"Superposition" is a song by

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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 ...

band

Young the Giant Young the Giant is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Irvine, California, in 2004. The band's line-up consists of Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar), and Franc ...

, promoted as the second single off of the band's fourth album, ''

Mirror Master Mirror Master is the name of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a recurring foe of the Flash (comics), Flash with considerable technical expertise and skills involving the use of mirrors. Three ...

''. It was released on August 23, 2018, through

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

Background and recording

Beyond the original version, two remakes were released: the first one was dubbed "Superposition (Reprise)", recorded in a single day in the Layman Drug Company Studio in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and uploaded to

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on January 16, 2019 while the second was named "Superposition (Reflection)" and posted online on April 12, 2019. On

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posts, the band has described "Superposition" as "a song about

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...

that has defied odds". On the ''Reprise'' version, they stated it is "a deconstructed negative of the original: a flipper zip on the

double helix In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by base pair, double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double Helix, helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its Nuclei ...

". Furthermore, on the ''Reflection'' version, they added it "is about recognizing the constant that hides behind infinite variations". Unusual in modern popular music, "Superposition" prominently features the sound of a

charango The charango is a small Andes, Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua people, Quechua and Aymara people, Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments we ...

Critical reception

While parent album ''Mirror Master'' received mixed reviews, "Superposition" was generally well-regarded. Neil Yeung, of

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, said it was an album highlight, "the gorgeous opener that balances alluring beats and heartfelt emotion." Chris Bach, of WRBB, called its lyrics "bland" but praised the "unique and dynamic instrumental", adding that it is "the centerpiece of this album". The "extensive physics metaphors" such as "superposition" and "black stars", plus "the atmospheric sound", were emphasized by Kerry Rork of The Chronicle.

Chart performance

Commercially, "Superposition" climbed to number 2 in the US

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, tying it with " It's About Time" for the highest-charting single to date by the band, while hitting the top spot in the

Mediabase Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytic ...

Alternative chart. Additionally, the song hit number 10 in the US

Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of ...

chart, number 3 in the US

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chart, and number 4 in the US

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Music video

The music video for the track was released on August 23, 2018, the same day it was released as a single. Directed by Computer Team, who also directed "Something To Believe In", it evokes reflection, among other physics-related concepts mentioned throughout the song.

Usage in media

"Superposition" was used in TV shows such as ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' and ''

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...

'', and was made available as a playable song in the video game ''

Rock Band 4 ''Rock Band 4'' is a 2015 rhythm game developed and published by Harmonix. The game was initially distributed by Mad Catz, who also developed new instrument controllers for the game, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 6, 2015. Performanc ...

''. The band performed the song live on ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...

'', ''

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'', and ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

''.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Young the Giant 2018 singles 2018 songs Young the Giant songs Elektra Records singles