This is the second track on Islander's sophomore album, Power Under Control. "'Bad Guy' is a song about speaking the truth, telling someone something that they need to hear even though it may not be what that person wants to hear,' explained vocalist Mikey Carvajal. "This song is the response to [opening track] 'Darkness.'"

Carvajal added: "The songs on Power Under Control are meant to be listened to together in the same way that a book is to be read. If someone were to skip the chapters in a book, the story may be exciting, but a lot of the meanings would be lost."