"Loser like Me" is an original song performed by the cast of American television series Glee, taken from their sixth soundtrack album, Glee: The Music, Volume 5. The song was written and produced by Adam Anders, Max Martin, and Peer Åström, and Shellback, with additional songwriting credit from Savan Kotecha. The song, with another track "Get It Right", were the first two original songs to be featured on the show. The song is their first official single, being sent to US radio on March 1, 2011. In order for the song to have radio appeal, Anders recruited Martin to produce "Loser like Me" while he was in the United States working on Britney Spears' Femme Fatale.
Lea Michele and Cory Monteith front the song, with Michele providing lead vocals in the chorus and a verse, and Monteith having a verse. Other cast members provide vocals in the chorus and in a rap breakdown. Naya Rivera and Heather Morris have some spoken words and some solo work during the chorus. Musically, the song is a dance-pop song, and it features a "pop funk" guitar. The production drew comparisons to similar Max Martin productions released at the time, notably Pink's "Raise Your Glass" (2010). Lyrically, it follows in the footsteps of previous self-empowerment anthems released around the same time, with the incorporation of lines about revenge fantasies.
Critics generally praised the song in Glee first step at original music, including its production, lyrics, and Michele's vocals. However, common criticisms were that the song sounded like a cover of another song, and that it would have been better suited for other artists Martin usually works with, such as Pink or Avril Lavigne. The song debuted at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became the cast's third top-ten hit to date. It reached number thirty-six on the US Adult Pop Songs chart, becoming their first song other than a Christmas song to appear on an airplay chart. Internationally, it reached the top thirty in at least five other markets. The song's performance was featured in the Glee episode "Original Song" which first aired on March 15, 2011, and included choreography and the group throwing confetti from slushie cups at the audience. The song was redone by Jenna Ushkowitz, Kevin McHale, Darren Criss and Chord Overstreet in the second part of Glee two-part 100th episode, "New Directions", which aired on March 25, 2014.
Background
On February 23, 2011, it was announced that Glee, for the first time, would feature two original songs, entitled "Loser like Me" and "Get It Right" on their March 15, 2011 episode. The series' music producer, Adam Anders, called the song a "Gleek anthem," and it was "a very uptempo, kind-of-summery hit". It was also revealed that pop music producer, Max Martin, known for his work with Britney Spears, among other singers, would produce "Loser like Me". Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly called this a "major pop music coup" by Glee. Anders also went on to comment, "The thing about Max is that he's a huge fan of pop culture and he just loved the idea of being part of something that's such a cultural phenomenon. So it was actually not hard to convince him at all. He was all about it."
According to Anders, the Swedish-based Martin was in the United States at the time working on Spears' then-new record, and then was "exposed to exactly how enormous [Glee] is". According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers database, co-writers on the song include Anders, Peer Åström, Savan Kotecha, and Johan Schuster. "Loser like Me" and "Get It Right" both premiered on On Air with Ryan Seacrest on February 25, 2011, and were performed in the episode "Original Song", on March 15, 2011. The song was also released on iTunes in the United States on March 15, 2011.
Radio impact
"Loser like Me" became the first radio single for Glee, and was sent to radio on March 1, 2011 for mainstream and Hot AC stations. Pete Cosenza, senior vice president of promotion and adult formats for Columbia Records told Billboard, We've promoted Glee music to radio for the past couple of years and week-by-week, programmers have embraced the show and its music more and more. (Adult radio) has created weekly, and, in some cases, daily, features, and played snippets of songs. Now, more have put "Loser like Me" into regular rotation. Glee is one of the biggest shows on television and it's a music show. What a win for us and radio.