Sorry (Justin Bieber Song)
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"Sorry" is a song recorded by Canadian singer
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
for his fourth studio album, '' Purpose'' (2015). Written by Bieber,
Julia Michaels Julia Carin Michaels (''Birth name, née'' Cavazos; born November 13, 1993) is an American singer and songwriter. She has received six Grammy Award nominations, including twice for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year and Grammy A ...
,
Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, ...
,
Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
, and
BloodPop Michael Tucker (born August 15, 1990), known professionally as BloodPop (stylized as BloodPop®), is an American musician, record producer, songwriter, and gaming executive. Life and early career Tucker was born in Kansas City, Missouri, Uni ...
; the song was produced by the latter two. It was released on October 22, 2015, as the second single from the album. A
dancehall pop Dancehall pop is a sub-genre of the Jamaican genre dancehall that originated in the early 2000s. Developing from the sounds of reggae, dancehall pop is characteristically different in its fusion with western pop music and digital music productio ...
,
tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...
and moombahton song, "Sorry" contains in its instrumentation "brassy horn bleats", warm island rhythms and a bouncy dembow riddim drum beat. Lyrically, "Sorry" is a plea for a chance to apologize to a lover, with Bieber asking
forgiveness Forgiveness, in a psychology, psychological sense, is the intentional and voluntary process by which one who may have felt initially wronged, victimized, harmed, or hurt goes through a process of changing feelings and attitude regarding a given ...
and a second chance to redeem himself. Bieber has since said that the lover was
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
. Commercially, the song topped the charts of thirteen countries. It spent seven weeks at number one on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
and three weeks at number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100; "Sorry" was replaced by third single " Love Yourself" on the chart dated February 13, 2016, making Bieber the 12th act in the Hot 100's history to succeed himself at number one. He also accomplished the same feat in the United Kingdom, becoming the third act ever to self-replace at the top of the UK Singles Chart. Globally, the song became one of the best selling digital music releases with over 10 million in sales in 2016 alone. It is
certified Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...
Diamond in Australia, Brazil, France, Mexico, Poland, and the United States.


Background

While working on his then-upcoming fourth studio album, Justin Bieber enlisted American DJ
Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
to produce songs for the record after successfully working with him on "
Where Are Ü Now "Where Are Ü Now" is a song produced by American EDM duo Jack Ü, composed of DJs and producers Skrillex and Diplo, with Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The song was released as the second single from the duo's debut studio album, '' Skrillex a ...
", which he sent to Skrillex and
Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
for their project
Jack Ü Jack Ü was an American electronic dance music duo consisting of electronic music producers Skrillex and Diplo, formed in 2013. They released their first official single, "Take Ü There", featuring vocals from Kiesza, on October 4, 2014. They re ...
and that became a worldwide hit and helped to revamp his career. Regarding his will to work with the producer, Bieber commented: "Skrillex is a genius. He’s super futuristic and I just love his sounds. I think being able to incorporate that sound with what I’m doing has been super cool because it’s like new and fresh, and I feel like no one’s done it before." Regarding his involvement, Skrillex commented: "I heard some well-written songs that were really good that they wanted me to do production on and from there, we wrote some new songs. It was an opportunity to try some stuff that I had never done before and we ended up making something really unique." Skrillex also invited Michael Tucker, under his producer name
BloodPop Michael Tucker (born August 15, 1990), known professionally as BloodPop (stylized as BloodPop®), is an American musician, record producer, songwriter, and gaming executive. Life and early career Tucker was born in Kansas City, Missouri, Uni ...
, to help him produce some tracks for the album. The producer wrote "Sorry" with other songwriters and immediately felt it was a relatable song. Later, he needed to convince Bieber's team that "Sorry" was "the song".


Release

On October 18, 2015, Bieber announced the release of "Sorry", and a day later, the song was promoted through a
Vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...
video that played the song in the background and featured
King Bach Andrew Byron Bachelor (born June 26, 1988), better known by his stage name King Bach ( ), is a Canadian-American Internet comedian and actor who rose to fame on the now-defunct video sharing service Vine, on which he was the most-followed user w ...
and
Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...
. On October 21, 2015, Bieber posted an acoustic 13-second sample of the song, while on October 22, 2015, the song was officially released as ''Purpose'' second single. In the same day, Bieber posted a video on his
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
, where he appeared in the studio with BloodPop and Skrillex, listening to the song and riding around on
hoverboard A hoverboard (or hover board) is a fictional levitating board used for personal transportation, first described in science-fiction, and made famous by the appearance of a skateboard-like hoverboard in the film ''Back to the Future Part II''. Ma ...
s. A "Latino remix" of the song, featuring Colombian singer
J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...
, was released worldwide on November 6, 2015.


