"Supermodel" is a song by Italian rock band Måneskin. It was released on 13 May 2022 through Epic Records and Sony Music, as the second single of their third studio album, Rush! (2023). It was written by Måneskin members Damiano David, Victoria De Angelis, Thomas Raggi and Ethan Torchio, alongside Justin Tranter and the song's producers Max Martin, Rami Yacoub and Sylvester Sivertsen. It is a California-inspired pop rock track with a grunge intro. Inspired by the group's stay in Los Angeles, they created a fictional character named "Supermodel", and the song talks about her life–what she does for a living, how she spends her life and that she would not love anyone back. The single was mostly met with positive reviews; however, in a review posted by Jenesaispop, Max Martin's production was deemed as damaging to the band's personality.
"Supermodel" was released ahead of the band's interval performance in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, where they debuted the song live. Additionally, they performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon one week later. To further promote the track, its music video was published on 31 May. Directed by Bedroom Projects and Ben Chappel, the video pays homage to 1990s cinema, while its plotline involves the titular "Supermodel", portrayed by Nina Marker, who stole De Angelis' purse. The band is seen trying to capture her to reclaim the stolen object. Commercially, the single peaked within top ten of five countries, and charted at number 11 in Italy, where it was certified platinum.
Background and development
Following Måneskin's win at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Zitti e buoni", the band achieved global success. In February 2022, they moved to Los Angeles to record their third studio album. In the city, they met many people obsessed with an idea of "celebrity" status or trying really hard to dress up for parties. According to the group's frontman, Damiano David, the band members were thinking that this obsession with status and appearance must be an exaggeration made by TV and movies, but it turned out to be real. This caused them to wonder whether or not these types of people are happy, leading to the creation of a fictional character called "Supermodel".
"Supermodel" was written by the members of Måneskin, Justin Tranter, and the song's producers Max Martin, Rami Yacoub, and Sly. Måneskin first met Martin after their performance in Los Angeles in November 2021, and decided to work with him. In an interview with Billboard, David described experience of working with Martin as "cool", and said that he and his team "never tried to force us to do something that we didn't want to do [instead] he basically wanted to understand how we work and how we're used to making music and what makes us happy about music." "Supermodel" came from a jamming session that the band had, when the producer asked "How can I help you to make it global?". The song depicts the life of its titular character, as well as is a criticism of people the group has encountered in Los Angeles. The band's frontman admitted in an interview with BBC, that "Supermodel" is not one of their "deepest" songs, but it is a "good fun"; while the group's guitarist, Thomas Raggi, said that he took inspiration from "California vibe" for Variety.
Music and lyrics
"Supermodel" is a pop rock song, that starts with a grunge intro, compared to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (1991). Music critics noted that the track has a California sound to it, while Dominika Pawłowska from Eska Rock likened it to the sound of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Following the intro, Damiano starts singing with "sultry" vocals, backed-up by fast-paced rhythm, and Victoria De Angelis' "three-dimentional" bass, whilst the chorus has been described as "adrenaline-pumping" by Panoramas Gabriele Antonucci. Bria McNeal of Nylon opined that the track is "catchy"; while Jenesaispops Paul Bacon noted that its "2000's-sounding guitars" are reminiscent of Maroon 5. Writing for Rockol, Claudio Cabona opined that "Supermodel" is a "mix between Ed Sheeran flow and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar style".