| "Bad Habit" | ||||
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| Single by Steve Lacy | ||||
| from the album Gemini Rights | ||||
| Released | June 29, 2022 | |||
| Recorded | June 2021–June 2022 | |||
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| Label | RCA | |||
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| Producer(s) | Steve Lacy | |||
| Steve Lacy singles chronology | ||||
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| "Bad Habit" on YouTube | ||||
"Bad Habit" is a song recorded by the American musician Steve Lacy. It was the second released single from his second studio album, Gemini Rights, on June 29, 2022. The psychedelic and lo-fi R&B and bedroom pop ballad was produced by Lacy and is built around a slightly warped guitar riff, which is accompanied by a funky bassline, drums and synthesisers. Lyrically, it concerns Lacy's regret over a missed opportunity with a crush. His lack of confidence later shifts to a more confident perspective during the song's final breakdown.
After signing to RCA Records in 2021, Lacy began writing "Bad Habit", which he identified as a turning point for him creatively. He recorded its first version that same year. Over the following year, it was changed substantially from its original version and received writing contributions from singers Fousheé and Diana Gordon. After its release, "Bad Habit" and sped-up versions of it became popular on TikTok in July 2022 and it became Lacy's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 that same month. It subsequently became the first song to top both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts as well as the first song to top five of Billboard's genre charts, and later rose to number one on the Hot 100 in October 2022. It peaked in the top-ten of the charts in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
"Bad Habit" received critical acclaim and was named the best song of 2022 by Billboard, The Guardian, and The Ringer while being named one of the best songs of the year by other publications such as Rolling Stone, USA Today, and Time. A music video directed by Julian Klincewicz was released concurrently with the song and was nominated for a BET Award and a Soul Train Music Award. Lacy performed "Bad Habit" at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, where it was nominated for Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. He also performed the song as the closer for his Give You the World Tour in late 2022. The song was also nominated for an MTV Music Video Award, an iHeartRadio Music Award, and two Soul Train Music Awards.