Popular (Nada Surf song)

"Popular" is a song by Nada Surf and the first single from their debut album High/Low. Each of the verses in "Popular" presents, in spoken word format, sarcastic advice to teens.

"Popular"
Single by Nada Surf
from the album High/Low
Released	June 1996
Recorded	December 1995
Genre	Alternative rock, grunge
Length	3:36
Label	Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, Gloria Winters
Producer(s)	Ric Ocasek
Nada Surf singles chronology
"Popular" (1996) "Treehouse" (1996)
Music video
"Popular" on YouTube

The song reached number 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and propelled the album to number 63 on the Billboard 200. "Popular" was also a big hit in Iceland, topping the country's chart for two weeks, and in France, where it reached number 10 and received a Gold certification for sales of over 250,000. Additionally, the song reached the top 40 in New Zealand, Sweden, and the Wallonia region of Belgium.

Background and release

The whole song, except for the chorus, are parts made up from the 1964 teen advice book Penny's Guide to Teen-Age Charm and Popularity, written by television actress Gloria Winters. The excerpts are spoken in a sarcastic tone by Matthew Caws.[1] A rerecorded version from 2007 appears on the band's MySpace.[2]

"Popular" proved to be Nada Surf's most successful single. Caws explained, "After the attention from 'Popular' died down, people seemed to get the impression that we'd somehow fallen from grace."[3]

Nada Surf continue to perform the song live, despite the stylistic difference from the band's later material. Caws commented, "We've tried playing 'Popular' at concerts now. If we don't play it, someone is grumpy. If we do play it, someone else is grumpy. We can't win."[3]

Music video

The music video for the song, directed by Jesse Peretz, was shot at the Bayonne High School, with administration approval, and showed football players and cheerleaders, wearing the uniforms of the school, as well as the three members of the band, Matthew as a teacher, Daniel as a security guard, and Ira as the football coach.[4] The video was styled by Andrea Linett, a former editor at Sassy magazine, who went on to be the founding creative director of Lucky magazine.

The plot consisted of an attractive female cheerleader, taking the teacher's lesson on popularity literally: by two-timing two football players behind their backs, under the notion that she deserves "every boy in the whole world" by following that teacher's "Teenage guide to popularity." Only in the video's ironic conclusion is it revealed that the two players are actually friends and have both been with the cheerleader.

The cheerleader in the music video was portrayed by then 18-year-old Sarah Sebestyen, a student at the time at Professional Children's School in Manhattan.[5]

Track listing

1. "Popular" – 3:36
2. "Pressure Free" – 2:32
3. "Oh No" – 2:08

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[6] 43 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[7] 7 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[8] 21 Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[9] 13 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] 36 France (SNEP)[11] 10 Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40)[12] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 54 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 40 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 13 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 123 US Radio Songs (Billboard)[17] 51 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[18] 11

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position France (SNEP)[19] 85 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 72 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales France (SNEP)[21] Gold 250,000^* ^*sales figures based on certification alone

References

1. Davis, Allison P. "Teens Have So Much to Learn From This One-Hit Wonder". The Cut. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
2. Farber, Jim (July 22, 1996). "Nada Surf Is In 'Popular' Demand New York Pop-punk Band's Novelty Ditty Moves Up On Mtv - New York Daily News". Articles.nydailynews.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
3. Suddath, Claire. "Nada Surf: Life After The One-Hit Wonder". TIME. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
4. "Nada Surf – "Popular"". mvdbase.com. June 18, 1996. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
5. "Nada Surf 'Popular' Cheerleader All Grown Up « Regretful Morning". Regretfulmorning.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
6. "Australian-charts.com – Nada Surf – Popular". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
7. "Ultratop.be – Nada Surf – Popular" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
8. "Ultratop.be – Nada Surf – Popular" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
9. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 8496." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13 no. 49. December 7, 1996. p. 12. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
11. "Lescharts.com – Nada Surf – Popular" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
12. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (12.12. – 18.12. '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). December 13, 1996. p. 20. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
13. "Dutchcharts.nl – Nada Surf – Popular" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
14. "Charts.nz – Nada Surf – Popular". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
15. "Swedishcharts.com – Nada Surf – Popular". Singles Top 100. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
16. "Chart Log UK (N)". zobbel.de. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
17. "Nada Surf Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
18. "Nada Surf Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
19. "Classement Singles – année 1996" (in French). Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
20. "Årslista Singlar – År 1996" (in Swedish). Hitlistan. Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
21. "French single certifications – Nada Surf – Popular" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved July 17, 2019.