BOOM

Album: Orion (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This anthem for walking away from a toxic relationship with head held high was penned by X Ambassadors frontman Sam Harris from personal experience. "I've had to break off a few of them recently myself, and I was writing all these sad songs because of it," he said. "I needed to write one to give me confidence again. To turn my pain into my power."
  • The artwork for "Boom" features a series of dots which spell "boom" in Braille. X Ambassadors keyboardist Casey Harris has been blind from birth, so this is the first physical manifestation of the band's work he has been able to view.
  • The song was produced by Ricky Reed (Jason Derulo's "Talk Dirty," Pitbull's "Fireball", Meghan Trainor's "No").
  • The music video starts off with X Ambassadors performing the song wearing outfits that resemble construction-site safety uniforms. About halfway through it takes a surreal turn as an overhead light drops on Sam Harris' head, knocking him out. The singer picks himself up and continues to perform despite his injuries.
  • Sam Harris explained to Billboard the song came from a demo that had been sitting on his computer for a while from a session with a producer named Thomas Eriksen. Later when X Ambassadors were recording with Ricky Reed and Harris was looking for a drum sample to use in a different song, he pulled up "Boom." He'd forgotten all about it and exclaimed, "Whoa, what's that? We should work on that right now." They finished it within a day or two.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Band Names

Band NamesFact or Fiction

Was "Pearl" Eddie Vedder's grandmother, and did she really make a hallucinogenic jam? Did Journey have a contest to name the group? And what does KISS stand for anyway?

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Name the Character in the Song

Name the Character in the SongMusic Quiz

With a few clues (Works at a diner, dreams of running away), can you name the character in the song?

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman Jack

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman JackSong Writing

The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.

Gary Brooker of Procol Harum

Gary Brooker of Procol HarumSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer and pianist for Procol Harum, Gary talks about finding the musical ideas to match the words.

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions Answered

Why Does Everybody Hate Nu-Metal? Your Metal Questions AnsweredSong Writing

10 Questions for the author of Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces