Bad Friend (song)

"Bad Friend" is a "gospel-laden" electropop and synth-pop ballad. It takes inspiration from "Bush-era pop" and the vocal manipulation styles of Imogen Heap. The song indirectly references Carly Rae Jepsen's 2012 hit single "Call Me Maybe" when she discusses "singing our hearts out to Carly" in the summer of 2012. ==Critical reception==

Pitchfork placed the song at number 38 on their list of 100 best songs of 2020, with Dani Blum writing that on "Bad Friend", "Sawayama gives friend breakups their own ballad" while a "sense of shame courses through the track, undercutting her excuses". Blum felt that "relief doesn't come easy, but once it does, the song softens and shines". Elton John characterized "Bad Friend" as a "song that Madonna would die for", while simultaneously dubbing its parent album as the "strongest album of the year by far". ==Music video==

The "Bad Friend" official music video was released in May 2020. The film noir-inspired visual was directed by Ali Kurr stars Sawayama in drag as an older Japanese businessman drowning his sorrows in a bar. There he meets another man who he befriends, but later ends up fighting. ==Track listing==

Digital download • "Bad Friend" – 3:28 Digital download – End of the World remix • "Bad Friend" (End of the World Remix) – 3:15 == References ==