"Gotta Be Somebody" is the first official single released from Nickelback's sixth studio album, Dark Horse. Originally, the lead single from the album was set to be "If Today Was Your Last Day" but was changed instead to "Gotta Be Somebody". The song was digitally delivered to all formats on September 29, 2008. "Gotta Be Somebody" has been covered by American country music singer Bucky Covington in 2009, and English pop singer Shayne Ward in 2010. It was used in a video package for the 2008 Tribute to the Troops show.
In October 2008, it was reported that an official video from the commercial shoot had been shot with director Jessy Terrero. However, after claims that the band was dissatisfied with the video, it was scrapped. A new video was shot in Vancouver with long-time collaborator Nigel Dick, three months after the release of the single. The video debuted at AOL on Monday, December 15, 2008. The video for "Gotta Be Somebody" starts out in Outer Space, showing various planets before zooming in on Earth. Nickelback is shown playing at the Colosseum in Rome, which is empty. During the chorus, an earthquake occurs and cracks the ground the band is standing on. During the second verse, the band is then shown playing on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Another earthquake begins during the chorus and finally the band is shown playing an outdoor concert to fans in a Southwestern United States desert inside an Aircraft boneyard for the third verse, bridge and final chorus. One last earthquake is shown during the final chorus as well. After the band finishes the song, the video zooms out of the boneyard concert and back into outer space, focusing on Earth before fading out. The video swept the 2009 MuchMusic Video Awards, winning awards for best video, best rock video and best post production.