"Without You" is a song by French DJ and record producer David Guetta featuring vocals from American singer-songwriter 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.

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." 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." 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."

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. 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."

"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. The chords follow a sequence of D-Gsus2-Bm7-Gsus2 in the verses, and D/F#-G-Em-Bm-A-Gsus2 in the chorus. Usher's vocals range from A3 to D6.

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".

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

Music video The music video was filmed towards the end of July 2011"Image : David Guetta et Usher sur le tournage de 'Without You'" , Urban Fusions, July 25, 2011. on a beach in Portugal.Maher, Cristin. "David Guetta and Usher Give Sneak Peeks of Their 'Without You' Video", PopCrush 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 Pangaea.

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

Track listing "Without You" (Extended mix) "Without You" (Nicky Romero remix) "Without You" (R3HAB's XS remix) "Without You" (Armin van Buuren remix) "Without You" (Radio edit)

Credits and personnel Recording Additional production, mixed and mastered at Test Pressing Studio, Naples, Italy Vocals mixed at The Mix Room at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, California

Personnel Usher Raymond IV – songwriter (courtesy of LaFace Records), lead vocals Taio Cruz – songwriter (courtesy of Island Records), background vocals Rico Love – songwriter David Guetta – producer, background vocals, songwriter Giorgio Tuinfort – producer, songwriter Frédéric Riesterer – producer, songwriter Black Raw – additional producer, mixing, mastering Mark "Exit" Goodchild – vocal mixing Kevin Hissink – guitar

Charts

Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Without You"Chart (2011–2012)Peakposition scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" Brazil (Billboard Hot 100)"Brasil Hot 100 Airplay". Billboard Brasil (Brasil: bpp) 61: 97. February 25, 2012.3 scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" Colombia (National-Report)17 scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" Greece Digital Songs (Billboard)8 scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" Lebanon (The Official Lebanese Top 20)6Luxembourg (Billboard)5 Mexico (Billboard Mexican Airplay) 5 Mexico Anglo (Monitor Latino) 6 scope="row" Netherlands (Mega Dance Top 30)1 scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" Romania (Romanian Top 100) 11 scope="row" scope="row" South Korean International Singles (GAON)4 scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" scope="row" Venezuela Pop Rock General (Record Report)5

Year-end charts +2011 year-end chart performance for "Without You"Chart (2011)PositionAustralia (ARIA) 42Australia Dance (ARIA) 11Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 57Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) 43Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) 83Brazil (Crowley) 86 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 47Denmark (Hitlisten) 46 France (SNEP)"Classement des 100 premiers Singles Fusionnés" . GFK Music December 31, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2018.46Germany (Media Control AG) 39Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)55Italy (Musica e dischi) 22Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 39Netherlands (Single Top 100)47New Zealand (RIANZ)25 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 128Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)41 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 43UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 50 US Billboard Hot 100 73 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 44

+2012 year-end chart performance for "Without You"Chart (2012)Position Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 21Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)61Italy (FIMI)87Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)69Netherlands (Single Top 100)99 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 91Spain (PROMUSICAE)45Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)73 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 52UK Singles (Official Charts Company)148US Billboard Hot 10050 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)28 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)45 US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)20 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)33 US Rhythmic (Billboard)39

Certifications

Radio and release history +Release dates for "Without You" Country Date Format United States AustraliaDigital Remixes EP Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Japan Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Norway Portugal Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom Germany United StatesHot adult contemporary radio United StatesDigital Remixes EP

References