"Without You"
Single by David Guetta featuring Usher
from the album Nothing but the Beat
ReleasedSeptember 29, 2011 (2011-09-29)
StudioTest Pressing Studio, Naples, Italy
GenreDance-pop[1]
Length3:28
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • David Guetta
  • Giorgio Tuinfort
  • Frédéric Riesterer
  • Black Raw
David Guetta singles chronology
"Little Bad Girl"
(2011) 		"Without You"
(2011) 		"Titanium"
(2011)
Usher singles chronology
"Promise"
(2011) 		"Without You"
(2011) 		"Climax"
(2012)
Music video
"Without You" on YouTube

"Without You" is a song by French DJ David Guetta, featuring vocals from American singer Usher. It was released as the third single from Guetta's fifth studio album, Nothing but the Beat, on 29 September 2011. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, becoming Guetta's third top ten single, following "Club Can't Handle Me" and "Sexy Bitch", as well as his highest peaking in the US to date. By November 2013, the song had sold 2,684,000 copies in the US.[2]

Background

The song features the vocals of R&B singer Usher, who told Billboard magazine that the project was, "maybe the biggest song I've made in my life". Guetta said, "We were in bargaining sessions for a while. Usher was saying, 'I need this record for my album.' I said, 'I'm sorry, I cannot give it to you.' After a while he called me back and gave in."[3] Guetta told MTV News why he chose Usher to guest on this song. "It's just totally emotional," he said. "Some of the record is a proper ballad, and then it goes to that crazy dance beat. It's perfect for him, because he's famous for his ballads. And he's also now famous for those big club records that he comes with. He's an amazing dancer, so I felt like he was the artist that I needed."[4] Usher told MTV News that this ode to not giving up on love in the face of adversity resonated with him personally. "I think the world wanted a record like that. That [song] really spoke to the journey that I've actually been on in the last three years... Traveling all around the world, music sounds different. There's many different genres, and when you see R&B and pop and house, as well as electronic, come together, that's the reality of what music is."[5]

Composition

"Without You" was written by Taio Cruz, Usher Raymond, Rico Love, David Guetta, Giorgio Tuinfort and Frédéric Riesterer, and produced by Guetta, Tuinfort and Riesterer.[citation needed] Lyrically, the song laments a heavy subject - life without someone who means the world to you. Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush wrote that the chorus "invite lots of dancing, but this isn't much of clubby rager. Structurally, the song reminds us of Madonna's 'Ray of Light'; that's not to suggest that 'Without You' sounds like 'Ray of Light', but it shares the same formula and airy energy. Lyrics also heavily influenced by U2’s With or Without You."[6]

"Without You" is set in common time maintaining a tempo of 128 beats per minute. The song is in the key of D-major and has elements of pop, dance and R&B. Usher's vocals range from D3 to D5.

Critical reception

In a favorable review, Amy Sciarretto of Pop Crush wrote that the song is "a light, hands-in-the-air and somewhat ethereal song" and that "the heft of the words juxtaposed against the feathery music works and allows the song to remain buoyant and well, not a downer despite its unhappy musings".[6]

Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone wrote that on the track "Usher gets lonely over Coldplay-style guitar".[7] Village Voice's Carol Cooper gave a negative review, writing, "Usher, while pushing himself vocally, sounds like a Glee Project."[8]

Music video

The music video was filmed towards the end of July 2011[9] on a beach in Portugal.[10] The full music video was released on October 14, 2011, coinciding with Usher's 33rd birthday. The video shows views of different parties in Thailand, the United States, Brazil and South Africa, among other places. Continental drift starts to take place as a result and all the parties on the different continents amalgamate to form one big party. It also has scenes with Usher in front of a Rio de Janeiro beach background. The final shot shows Earth and all the continents merged into one supercontinent.[11]

The song was featured in the first trailer to the 2016 movie Sing.

Track listing

  1. "Without You" (Extended mix)
  2. "Without You" (Nicky Romero remix)
  3. "Without You" (R3HAB's XS remix)
  4. "Without You" (Armin van Buuren remix)
  5. "Without You" (Radio edit)

Credits and personnel

Recording[12]
Personnel[12]

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Without You"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[99] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[100] Gold 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[101] Gold 15,000*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[102] Gold 15,000^
Germany (BVMI)[103] Gold 150,000^
Italy (FIMI)[104] 3× Platinum 90,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[105] Platinum 15,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[106] Platinum 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[107] Platinum 600,000‡
United States (RIAA)[108] 2× Platinum 2,935,000[2]
Streaming
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[109] 2× Platinum 1,800,000†

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Radio and release history

Release dates for "Without You"
Country Date Format
United States[110] 27 September 2011 (2011-09-27)
Australia[111] 21 October 2011 (2011-10-21) Digital Remixes EP
Austria[112]
Belgium[113]
Denmark[114]
Finland[115]
France[116]
Germany[117]
Greece[118]
Ireland[119]
Italy[120]
Japan[121]
Luxembourg[122]
Netherlands[123]
New Zealand[124]
Norway[125]
Portugal[126]
Sweden[127]
Switzerland[128]
United Kingdom[129] 23 October 2011 (2011-10-23)
Germany[130] 4 November 2011 (2011-11-04)
United States[131] 8 November 2011 (2011-11-08) Hot adult contemporary radio
United States[132] 10 January 2012 (2012-01-10) Digital Remixes EP

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