Booster Seat
"Booster Seat" is a song by Australian indie rock band Spacey Jane from their debut studio album, Sunlight. The song was released as a single in December 2020 and peaked at number eight on the ARIA charts, and polled at number two in the Triple J [Hottest 100, 2020|Triple J Hottest 100 of 2020]. In 2024, the song was certified 7× platinum by the Australian [Recording Industry Association], having sold over 490,000 units.
At the 2021 ARIA Music Awards, "Booster Seat" won Song of the Year. It also won Best Single at the 2020 West [Australian Music Industry Awards], and Independent Song of the Year at the AIR Awards of 2021. Further, it was shortlisted for Song of the Year at the APRA Music Awards of 2021.
Composition
"Booster Seat" took over six months to write. Frontman Caleb Harper said its length and slow pacing sets it apart from their previous work. The song lyrically deals with "feeling like anxiety and depression are taking control away from you". Al Newstead of Triple J explained "it's a complex emotional metaphor made easy to grasp by the imagery" and the "song's gorgeous refrain."The song came about as Harper was "messing about with some open chords on the guitar, sliding gently between the 1st and the 4th of the key." Lead guitarist Ashton Hardman-Le Cornu then developed the riff and presented it to the producer, who originally rejected it.
Release
Harper admitting its slow pace meant it was "not a standard... single choice". He said "none of really thought that it was going to be that special", but once Sunlight was released, the song became a focus track. Its music video was directed by Matt Sav and released on 11 December 2020.A radio edit of the song was released on 7 May 2021.
"Booster Seat" has become Spacey Jane's most popular song, with over 100 million streams on Spotify as of April 2025.
Reception
Australian rock band Ocean Alley called the song "a warm and nostalgic masterpiece with thoughtful storytelling and instrumentation to match." Newstead continued, praising "Booster Seat" as a "life-affirming song with a platinum-strength sing-along quality". Its chorus was listed among the best song lyrics of 2020, according to Triple J.In the lead-up to the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2020, several bookmakers and music publications predicted "Booster Seat" would top the countdown. Josh Leeson of Northern Beaches Review wrote it was "the one presenting the best chance of securing the first Australian Hottest 100 winner since Ocean Alley's 'Confidence' in 2018." The song eventually polled at number two.
Harper cited the song's placement in the Hottest 100 was a key factor in the band's live performances gaining significantly more traction, reflecting "we went from playing 200 or 300 capacity rooms, to playing multiple 1,000 capacity rooms."
In 2025, the song placed 34 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs.
Live performances
Spacey Jane played "Booster Seat" live at Fremantle Arts Centre on 31 December 2020, and released a video of the performance the following month. The band performed the song for Triple J's live music segment Like a Version on 29 January 2021. In August 2021, they released an acoustic version of the track in their Apple Music-exclusive Home Sessions EP.Track listing
- "Booster Seat" - 3:38
- "Booster Seat" - 4:28
Charts