"Uncomfortable" is a song by American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
band
Halestorm
Halestorm is an American Rock music, rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Siblings Lzzy and Arejay founded the band in ...
from their fourth studio album, ''
Vicious''. The song was written by Lzzy and Arejay Hale, alongside Josh Smith and Joe Hottinger. It was recorded at Rock Falcon Studios 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 ...
with producer
Nick Raskulinecz
Nick Raskulinecz () (born February 4, 1970) is an American record producer. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Production career
Raskulinecz is from the Bearden area of Knoxville, Tennessee. He first produced and recorded bands in Knoxville ...
. The song was released on May 30, 2018 as the album's
lead single
A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
A similar term, "debut ...
, through
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
.
"Uncomfortable" is a
pop metal
Pop metal (sometimes conflated with or used interchangeably with glam metal) is an umbrella term for commercial heavy metal and hard rock styles which feature prominent pop music elements such as catchy hooks and anthemic choruses. It became p ...
track with elements of
speed metal
Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...
and
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
. The lyrics, delivered rapid-fire by Lzzy Hale, were inspired by her own struggles with trying to please other people, and call the listener to focus on what makes them happy. The song received generally positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
, who praised the energy and technical construction of the track, and received a nomination for
Best Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for ...
at the
61st Annual Grammy Awards
The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...
. It also had a strong commercial performance, appearing on the US
Hot Rock & Alternative 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 at number 28 and the US
Rock Airplay
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
chart at number 17.
Background and composition
Halestorm released their third studio album ''
Into the Wild Life
''Into the Wild Life'' is the third studio album by American rock band Halestorm. It was scheduled for release on April 3, 2015, via Atlantic Records but due to unforeseen circumstances, it was pushed back by a week worldwide. The album was rel ...
'' on April 14, 2015. This was followed by 2017's ''
Reanimate 3.0: The Covers EP'', produced by
Nick Raskulinecz
Nick Raskulinecz () (born February 4, 1970) is an American record producer. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Production career
Raskulinecz is from the Bearden area of Knoxville, Tennessee. He first produced and recorded bands in Knoxville ...
. When the band commenced work on their next album, they wrote and discarded 15 songs.
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
and guitarist
Lzzy Hale
Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale IV (born October 10, 1983) is an American musician. She serves as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded with her brother Arejay Hale in 1997.
Early life
Hale was born O ...
was unhappy with the initial material; fearing that she was "paying way too much attention making everybody happy".
Halestorm reunited with Raskulinecz for a series of
jam session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
s at his
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 ...
recording studio, Rock Falcon.
"Uncomfortable" was the first song written for what would become ''
Vicious''. The song was written by band members Lzzy and Arejay Hale, Joe Hottinger, and Josh Smith.
Musically, "Uncomfortable" is a
pop metal
Pop metal (sometimes conflated with or used interchangeably with glam metal) is an umbrella term for commercial heavy metal and hard rock styles which feature prominent pop music elements such as catchy hooks and anthemic choruses. It became p ...
track,
with elements of
speed metal
Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...
and
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
.
It is written in the key of
C major
C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...
at a
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 119 beats per minute.
Lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
ist Hottinger told ''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
'' that the main
riff
A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
was written as "a joke", and kept at Raskulinecz's urging.
Lzzy Hale wrote the melody and lyrics about a month after the initial writing sessions.
The lyrics are a response to Hale's earlier worries about pleasing other people, with the message being: "You can't please everyone, there's always going to be someone disappointed, so you might as well make yourself happy and Be You." The vocal melody marks a departure from the usual
anthemic stylings of Halestorm, relying on rapid-fire verses and a chorus centered on a vocal riff. It is set to an instrumental background of heavy electric guitar riffs and drum beats.
Release and reception

Halestorm released "Uncomfortable" as the
lead single
A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
A similar term, "debut ...
from ''Vicious'' on May 30, 2018, as part of the larger album announcement. Hottinger was happy with the band's choice to make "Uncomfortable" the first single, "because it's part of that whole idea of challenging things ... It's a good introduction to the record."
The song was released to positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
, with such descriptions as "brilliant", "blistering", and "high-octane".