Recording and writing

"Sorry" is the result of a studio collaboration between Michael Tucker, under his producer moniker BloodPop, with songwriters
Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, ...
and
Julia Michaels Julia Carin Michaels (''Birth name, née'' Cavazos; born November 13, 1993) is an American singer and songwriter. She has received six Grammy Award nominations, including twice for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year and Grammy A ...
. Tucker was responsible for writing the
music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
, while Tranter and Michaels contributed to the song's
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
. Michaels and Tranter, who had already worked together in a handful of tracks and became songwriting partners, were asked to go write with Tucker in a session. Tucker created the song's melody with Bieber in mind, while Michaels was in a vocal booth with Tranter and the word "sorry" "popped out" of her head, as she recalled. After that, they came up with the lyrics, inspired by a personal event Michaels had, sent the demo to Bieber's team, and Bieber himself loved the track and "changed a couple things to make it feel more like him." Skrillex was responsible for the
beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
and claimed that he also acted as a support "for what Justin was saying and help dkeep it simple, and record good, memorable songs." Initially, Bieber thought the song was too safe and simple, but Skrillex told him it has a very refined simplicity about it. BloodPop commented in an interview about the song, stating: "From the perspective of the producer, I find the muffled vocal chops to represent the people or situations in which Justin or the listener could be apologetic towards. The vocal manipulations make an ambiguous sound and a moment later Justin replies, Sorry. I love that narrative. Justin's vocal delivery and the triumphant key of the song gave the narrative a warm color. I am most excited by music that allows the beat to tell a story as much as the vocal and in 'Sorry,' the beat is saying moving forward, and apologizing, can be exciting and fun." Bieber, on the other hand, opined that "the more he listened to it the more he fell in love with it." He continued: "The melodies are really catchy and some people would misinterpret that for being safe but it's like
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' '
Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (song), the title song from the album Let It Be may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 film), ...
', simple melodies but it's so effective "music right now is missing those effective real songs."


Composition and lyrical interpretation

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by
Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a global music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Publishing has been ranked the #1 music publisher in market share by Billboard for multiple consecutive quart ...
, the song is composed in the key of
E major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...
with a moderately fast
tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...
of 100
beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...
. Bieber's vocals range from the note of E3 to B4. "Sorry" is a
dancehall pop Dancehall pop is a sub-genre of the Jamaican genre dancehall that originated in the early 2000s. Developing from the sounds of reggae, dancehall pop is characteristically different in its fusion with western pop music and digital music productio ...
,
tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...
and moombahton song. It contains a "smooth but electrifying EDM beat, incorporating "brassy horn bleats", a reggaeton rhythm, warm island rhythms and a dembow riddim beat. It starts with a lone piano note before a distinct motif, most precisely a high-pitched coo, takes over. Bieber uses a smooth falsetto during the track. Bianca Gracie of Idolator drew parallels between "Sorry" and previous single "
What Do You Mean? "What Do You Mean?" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on August 28, 2015, by Def Jam as the lead single from his fourth studio album '' Purpose'' (2015). The song was produced by MdL and co-produced by Bieber. It was fea ...
" for sharing "a similar tropical pop route" and found there were "a few more spritz of sweet, beachy and
dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...
-inspired notes". Many critics also found sonic similarities between both songs. Lyrically, the song is a plea "for a chance to apologize to an unidentified lover", with Bieber asking forgiveness, "saying that he misses more than just her body and "hoping they can 'both say the words and forget this. During the song, he sings: "I know you know that I made those mistakes maybe once or twice / By once or twice I mean maybe a couple of hundred times / So let me, so let me redeem myself tonight / Because I just need one more shot, a second chance." Andrew Unterbgerger of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' noted that on the track, "Bieber's still a little too proud to beg he undercuts the penitence of his verses by deflecting 'You know there are no innocents in this game for two,' and never actually delivering the titular apology, merely asking if doing so would still be productive." Regarding its lyrics, Sheldon Pearce of ''
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
'' found it to be "sincere", while Amy Davidson of
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
thought the opposite, considering it an unapologetic song. Meanwhile, Jamieson Cox of ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...
'' wondered, "Is he singing to an ex or to listeners around the world?" Julia Michaels, one of its songwriters, claimed that, "We were just trying to capture that moment in a relationship or a particular moment in your life where you realize you made a mistake and you're finally ready to admit it and apologize." Later, Bieber admitted that the song was not an apology for his past transgressions, explaining: People ran with that that I was like, apologizing with that song and stuff. It really had nothing to do with that. It was about a girl." Later, he confirmed that the girl in question was his ex-girlfriend
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
.


Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim. Leah Greenblatt of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' cited the song for being "stripped down for maximum aerodynamics, the vocals mentholated and sweetened with a brushstroke of bass here, a snake-charmer synth line there." Andy Kellman of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
selected the song as one of the album's highlights, citing the song and "What Do You Mean?" as tracks that "showed him making a deeper connection with his material and that, yes, he was progressing from performer to artist." Brad Nelson of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' also praised both songs for being "vivid tropical house tracks that sound like sunlight drifting down through palm fronds. Bieber's voice often resembles a breath contorted inexpressively through notes; here, he lets it weightlessly fall through textures. They are his best performances to date, allowing him to flex a rhythmic playfulness without communicating an iota of legible emotion." ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' Maeve McDermott wrote: "'Sorry' is just as much of an earworm as his previous single 'What Do You Mean?', with the same summery neon-hued electronic production." For Bianca Gracie of Idolator, the song "is a few notches above of its single predecessor" due to "the combination of dancehall flair and the continued trend of his 'come hither' laid-back vocals," considering it "one that has been unmatched this year." Michelle Geslani of
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
applauded the collaboration with Skrillex and
BloodPop Michael Tucker (born August 15, 1990), known professionally as BloodPop (stylized as BloodPop®), is an American musician, record producer, songwriter, and gaming executive. Life and early career Tucker was born in Kansas City, Missouri, Uni ...
, saying "the results are beyond promising. It's a chill number marked by warm island rhythms." Brennan Carley of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
'' wrote that the song "starts with a tropical drum-n-bass situation before exploding into a glorious, neatly wound chorus," calling it "a subdued step forward for the Biebs." Andrew Unterberger of the same publication noted: "Like any number of classic Motown songs, 'Sorry' understands that take-me-back songs are always more persuasive when they sound like fun you're missing out on, and the song's euphoric drop is a better second-chance argument than any the singer could present himself." Mikael Wood of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' called it "airy tropical-house banger that makes the singer's first big hit, the puppyish '
Baby In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...
', seem like an artifact from a different era (which it pretty much is)."''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' Nolan Feeney also appreciated the song saying: With a beat this breezy, though, that's nothing to be sorry about." Dee Lockett of
Vulture.com ''Vulture'' is an American entertainment news website. It is the standalone pop culture section of ''New York'' magazine. Its tagline is "Devouring Culture". History ''Vulture'' debuted in April 2007 as an entertainment blog on nymag.com, the w ...
wrote: "it's a Caribbean-flavored house beat over which Bieber flexes his best falsetto." Sam C. Mac of ''
Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
'' opined that the song brought "a mini-resurrection of the house/reggaeton fusion Moombahton, along with Bieber's most grown-n'-sexy lyrics." Amy Davidson of Digital Spy concluded: "With its show-offy vocal distortions and tropical feel, 'Sorry' might not be a sincere attempt at forgiveness—but that's probably why it sounds so good."


Year-end lists

''
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 ...
'' ranked "Sorry" at number 9 on its year-end list for 2015, writing: "Justin Bieber should try apologizing more often. From the bright opening notes to the manipulated vocal loop in the chorus, the Biebs brought EDM to his pop palette and made fans out of haters with an unforgivably good single."


