The Steps (song)

"The Steps" is a song by American pop rock band Haim from their third studio album Women in Music Pt. III (2020). It was written by band members Alana Haim, Este Haim and Danielle Haim with Rostam Batmanglij and Ariel Rechtshaid ; the latter three also produced it. The single was released by Columbia Records on March 3, 2020 alongside the album's pre-order.

"The Steps"
Single by Haim
from the album Women in Music Pt. III
ReleasedMarch 3, 2020 (2020-03-03)
Length4:07
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Danielle Haim
  • Rostam Batmanglij
  • Ariel Rechtshaid
Haim singles chronology
"Hallelujah"
(2019)		 "The Steps"
(2020)		 "I Know Alone"
(2020)

The track was regarded by several critics as one of the best songs of 2020 and was nominated for Best Rock Performance at the 63rd Grammy Awards.

Writing and production

The Haim sisters worked with frequent collaborators Rostam Batmanglij and Ariel Rechtshaid for their third studio album Women in Music Pt. III. A week before turning in the album, they wrote "The Steps" in a day. The band members wanted to create an up-tempo song that could allow them to do a great performance and decided to work on a "bare-bone" rock song. The writing process for this track was different from the band's previous work, as they usually compose the melody before writing the lyrics. But for "The Steps", they created both at the same time after they started to scream the line "you don't understand me."[1]

Danielle Haim provided the main vocals for "The Steps" and played the drums and guitar, Alana Haim played the bass and Este Haim played the acoustic guitar and recorded backing vocals.[2] Cass McCombs also played guitar on the track.[3]

Music and lyrics

"The Steps" is a guitar-driven[4] love song.[5] It mixes elements of pop, country and alternative.[2] Danielle Haim described the riff as "tough and straight to the point."[1]

Release and promotion

On March 2, 2020, Haim unveiled the cover art, title and scheduled released date of their third studio album through their social medias. They also announced that their next single, "The Steps", would be released the following day alongside the album's pre-order.[6] The song premiered on Annie Mac's radio show on BBC Radio 1 as the host's "Hottest Record in the World."[7] The same month, Danielle Haim filmed a guitar tutorial for BBC Radio 1's Music Lessons.[8]

Critical reception

Accolades

"The Steps" is nominated for Best Rock Performance at the 63rd Grammy Awards while its parent album is nominated for Album of the Year.[9]

Year-end lists
"The Steps" on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 100 Best Songs of 2020: Staff List
57
 [10]
The Fader The 100 Best Songs of 2020
1
 [11]
Gaffa The Best Foreign Songs of the Year
9
 [12]
The Guardian Laura Barton's Tracks of 2020 N/A [13]
Laura Snapes's Tracks of 2020 N/A
Los Angeles Times The 50 Best Songs of 2020 N/A [14]
NME The 50 Best Songs of 2020
23
 [15]
Noisey The 100 Best Songs of 2020
95
 [16]
Pitchfork The 100 Best Songs of 2020
35
 [17]
The Best Music of 2020: Pitchfork Readers' Poll Results
18
 [18]
The Plain Dealer The Best Songs of 2020
25
 [19]
Slant The 50 Best Songs of 2020
26
 [20]
Spin The 30 Best Songs of 2020
11
 [21]
Stereogum Chris DeVille's Best Songs of 2020
4
 [22]
Uproxx The Best Songs of 2020
11
 [23]

Music video

The music video for "The Steps" was released alongside the song on March 3, 2020. It was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and Danielle Haim.[24]

Live performances

Haim performed "The Steps" live for the first time on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 9, 2020,[25] alongside three backing musicians.[26] The following day, Haim embarked on their Deli Tour, a five-shows promotional tour sponsored by American Express. The tracklist consisted of five songs, including "The Steps" performed by the band with its co-producer and co-writer Rostam Batmanglij.[27] Their Los Angeles performance at Canter's was filmed by Paul Thomas Anderson and posted online in June 2020.[28]

