& Golden Touch Club Mix) – 4:45 #"Obsession" (Sam Sparro & Golden Touch Dub) – 4:44 #"Obsession" (Sam Sparro & Golden Touch Radio Mix) – 3:46

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the promotional CD single. Recording * Recorded at Germano Studios (New York City, New York) and Patriot Studios (Denver, Colorado) * Additional recording at

Studio at the Palms Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by th ...

(Las Vegas, Nevada) * Mixed at 2010 Mixing (

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 19 ...

, California) * Mastered at Capitol Mastering (Hollywood, California) Personnel *

– vocals, background vocals *

– production, recording, programming, arrangement, synth *

– production, recording, programming, arrangement, guitar, synth, background vocals * Jerrod "Skins" Bettis – production, programming, arrangement, guitar, synth * Christian Baker – recording assistance * Mark Gray – additional recording * Rob Katz – recording assistance * Joe Zook – mixing * Dan Piscina – mixing assistance * Robert Vosgien – mastering

Charts

References

{{Sky Ferreira 2010 singles 2010 songs Capitol Records singles Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Sky Ferreira songs Song recordings produced by Ryan Tedder Songs written by DJ Frank E Songs written by Jerrod Bettis Songs written by Ryan Tedder Torch songs