Axl Rosenberg of
MetalSucks
MetalSucks is an American heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock ...
said, "It's been a hot minute since there's been a pop-metal song this well put together,"
while Robert Pasbani of ''Metal Injection'' said that "Uncomfortable "has all the ingredients for a great pop metal song that will surely be all over rock radio and
Sirius XM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merge ...
Octane all this summer".
Pasbani praised the "great riffing, crunchy drums, and a really fun vocal performance," the last of which he compared to
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...
.
Hale, when asked whether Halestorm gets nervous about releasing new music, said: "You don't expect the worst, but you're prepared for the worst ... But
he reception to "Uncomfortable" hasbeen overwhelmingly positive, and I'm still, like, 'Where's the catch? What's happening here?'"
In their list of the best hard rock songs of 2018, ''
Loudwire
''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive i ...
'' placed "Uncomfortable" at number 2, falling only behind
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American Rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool (band), Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle released three of their ...
's "
Disillusioned". The track was also nominated for
Best Rock Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for ...
at the
2019 Grammy Awards,
ultimately losing to
Chris Cornell
Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...
's "When Bad Does Good". "Uncomfortable" was the second Grammy nomination for Halestorm, following "
Love Bites (So Do I)
"Love Bites (So Do I)" is a song by American rock band Halestorm. It was released on January 24, 2012, as the first single from their second album '' The Strange Case Of...''. It is also part of the '' Guitar Hero Live'' soundtrack.
Background
T ...
", which won
Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance at the
2013 ceremony.
"Uncomfortable" had a strong commercial showing in the United States as well, spending 20 weeks on the US ''
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 ...
''
Mainstream Rock
Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.
Format background
Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
chart, and peaking at number one on August 25, 2018. The song also appeared on the US
Hot Rock & Alternative 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 ...
and
Rock Airplay
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
charts, peaking at numbers 28 and 17, respectively.
"Uncomfortable" also appeared on the 2018
''Billboard'' Year-End Mainstream Rock chart at number 15.
Elsewhere, the song spent one week in October on the
Canada Rock
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
chart, reaching number 47.
Music video
The band released an official
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Uncomfortable" on the same day as the single. Directed by Evan Brace, who had previously worked with the bands
Phantogram Phantogram may refer to:
*Phantogram (band)
Phantogram is an American music duo from Greenwich (town), New York, Greenwich, New York (state), New York, formed in 2007 and consisting of multi-instrumentalists and vocalists Sarah Barthel and Josh ...
and
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Amityville, New York, formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes and bassist Jesse Lacey in late 1999. The band's current members are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keyboards, voc ...
, the video shows the band in
black and white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
, and utilizes
double exposure
In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be id ...
to create a stark, gritty visual experience.
On June 6, 2018, the band released
behind the scenes https://www Googlefinans.co=
In filmmaking, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK ( ...
footage from the making of the "Uncomfortable" video.
Credits and personnel
Recording
* Recorded at Rock Falcon in
Nashville, Tennessee
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 ...
.
Halestorm
*
Lzzy Hale
Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale IV (born October 10, 1983) is an American musician. She serves as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded with her brother Arejay Hale in 1997.
Early life
Hale was born O ...
– songwriter,
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
,
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...
,
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
,
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
* Joe Hottinger – songwriter,
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
, synthesizer,
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...
* Arejay Hale – songwriter,
drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, backing vocals
* Josh Smith – songwriter,
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
, synthesizer, backing vocals
Technical
*
Nick Raskulinecz
Nick Raskulinecz () (born February 4, 1970) is an American record producer. He resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
Production career
Raskulinecz is from the Bearden area of Knoxville, Tennessee. He first produced and recorded bands in Knoxville ...
–
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stat ...
* Nathan Yarborough –
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
* Nik Karpen – engineer
* Jordan Logue – assistant engineer
* Chris Lord-Alge –
mixing
* Ted Jensen –
mastering
Information taken from the ''Vicious'' liner notes.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Halestorm
2018 singles
2018 songs
Halestorm songs
American heavy metal songs
Songs written by Lzzy Hale