"Close to Me"
Single by Ellie Goulding, Diplo, and Swae Lee
Released24 October 2018 (2018-10-24)
Recorded2018
Genre
Length3:02
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Ilya
  • Diplo
Ellie Goulding singles chronology
"First Time"
(2017) 		"Close to Me"
(2018) 		"Mama"
(2019)
Diplo singles chronology
"Time Is Up"
(2018) 		"Close to Me"
(2018) 		"Boom Bye Bye"
(2019)
Swae Lee singles chronology
"Sunflower"
(2018) 		"Close to Me"
(2018) 		"Arms Around You"
(2018)
Music video
"Close to Me" on YouTube

"Close to Me" is a song by English singer Ellie Goulding with American musicians Diplo and Swae Lee, released on 24 October 2018 from the former's fourth studio album, Brightest Blue (2020).[1] It was premiered by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 as the "Hottest Record in the World".[2]

Background

At the time, there was a lot going on in the world that I wanted to forget. Savan gets very overwhelmed with what's happening particularly in America, and I think we all wanted to forget that and just write something a bit silly. It was so nice to just go back to just writing a song about a turbulent, probably doomed relationship – someone to forget the world with.

—Goulding on the inspiration behind the song.[3]

Goulding told Billboard that the song came about when she and co-writer Savan Kotecha were in a Los Angeles studio where they came up with the guitar melody and Goulding sang what would become the first line of the pre-chorus, "don't let me down", which they decided to keep in the song. Goulding, feeling that the song was "missing something", eventually sent it to Diplo who sent his version back to her within a short amount of time. Diplo suggested adding Swae Lee as a featured guest vocalist.[3]

Composition

The song is recorded in the key of E major with a tempo of 72 beats per minute in common time. The song follows a chord progression of E–C♯m7–G♯–A, and the vocals span from E3 to C♯5.[4]

Music video

The music video for "Close to Me", directed by Diane Martel,[5] was filmed in Budapest, Hungary, and premiered on 14 November 2018.[6]

Promotion

Goulding wiped her social media accounts and began promoting the track on 22 October 2018, first sharing a cartoon image of hers, Diplo and Swae Lee's arms locked in a triangle, displaying their tattoos against a cheetah print background, captioning it "CLOSE TO ME".[1] She then later confirmed this would be the title, and along with posting an audio clip of the track,[7] announced the release date and time.[8]

Other versions

In April 2019, Goulding released another version of the song featuring Korean girl group Red Velvet to replace Swae Lee's verse in the song.

Live performances

Goulding performed an acoustic version of the song during On Air with Ryan Seacrest on 16 November 2018.[9] She later performed the song during BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge Month on 28 November.[10] Her first televised performance of the song was on the final of The X Factor on 2 December.[11]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Close to Me"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[78] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
Belgium (BEA)[79] Gold 20,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[80] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[81] Gold 45,000‡
France (SNEP)[82] Gold 100,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[83] Platinum 50,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[84] Gold 15,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[85] Platinum 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[86] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[87] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Close to Me"
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Italy 26 October 2018 Radio airplay Original Universal [88]
United States 6 November 2018 Contemporary hit radio Interscope [89]
Various 1 February 2019
The Remix [90]

Red Velvet remix

"Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)"
Single by Ellie Goulding, Diplo and Red Velvet
Language
  • English
  • Korean
Released5 April 2019 (2019-04-05)
Length3:09
Label
  • Polydor
  • Interscope
Songwriter(s)
  • Ellie Goulding
  • Ilya Salmanzadeh
  • Peter Svensson
  • Wooyoung Jang[91]
  • Wendy
  • Yeri[91]
  • Sungsu Min[91]
  • Eugene Kwon[91]
  • Min-Kyu Lee[91]
  • Lee Seu Ran[91]
  • Savan Kotecha
  • Thomas Wesley Pentz
Producer(s)
  • Ilya
  • Diplo
  • Alvaro (add.)
  • Bas van Daalen (add.)
Ellie Goulding singles chronology
"Flux"
(2019) 		"Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)"
(2019) 		"Sixteen"
(2019)
Diplo singles chronology
"Hold You Tight"
(2019) 		"Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)"
(2019) 		"Hold You Tight"
(2019)
Red Velvet singles chronology
"Sayonara"
(2019) 		"Close to Me"
(2019) 		"Zimzalabim"
(2019)

On 5 April 2019, a remix was released which removes Swae Lee's verse and features Korean girl group Red Velvet, singing a verse and their own version of the chorus in Korean. Their chorus was written by Red Velvet's Wendy & Yeri.[91] It has won a "Choice Electronic / Dance Song" award at the 2019 Teen Choice Awards. The remix appears as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of Goulding's fourth studio album Brightest Blue (2020).