Chart performance


North America

In the United States, "Sorry" debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on the issue dated November 14, 2015 with 277,572 downloads sold and 23.1 million US streams in its first week, becoming Bieber's second consecutive top-10 debut (after "
What Do You Mean? "What Do You Mean?" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on August 28, 2015, by Def Jam as the lead single from his fourth studio album '' Purpose'' (2015). The song was produced by MdL and co-produced by Bieber. It was fea ...
" which debuted at number one) and his eighth top-10 ''Billboard'' single overall. With having debuted at number one and number two with prior single '"What Do You Mean?" and "Sorry", respectively, Bieber's '' Purpose'' became only the fourth album in ''Billboard's'' history to have yielded multiple songs that entered the Hot 100 in the top-two positions (the others were
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
's ''
Daydream Daydreaming is a stream of consciousness that detaches from current external tasks when one's attention becomes focused on a more personal and internal direction. Various names of this phenomenon exist, including mind-wandering, fantasies, a ...
'' in 1995–96, ''Butterfly'' in 1997–98, and
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
's '' Recovery'' in 2010). Additionally, with "Sorry" at number two and "What Do You Mean" at number five, Justin Bieber became the 20th solo male artist to have two songs inside the top five. The following week, the song sold 129,000 downloads, descending to number four on the Hot 100. However, it moved from 37 to 27 on the Radio Songs chart, with 46 million all-format audience impressions. In its fourth week, after the release of '' Purpose'', the song ascended again to number two on the Hot 100, selling 82,000 copies. That week, Bieber's "What Do You Mean?" and " Love Yourself" (a track from ''Purpose'', which debuted on the chart after selling 140,000 downloads) were at number five and four on the Hot 100, respectively, which made the singer be only the third artist to have three singles inside the chart's top five (the others being
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
in 1964 and
50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
in 2005). Additionally, the same week, Bieber had 17 songs on the
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
simultaneously, breaking the record previously held by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
and
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...
. For the chart dated December 12, 2015, after Bieber's performance on the
American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
, "Sorry" ascended from two to one on
Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking ...
, selling 178,000 downloads and becoming Bieber's third chart-topper on that chart, after 2012's "
Boyfriend A boyfriend is a man who is a friend or acquaintance to the speaker, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is platonically, romantically or sexually involved. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suito ...
" and prior single "
What Do You Mean? "What Do You Mean?" is a song by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on August 28, 2015, by Def Jam as the lead single from his fourth studio album '' Purpose'' (2015). The song was produced by MdL and co-produced by Bieber. It was fea ...
". For the chart dated January 2, 2016, the song became Bieber's first number-one single on the
Streaming Songs The Streaming Songs chart is released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and lists each week's top streamed radio songs, on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services in the United States. The chart represents one ...
chart, ascending from 2 to 1. That week, it also became his second number-one song on the
Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...
chart. After eight non-consecutive weeks (seven consecutively) at number two, on the week charting 23 January 2016, "Sorry" moved up past Adele's "Hello" to become Bieber's second number-one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, after selling 128,000 downloads and earning 145 million audience impressions. On the chart dated 6 February 2016, 'Sorry' stayed at the top of the Hot 100 for a third consecutive week, giving Bieber his longest number one on the chart. That week, Bieber's 'Love Yourself' ascended from 3 to 2, which made the singer be the 17th act in the Hot 100's history to rank at Nos. 1 and 2 simultaneously. He was just the 11th act to hold the Hot 100's top two as a lead artist on both songs. The following week, 'Sorry' became Bieber's first number-one song on the Radio Songs chart after earning 141 million audience impressions, however, it was beaten to the top on the Hot 100 by "Love Yourself". With that, Bieber became the 12th artist in the Hot 100's 57-year history to succeed himself at number one. On the issue dated 2 April 2016, "Sorry" spent its 21st week in the Hot 100's top ten, matching the mark for the most consecutive weeks logged in the Hot 100's top 10 from a song's debut. Impressively, Bieber's "What Do You Mean?" had already tied the record. The record was surpassed later by Bieber's own " Love Yourself", which spent 23 consecutive weeks in the top ten since its debut. As of February 2016, "Sorry" has sold 2 million copies in the U.S.


Europe and Oceania

In the United Kingdom, the song entered at number two on the UK Singles Chart in October 2015. It climbed to the top of the UK Singles Chart on 20 November 2015, with 104,000 combined chart sales and 5.35 million streams, becoming Bieber's second chart-topping song in Britain. That week, Bieber had three songs inside the Official Singles Chart's top five, including "Sorry" (1), "Love Yourself" (3) and "What Do You Mean?" (5). No other male artist had achieved that in 34 years, since John Lennon did in January, 1981. In addition, the singer had eight songs inside the chart's top 40, the first time ever that a living act achieved this many entries simultaneously in the Official Singles Chart top 40 (the closest was
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
who managed a maximum of seven entries in 1957). The following week, 'Sorry' remained at number one, meanwhile 'Love Yourself' reached the number two position, making Bieber be the first act to dominate the two spots of the Official Singles Chart in 30 years, since
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
did in 1985 with "
Into the Groove "Into the Groove" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna, and featured in the 1985 film ''Desperately Seeking Susan''. Written and produced by both Madonna and Stephen Bray, the main inspiration behind the song was the dance floor; the s ...
" and "
Holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...
". The next week, "Sorry" was beaten to the top by Bieber's "Love Yourself", earning 5.5 and 5.97 million streams, respectively. With that, Bieber became the first act to replace themselves on the chart since
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
did in 2005. Also, he was the first living act to do so since
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
did in December 1963. "Sorry" and "Love Yourself" remained at the same place for two more consecutive weeks, making Bieber the first artist ever to log four weeks at numbers 1 and 2 consecutively, breaking the record previously held by The Beatles, who logged three consecutive weeks at numbers 1 and 2 in 1967–68. "Sorry" was the tenth best-selling song in the UK with sales of 934,000 in combined units including streams. On June 10, 2016, it was revealed that "Sorry" had become the first song to hit 100 million streams in the UK. As of September 2017, the song had accumulated 724,000 in actual sales, 144 million in streams, making a total of 2,168,000 combined units. In Australia, "Sorry" entered at number two on the
ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, becoming Bieber's third top-ten hit in 2015 and his fourth overall. In New Zealand, "Sorry" became Bieber's second consecutive number-one single.


