A top 40 playlist usually consists of the usual suspects like Katy Perry and Rihanna. It’s rare but still nice to see something different reach an extra-ordinary level of success like Gotye’s multi-format smash hit “Somebody That I Use To Know“.

I listened to the song last year when it had a couple of million views on YouTube. Now it has over 200 million views. The song conquered every chart including Top 40, Hot AC, Alternative, Top 40, and Dance. It’s next to impossible to predict hits these days, but once in a blue moon, you will come across a song like “Somebody That I Use To Know” and know it will infect the populace. As far as an Australian solo artist hitting #1 on the main Billboard Chart, it happens once in 30 years. The last time Australians were at No. 1 was Savage Garden in 2000, on their way to selling 25 million albums and 15 million singles.

Universal Republic Records EVP of Promotion & Artist Development Joel Klaiman says, “It is extremely rare for this to happen, that a song will top the charts at four formats. This a testament of the power of ‘Somebody That I Used To Know‘ and Gotye as well as the tireless effort of our promotion staff. We are anxious to see what happens next with this truly magical song.”

It’s rare for a song to top multiple formats and it’s also unlikely that an artist writes his or her song today. “Somebody That I Used to Know” was written and produced by Gotye.

Bill Lamb of About.com gave the song the perfect rating of five stars stating, “Pop perfection does not come along often, but Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ is flawless”. He also said that while it is not flashy, the song is memorable and destined to be a classic. Martin Davies from Click Music gave the song five stars out of five and stated that the song is “that rare example of a track that hits you squarely between the eyes”. 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.

At the end of the day, there is a new #1 single every week, but in Gotye’s case, he wrote a classic.