This Is How (We Want You to Get High)

"This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" is a song by English singer-songwriter George Michael, released posthumously as a single on 6 November 2019, nearly three years after Michael's death.[1] It was featured in the 2019 film, Last Christmas, and appeared on the film's official soundtrack.[5]

"This Is How (We Want You to Get High)"
Single by George Michael
from the album Last Christmas: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Released6 November 2019 (2019-11-06)
Recorded2012–2015[1]
StudioAIR (London)[1]
GenrePop[2][3]
Length
  • 4:00 (single version)
  • 5:40 (extended version)
LabelSony
Songwriter(s)
  • George Michael
  • James Jackman[4]
Producer(s)George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
"Fantasy"
(2017)
"This Is How (We Want You to Get High)"
(2019)
"Always"
(2020)
Music video
"This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" on YouTube

Background

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The song was conceived as a backing track originally given to Michael by his frequent collaborator James Jackman in 2012.[6] According to Jackman, "George phoned me one evening, really excited and said, 'I've got the most amazing hook over your track.' [...] He said, 'I can really hear this working' and played it down the phone. It was classic George Michael, very immediate."[6]

In September 2018, it was reported that Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding would star in a London-set romantic comedy taking place at Christmas, titled Last Christmas. Paul Feig was set to direct, with Emma Thompson and Greg Wise co-writing the screenplay.[7] In October, it was announced that Thompson would star as well, and that the film would feature the music of Michael (who died in 2016), including "Last Christmas", and previously unreleased tracks.[8] Feig told in an interview to BBC News that Michael was about to compile his new album before his death. He described "This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" as "a very celebratory song, I would dare say. And we were able to play the entire song, which is almost six minutes long, in the film. Because when you get a song that has never been heard, you don't want to just use, like, 15 seconds of it. The song starts at the end of the film, and then goes into the credits."[9] Last Christmas was released on 8 November 2019 in the United States,[10] and 15 November 2019 in the United Kingdom.

Track listing

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Digital download[11]
No.TitleLength
1."This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" (clean version)4:00
2."This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" (explicit version)4:00
3."This Is How (We Want You to Get High)" (extended)5:40
Total length:13:40

Charts

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Chart performance for "This Is How (We Want You to Get High)"
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[12] 13
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[13] 25
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[14] 10
UK Singles Sales (OCC)[15] 10

Release history

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Country Date Format Label Ref.
Various 6 November 2019 Sony [11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Wong, Curtis M. (6 November 2019). "Never-Before-Heard George Michael Song Drops Nearly 3 Years After His Death". HuffPost. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  2. ^ Petridis, Alexis (6 November 2019). "George Michael: This Is How (We Want You to Get High) review – punchy, poignant pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  3. ^ Embley, Jocham (6 November 2019). "George Michael's new song This Is How: A heartbreaking taste of what could have been". Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  4. ^ McCormick, Neil (6 November 2019). "This Is How: the story behind George Michael's poignant new song". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  5. ^ Zemler, Emily (6 November 2019). "Hear George Michael's Posthumous Song 'This Is How (We Want You to Get High)'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b Earls, John (2 January 2020). "Patience Is A Virtue: James Jackman Interview". Classic Pop. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  7. ^ Ford, Rebecca (18 September 2018). "Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding to Star in 'Last Christmas' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  8. ^ Kroll, Justin (26 October 2018). "Paul Feig's 'Last Christmas' Dated, Will Feature Unreleased George Michael Music". Variety. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  9. ^ McIntosh, Steven (14 August 2019). "Last Christmas: Paul Feig on the George Michael-inspired film". BBC News Online. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  10. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (19 April 2019). "Emilia Clarke & Henry Golding Romantic Comedy 'Last Christmas' Gets Release Date Shift – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  11. ^ a b "George Michael – This Is How (We Want You to Get High)". Apple Music. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  12. ^ "George Michael – This Is How (We Want You To Get High)" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  13. ^ "George Michael – This Is How (We Want You To Get High)" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Official Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 June 2024.