Music videos


''Purpose: The Movement''

A dance video for "Sorry" was released on October 22, 2015. The video, which features the
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
dancers of
ReQuest Dance Crew ReQuest Dance Crew (also known as ReQuest) are an all-female hip-hop dance crew from Auckland, New Zealand. ReQuest was formed in 2007, with originally five members. They are based out of The Palace Dance Studio in Penrose, New Zealand, Penrose a ...
and The Royal Family dance crew, was directed and choreographed by New Zealander Parris Goebel, who also appears as a dancer. The video was initially intended to be a lyric video and was eventually kept as a dance video. As of February 2025, the music video has received 3.92 billion views on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, making it the twenty-third most viewed video on the site, the 22nd to reach 1 billion views, the fifth fastest to reach 1 billion views, the fourth fastest to reach 2 billion views and the seventh fastest to reach 3 billion views.


Lyric video

The
lyric video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to promote the sale of m ...
for "Sorry" was released on October 29, 2015. The video features a girl (played by dancer Lauren Hudson Petrilli) who goes through a day of her life, with the words of the song appearing in random places as she wanders around inside and outside her house, alongside the use of special effects. The video was directed by Zach King and Aaron Benitez.


Live performances

Bieber performed the song on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'' on November 13, 2015. He was also a musical guest on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
''. Additionally, Bieber performed the song during the 2015
American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
, which took place at Microsoft Theater on 22 November 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The singer also took the stage to perform "Sorry" during the season nine finale of '' The Voice'' on 15 December 2015. Bieber performed the song live at the
2016 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2016 was held on 24 February 2016 and was the 36th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The awards ceremony was held at The O2 Arena in London and were presented by Ant & Dec. Award nominations w ...
in London on February 24, 2016.


Plagiarism allegation

In May 2016, ''
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 ...
'' reported that Bieber and
Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
were being sued by indie artist White Hinterland, who claims the duo used her vocal loop from her 2014 song "Ring the Bell" without permission. Eight seconds of the "Ring the Bell" riff is allegedly used six times in "Sorry." Co-writers are also included in the suit. Producer
Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
responded to the claim by uploading a video of himself manipulating the vocals of co-writer
Julia Michaels Julia Carin Michaels (''Birth name, née'' Cavazos; born November 13, 1993) is an American singer and songwriter. She has received six Grammy Award nominations, including twice for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year and Grammy A ...
. The lawsuit was later dropped.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

*
List of best-selling singles in Australia This is a list of highest-certified singles in Australia according to the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Since 1983, ARIA certifies a single Platinum for shipment of 70,000 copies across Australia. Single figures can include "qu ...
* List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number-one singles of 2016 * List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2016 *
List of number-one hits of 2015 (Denmark) Tracklisten is a chart that ranks the best-performing singles and tracks of the Denmark. Its data, published by IFPI Denmark and compiled by Nielsen Music Control, is based collectively on each single's weekly digital sales. Chart history R ...
* List of number-one singles of 2015 (Ireland) * List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2015 * List of number-one singles from the 2010s (New Zealand) *
Scottish Singles and Albums Charts The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
* List of number-one singles of 2015 (Spain) *
List of number-one singles of 2016 (Spain) A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
List of number-one singles of the 2010s (Sweden) This is a list of number-one singles during the 2010s according to the Sverigetopplistan, a chart that ranks the best-performing singles of Sweden. 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 See als ...
* List of number-one singles of 2016 (South Africa) * List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2010s *
List of most-viewed YouTube videos YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in San Bruno, California. The site indicates view counts of each uploaded video, making it possible to keep track of the most viewed, many of which continue to exist while others are n ...


References


Further reading

* {{Authority control 2015 songs 2015 singles Justin Bieber songs J Balvin songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Dancehall songs Moombahton songs Tropical house songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Portugal Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Sweden UK singles chart number-one singles Song recordings produced by BloodPop Song recordings produced by Skrillex Def Jam Recordings singles Reggae fusion songs Songs written by Justin Bieber Songs written by Skrillex Songs written by BloodPop Songs written by Justin Tranter Songs written by Julia Michaels Songs written by J Balvin South African Airplay Chart number-one singles Torch songs Sampling controversies