Gotye Now 2023: What Happened to ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ Hitmaker, How Much He Earned From Hit Song, and More

Where exactly is "Somebody That I Used To Know" hitmaker, Gotye, now?

Gotye, whose real name is Wouter André De Backer, started his career in 2001 but waited for a decade before he secured more spotlight in the music industry with his hit song, "Somebody That I Used To Know."

More than a decade after the song's release, the singer-songwriter continues to collaborate with other musicians while releasing lesser-known albums.

Gotye Now 2023: Did He Retire? Did He Stop Making Music?

While some fans thought he stopped making music after the release of "Somebody That I Used To Know," it is worth noting that he never did - although he changed his stage name for good.

In 2014, he penned a newsletter saying he would no longer release new music under his stage name "Gotye" as he desired to retire his international persona.

"Wait, maybe there will be," he said. "I'm not entirely sure right now. There are many contingencies."

Gotye continued to work with his Australian-based record label, Spirit Level, and his band, The Basics. Compared to what his songs sounded like, his group has released and still releasing music that has a different sound and style than Gotye.

In 2016, he launched Ondioline Orchestra after Jean-Jacques Perrey's death alongside Rob Schwimmer, Joe McGinty, and Zammuto band members.

As for his latest album, he dropped his live album, "Live at the Songroom" (Season 2, Episode 9), in July 2020 after announcing that he would work on his fourth studio album. The plans for the latter have not been disclosed as of press time.

All About Gotye's Hit Song "Somebody That I Used To Know"

Gotye notably released "Somebody That I Used To Know" in 2011; the same track dominated Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks from April to June 2012 and brought home the Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys.

The track's album, "Making Mirrors," also won the Best Alternative Music Album from the award-giving body.

As of 2023, Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" music video already hit 2.1 billion views.

Australian artist Natasha Pincus previously revealed to Stereogum that the singer funded the making of the music video himself. Despite having a small budget to create the clip, it led Gotye to dominate the music industry instantly.

On the other hand, The Daily Mail reported that he turned down $10 million of ad revenue from YouTube due to his beliefs that ads should not be played before his songs.

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