The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through Eleven Music on 5 July 2011 as the second single from Gotye's third studio album, Making Mirrors (2011).

"Somebody That I Used to Know" was written and recorded by Gotye at his parents' house on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, and is lyrically related to the experiences he has had with romantic relationships.

[13] He tested his girlfriend, Tash Parker, but "somehow their happiness meant that it didn't work out" so he followed the recommendation of the song's mixer and used Kimbra's vocals.

[13][14] Martin Davies from Click Music considered the song "instantly captivating", and named Kimbra's voice "clean and sugar-soaked", further commenting that it bears an "uncanny resemblance" to singer Katy Perry.

[17] In 2024, Gotye and Kimbra released a remix of the song alongside Fisher, Chris Lake and Sante Sansone.

Take 40 Australia elaborated on the audience's reception at the July 2011 Splendour in the Grass festival, "Gotye's latest song featuring Kimbra 'Somebody That I Used To Know' had become somewhat of an unofficial anthem for the festival ... every car was cranking it over their speakers all day, every day ... and the question on everyone's lips was whether or not Kimbra would join him on the track.

Fortunately, dreams came true ... he smashed out an incredible set climaxing with a version of the song with Kimbra on co-lead vocals that people couldn't stop talking about all weekend long".

[19] AllMusic's Jon O'Brien felt the track was an "unexpected chart-topper ... [it] is an oddball break-up song whose stuttering rhythms, reggae hooks, and hushed vocals sound like The Police as remixed by The xx".

[20] Writing for Digital Spy, Lewis Corner rated the song four stars out of five and described it as "a Bon Iver-styled ballad for the music-buying masses".

"[24] Metro placed "Somebody That I Used To Know" on their "Top 10 annoying songs of 2012" list: "According to the internet there is going to be an apocalypse on Friday, but you can be sure that once the dust has settled the plinky plonky xylophone intro of this inexorable viral hit will drift into earshot, as if emanating from the scorched earth itself.

"[25] John Watson, who co-manages Gotye with Danny Rogers, said of the single's success: "We've never seen any song make a deeper or more immediate connection with so many people.

[26] Talking about the overwhelming reception and the amount of coverage received, Gotye commented that "I don't really feel like it [the song] belongs to me anymore.

[28][29][30] It was released on 5 July 2011 in Australia and New Zealand by Eleven Music as the second single from his third studio album, Making Mirrors (2011).

[51] As of October 2015, the song has sold 7.9 million copies in the US, making it the country's fourth all-time best-selling digital single.

The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual critics' poll ranked "Somebody That I Used to Know" at number eight of the best music of 2012.

It shows Gotye and Kimbra naked throughout the clip, and as they sing, his skin is gradually painted into the backdrop via stop motion animation.

[citation needed] The video's background is based on a 1980s artwork created by Gotye's father, Frank de Backer, who also designed the cover art for the related album, Making Mirrors.

[70][71][72] Emma Hack, an Australian artist and skin illustrator based in Adelaide, was hired by Pincus to work on the body paintings for Gotye and Kimbra.

[75] Andy Samberg and Taran Killam parodied the video in a Saturday Night Live "digital short" that coincided with Gotye's 14 April 2012 performance on the show.

[79] The song has since been featured on the TV series 90210,[80] Gossip Girl,[81] and The Voice of Ireland by Andy Mac Unfraidh.

along with Paramore's front vocalist Hayley Williams covered the song at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.

Also in January 2012, Walk off the Earth had their U.S. television debut on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, recreating the single-guitar performance live.

[86] The a cappella group Pentatonix created a viral YouTube video in February 2012 and released the track on their EP, PTX Volume 1 on 26 June 2012.

[90] English fingerstyle guitarist Mike Dawes released a technically virtuosic arrangement of the song on his debut album What Just Happened?

[93] "Somebody That I Used to Know" has been covered by many artists, including Ingrid Michaelson, The Fergies, Benee, Sam Tsui,[94] and Right the Stars featuring Karmina.

[97][98] Gotye states the concept "was directly inspired here by Kutiman's Thru-You project", released in March 2009, which edited numerous YouTube videos to create a new cohesive song.

[258] The alternative rock band Mayday Parade released a cover of this song featuring Pierce The Veil's lead vocalist Vic Fuentes for the fifth edition of the compilation album Punk Goes Pop, which features bands of the punk, alternative, and hardcore genres covering hit pop songs.

[262] On 22 July 2020, Canadian rock band Three Days Grace covered the song and released it as a non-album single.

[267] A music video (directed by Mike Filsinger) was also released for this version, which features the band performing in a Sketch-like background.

[273] It was recorded on an iPhone with the band members performing in front of a white tarp and a filter was added on top of it after it was finished.