Track listing

Digital download[91]
No.TitleLength
1."Close to Me" (Red Velvet Remix)3:09

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Close to Me" (Red Velvet Remix)
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 5 April 2019
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Polydor [91]

References

  1. ^ a b Bein, Kat (23 October 2018). "Ellie Goulding Teases 'Close To Me' Collaboration With Diplo and Swae Lee". Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  2. ^ Goulding, Ellie. "Ellie Goulding on Twitter: Tune in to @BBCR1 tonight from 7.30pm to hear 'Close To Me' with @diplo featuring @goSwaeLee !". Retrieved 24 October 2018 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ a b Cirisano, Tatiana (14 January 2019). "Ellie Goulding on Recruiting Diplo For 'Close to Me' & Why Her Next Album Is a 'Return'". Billboard. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  4. ^ Goulding, Ellie; Kotecha, Savan; Svensson, Peter; Salmanzadeh, Ilya; Pentz, Thomas Wesley; Brown, Khalif (2018-10-26). "Close to Me". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  5. ^ Cirisano, Tatiana (14 January 2019). "Ellie Goulding on Recruiting Diplo For 'Close to Me' & Why Her Next Album Is a 'Return'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  6. ^ Kreps, Daniel (14 November 2018). "See Ellie Goulding's Fashionable Budapest Romp in 'Close to Me' Video". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  7. ^ Ainsley, Helen (23 October 2018). "Ellie Goulding teases new single Close To Me in cryptic social media posts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  8. ^ Nied, Mike (23 October 2018). "Ellie Goulding Taps Diplo & Swae Lee For New Single, 'Close To Me'". Idolator. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Ellie Goulding Performs 'Close To Me' & Debuts New Verse – On Air with Ryan Seacrest". 16 November 2018 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "Ellie Goulding – Close To Me in the Live Lounge". 16 November 2018 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Green, Alex (2 December 2018). "Ellie Goulding backs Dalton Harris to win X Factor final". Irish Independent. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  12. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  14. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Bolivia General" (in Spanish). Monitor Latino. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  17. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  18. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Canada AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Canada CHR/Top 40)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  21. ^ Ellie Goulding & Diplo feat. Swae Lee — Close to Me. TopHit. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Croatia ARC TOP 100". HRT. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  23. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201912 into search. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  24. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201902 into search. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  25. ^ Siim Nestor. "EESTI TIPP-40 MUUSIKAS – Japsist endise juutuuberi ballaadid lähevad hästi kaubaks". Eesti Ekspress (in Estonian). Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  26. ^ "Ellie Goulding,Diplo,Swae Lee: Close to Me (With Diplo) (Feat. Swae Lee)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  27. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  28. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  29. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 48/2018". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  30. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  31. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ellie Goulding". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  33. ^ "מדיה פורסט – לדעת שאתה באוויר". Mediaforest.biz. Archived from the original on 16 March 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  34. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  35. ^ "Ellie Goulding". The Official Lebanese Top 20. 22 March 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  36. ^ "Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles in Malaysia" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  37. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 1, 2019" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  38. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  39. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  40. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  41. ^ "(({artist))} – (({song))}". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  42. ^ "Airplay 100 – 24 februarie 2019" (in Romanian). Kiss FM. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  43. ^ "Russia Airplay Chart for 2019-02-11." TopHit. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  44. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  45. ^ "Singapore Top 30 Digital Streaming Chart – Week 2" (PDF). Recording Industry Association (Singapore). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2019.
  46. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201907 into search. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  47. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201902 into search. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  48. ^ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". SloTop50. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  49. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  50. ^ "Ellie Goulding x Diplo feat. Swae Lee – Close to Me". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  51. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  52. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  53. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  54. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  55. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  56. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  57. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  58. ^ "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  59. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2018" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  60. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  61. ^ "ARIA End of Year Singles Chart 2019". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  62. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2019 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  63. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  64. ^ "Canadian Hot 100 – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  65. ^ "CIS Year-End Radio Hits (2019)". Tophit. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  66. ^ "Tónlistinn – Lög – 2019" (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  67. ^ "Digitālās Mūzikas Tops 2019" (in Latvian). LAIPA. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  68. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2019". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  69. ^ "Najpopularniejsze albumy i single 2019 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  70. ^ "Top AFP – Audiogest – Top 3000 Singles + EPs Digitais" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  71. ^ "Russian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2019)". Tophit. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  72. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  73. ^ "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  74. ^ "Adult Pop Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  75. ^ "Hot Dance/Electronic Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  76. ^ "Pop Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  77. ^ "Decade-End Charts: Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (2013-ON)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  78. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2019 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  79. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2019". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  80. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Ellie Goulding – Close To Me (ft. Swae Lee)". Music Canada. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  81. ^ "Danish single certifications – Ellie Goulding – Close To Me". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  82. ^ "French single certifications – Ellie Goulding, Diplo & Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  83. ^ "Italian single certifications – Ellie Goulding, Diplo & Swae Lee – Close to Me" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 December 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Close to Me" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  84. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Ellie Goulding, Diplo and Swae Lee – Close to Me". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  85. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2020 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  86. ^ "British single certifications – Ellie Goulding, Diplo and Swae Lee – Close to Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  87. ^ "American single certifications – Ellie Goulding – Close to me". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  88. ^ "ELLIE GOULDING & DIPLO FT SWAE LEE "Close to Me" – (Radio Date: 26/10/2018)". Radio Airplay Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  89. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Media Group. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  90. ^ "Close to Me: The Remixes (feat. Diplo & Swae Lee) – EP by Ellie Goulding & Diplo". iTunes Store. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  91. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Close to Me (Red Velvet Remix)". iTunes Store. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
Categories