The song has received criticism from fellow artists.
Olly Murs has been criticised for the lyrics in his new single ‘I Hate You When You’re Drunk’.
The former X Factor star is releasing a new album this Friday (2 December), but he’s probably not received the reaction he was hoping for over the record’s latest cut.
As the title suggests, the song is all about the hatred he feels towards a loved one when they’ve had one too many drinks.
Although the music is pretty upbeat and cheery, as you may expect from an Olly Murs song, the lyrics actually come across as pretty cold and sinister when you read them in isolation.
The track opens: “Oh you’re slurring all your words / There’s make-up on your shirt /You’re dancing on the tables can’t you see / That you look like a mess and you’re singing Whitney whoa / Oh I hate you, hate you, I hate you, hate you when you’re drunk.”
In the second verse, the 38-year-old sings: “Oh you got them drunken eyes / Should we call it a night / ‘Cos you’ve been telling stories 4/5 times / Yeah I’ve heard it before and my ears are bleeding whoa.”
Olly Murs' new song 'I Hate You When You're Drunk', in which he calls his girlfriend 'a mess' for having fun at a party, is the lead single from an album called… Marry Me
— Jacob Stolworthy (@JacobStolworthy) November 28, 2022
This is followed by the chorus which goes: “Because you wanna buy champagne / And you wanna throw the shots back / And now you’re taking photographs / Why am I the only one that don’t laugh / Oh I hate you, hate you, I hate you, hate you when you’re drunk / So quit acting like a fool cos I hate you when you’re drunk.”
And it seems like Murs’ disdan for his boozed-up partner is a long-burning one, that will last well into the next day.
He sings: “Oh when the morning comes you’ll blame it on me / And when you ask for a hug I got no sympathy / Because I hate you when you’re drunk.”
And to round off the frosty tune, he just sings ‘la la la la la’ over and over again.
Want to hear what all of that sounds like over a cheery backing track? Well, here you go…
Many – from within and outside the music industry – have criticised the lyrics.
DJ Shaun Keaveny tweeted: “Olly Murs is quite the sad, controlling boyfriend according to the lyrics of his new song, ‘I Hate You When You’re Drunk’.
“I look forward to her reply song ‘I Hate You When You Sing’.”
He added: “Imagine putting a track like that out into the world, being proud of the sentiment? It’s totally mad!”
Olly Murs is quite the sad, controlling boyfriend according to the lyrics of his new song, “I Hate You When You’re Drunk”. I look forward to her reply song “I Hate You When You Sing”
— Shaun Keaveny 💙 (@shaunwkeaveny) November 27, 2022
Mercury Prize-nominated singer Self Esteem shared the lyrics on Twitter, simply captioning the post: “Presented without comment.”
Presented without comment pic.twitter.com/ebs2ukJeUU
— Rebecca Lucy Taylor (@SELFESTEEM___) November 25, 2022
Meanwhile, one fan wrote: “Whoever @ollymurs wrote ‘I hate you when you’re drunk’ about dodged a bullet. A red flag in musical form. Whoever you are, you seem fine the way you are.”
While another added: “This is an absolute shocker from @ollymurs. Turns out the ‘nice guy of pop’ is a misogynistic w****r.
“FYI, the woman referred to in the song sounds like she’d be a good laugh on a night out.”
But Murs has given his reasoning behind the song, saying it “was a fun song to write as there have been so many times where a friend, family member or loved one has had one too many”.
He added that it was intended as “a light-hearted take from the sober person’s point of view.”
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