The single was part of a three-songs set performed in May 2020 by Danielle Haim for Rolling Stone's "In My Room" series. After playing an electric guitar when she sang "Don't Wanna" and "Summer Girl", she switched to an acoustic guitar for "The Steps".[29] The following month, on June 17, the band did a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR. The three members performed from their respective Silver Lake homes.[30] They opened their set with "The Steps" while playing a guitar, a bass and bongos. They followed it with "I Know Alone" before American saxophonist Henry Solomon joined them for the last song of the set, "Summer Girl".[31]

On October 24, 2020, Haim performed "The Steps" and "Summer Girl" at the 14th Go Campaign Gala and raised 10.000 dollars to help homeless UCLA students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[32]

Charts

References
  1. Comingore, Aly (April 1, 2020). "Anatomy of a Song: How Spontaneity Helped Haim Write "The Steps"". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  2. McNamara, Baker (March 12, 2020). "Single Review: "The Steps" by Haim". Whip Radio. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  3. Robert Ross, Alex (June 16, 2020). "HAIM Have Been Down". The Fader. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  4. Bacior, Robin (March 3, 2020). "HAIM Share Video for New Song "The Steps", Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson: Watch". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  5. Davis, Jeffrey (June 29, 2020). "HAIM Create Their Best Album with "Women in Music Pt. III"". PopMatters. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  6. Rowley, Glenn (March 2, 2020). "Haim's Third Album Is Finally on the Way: See the Title, Cover and Release Date". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  7. Skinner, Tom (March 3, 2020). "Listen to Haim's "Therapeutic" New Single "The Steps"". NME. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  8. Riddell, Rose (April 17, 2020). "Watch: Danielle Haim Teach the Guitar Part for "The Steps"". Coup de Main. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  9. "Haim Are Marveling Over Album of the Year Grammy Nod: "We're Three Jews From the Valley"". Billboard. November 24, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  10. "The 100 Best Songs of 2020: Staff List". Billboard. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  11. "The 100 Best Songs of 2020". The Fader. December 17, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  12. "REDAKTIONEN: Her er årets bedste udenlandske sange". Gaffa (in Danish). December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  13. "Guardian Albums and Tracks of 2020: How Our Writers Voted". The Guardian. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  14. "The 50 Best Songs of 2020". Los Angeles Times. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  15. "The 50 Best Songs of 2020". NME. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  16. "The 100 Best Songs of 2020". Noisey. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  17. "The 100 Best Songs of 2020". Pitchfork. December 7, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  18. "The Best Music of 2020: Pitchfork Readers' Poll Results". Pitchfork. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  19. Smith, Troy L. (December 6, 2020). "Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's "WAP" is the Undisputed Song of 2020". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  20. "The 50 Best Songs of 2020". Slant. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  21. "The 30 Best Songs of 2020". Spin. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  22. "Stereogum's 60 Favorite Songs Of 2020". Slant. December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  23. "The Best Songs of 2020". Uproxx. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  24. Mamo, Heran (March 3, 2020). "Haim Makes a Morning Mess in "The Steps" Music Video". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  25. "Haim Create Catchy a New Tune, Perform "The Steps" and "Summer Girl" on Fallon: Watch". Billboard. March 11, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  26. Zemler, Emily (March 10, 2020). "Watch Haim Perform New Single "The Steps" on Fallon". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  27. Good, Hannah (March 12, 2020). "Haim Played at Call Your Mother Last Night, and for a Few Minutes Things Seemed... Okay?". Washingtonian. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  28. Bloom, Madison (June 26, 2020). "Watch HAIM Perform in Los Angeles Deli Canter's". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  29. Martoccio, Angie (May 30, 2020). ""In My Room" with Haim". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  30. Mims, Taylor (June 17, 2020). "Watch Haim Harmonize for Acoustic NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  31. Shaffer, Claire (June 17, 2020). "Haim Perform WIMPIII Tracks From Home on NPR's Tiny Desk Series". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  32. Rowley, Glenn (October 26, 2020). "Haim Perform "The Steps" & "Summer Girl" For Coronavirus Relief at Go Campaign Gala: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  33. "Ultratop.be – Haim – The Steps" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  34. "Haim Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  35. "Haim Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  36. "Adult Alternative – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
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