| "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Single byNe-Yo | ||||
| from the albumR.E.D. | ||||
| Released | July 10, 2012 (2012-07-10) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:14 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producers |
| |||
| Ne-Yo singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" | ||||
"Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" is a song performed by American singer and songwriterNe-Yo, taken from his fifth studio album,R.E.D. (2012). Released on July 10, 2012, byMotown Records, the song serves as the mainstreamlead single from the album following the release of anR&B-tinged lead single, "Lazy Love".
"Let Me Love You" combines elements ofsynthpop andEuropop with a celebratory chorus co-written with singer-songwriterSia and production courtesy of Ne-Yo's frequent Norwegian collaboratorsStargate and British producers Mark Hadfield andMike Di Scala (also known as Reeva & Black). A music video directed by Christopher Simms sees Ne-Yo "channeling"Michael Jackson in his dance moves, as well as showing off a toned physique. The song peaked at number six on theBillboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), Japan, and the Republic of Ireland.[1]
Ne-Yo's 2012-released fifth albumR.E.D. (as in "Realizing Every Dream")[2] is the follow-up to the singer's 2010concept-heavy studio album,Libra Scale.[3] The album's first single titled "Lazy Love" premiered online on May 14, 2012,[4] and was serviced to USurban radio later the same month.[5] On June 12, 2012, the song was released fordigital download in the United States, and amusic video for the steamyR&B single premiered a day prior on June 11, 2012, onBET's106 & Park.[6][7]
On July 9, 2012, "Let Me Love You" premiered online to various media outlets.[8] A day later, it was released for digital download in Australia,[9] mainland Europe,[10][11] and the United Kingdom.[12] "Let Me Love You" was served to USrhythmic / crossover radio stations on July 31, 2012, and a week later topop / mainstream stations.[13][14] It was released for US digital downloads on July 31, 2012.[15] Internationally, "Let Me Love You" is the sole lead single for the album.[16] On November 6, 2012, a remix was released with a different type of beat and an additional rap verse fromFrench Montana.[17]
At 4:14 in length, "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" is anup-tempo club song written in thekey ofF Major[18] with achord progression in Bb major-D minor-C major which combines elements ofEuropop andsynthpop.[5] The original instrumental track was written and produced British producersMike Di Scala and Mark Hadfield, who began a production partnership in November 2011. In February 2012, the duo sent the then untitled "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" along with eleven other songs to the management team of Norwegian production duo Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Hermansen, better known under their production moniker ofStargate.[19] The Norwegian duo subsequently worked on the song writing additional music elements, while Australianindie pop singer and songwriterSia wrote and recorded the "top line vocals".[19]
Sia built the song's chorus around the line "Let me love you, and I will love you/ Until you learn to love yourself", which would also become the song's title.[5] The record was then heard by Ne-Yo who decided to record the song, and proceeded to re-write some of the lyrics in the verses.[19] Speaking about the song Ne-Yo said he was inspired by the powerful chorus, and in a press release he elaborated on the song's lyrical content:
"It goes beyond the realm of just a relationship between man and woman, this is understanding what it is to allow another person to get close enough to you to teach you how to love yourself. This song, if taken care of the right way, could help the world!"[5]
The melody consists of "euphoricsynthesizers" and "pounding beats".[20]
This is one of two collaborations between Sia and Stargate. They would later team up again to co-writeRihanna's song "Diamonds", alongside producerBenny Blanco.
The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Andrew Hampp ofBillboard perceived that the song "re-established Ne-Yo's top 40 appeal," calling it "the crème de la crème of emotive dancefloor ballads."[21] He also praised the song's uplifting self-worth message, writing that the lyrics "make this one of 2012's standout dance-pop cuts in a year filled with far more innocuous entries."[21] Andy Kellman ofAllmusic picked the song as one of the best from the album, but ultimately called it "serviceable but indistinct."[22] Nate Chinen ofNew York Times named it a "convincing Euro dance track."[23] Ken Capobianco ofBoston Globe called it "essential," writing that "it's a deftly conceived confection."[24]
Mikael Wood remarked that "it seems designed to remind us of simpler times by recycling a portion ofits title from the 2004Mario hit that was one of Ne-Yo's first big songwriting successes."[25] Lewis Corner ofDigital Spy gave the song 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "it's nothing we haven't heard from Ne-Yo before, but the result is a corny but charming electro serenade that's a welcome return to form for Mr Smith."[26] Mark Edward Nero ofAbout.com considered its sound "not warm", writing that he "was hoping that he was starting to move away from this heavily synthesized Euro-dance pop."[27]
The song peaked at number six on theBillboard Hot 100 chart, becoming his first top 10 single as a lead artist in the US in four years, since the 2008 single "Miss Independent". OnBillboard'sRhythmic Airplay chart, the single gave Ne-Yo his fifth number one on that chart and his second as a solo artist since "So Sick" reached that position in February 2006.
In the United Kingdom, "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" entered at the top of theUK Singles Chart on September 9, 2012 – for the week ending date September 15, 2012 – becoming Ne-Yo's fifth number one song in Britain after "So Sick" in March 2006, "Closer" in June 2008, "Beautiful Monster" in August 2010, and "Give Me Everything" in May 2011. The song sold 89,000 copies there in its first week of release, and sold 347,000 copies as of December 2012, making it Britain's 49th best-selling song of 2012.[28]
Themusic video for "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself)" was directed by Christopher Simms.[29] Incorporating choreographed dance scenes, with Ne-Yo baring "his toned physique" in a bedroom scene,[30] the video was uploaded on the singer'sVevo channel on July 18, 2012.[31] The overall atmosphere in the video is "dark", consisting of dim lighting and murky locations.[20] The video begins with an opening scene where Ne-Yo wears his trademarkfedora to one side, while singing the opening lyrics of the song.[1] The video then moves on to bedroom scenes, where Ne-Yo strips of to show his six pack abs while embracing a topless woman.[1] Trent Fitzgerald from music website PopCrush stated that in the following dance scenes, Ne-Yo was "channeling"Michael Jackson in his dance moves. These scenes feature Ne-Yo dancing in front of a troop of backing dancers in a warehouse setting.[1] Finally, the video ends with Ne-Yo and his femme fatale on a beach, smiling at the camera.[32]
Ne-Yo performed the song on the first live results show of season nine ofThe X Factor in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2012. He also performed it onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show on November 13, 2012. Ne-Yo performed the song onSaturday Night Live on December 8, 2012, and on the top 6 live results ofThe Voice with contestantAmanda Brown. He also performed it at1st Indonesian Choice Awards along withGive Me Everything.[33]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[72] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[73] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] | Platinum | 15,000* |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[75] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[76] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
| Streaming | ||
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[77] | Gold | 900,000† |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format | Record label |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia[9] | July 10, 2012 | Digital download | Universal |
| Germany | July 11, 2012[78] | ||
| United Kingdom[12] | September 2, 2012 | Mercury | |
| July 31, 2012[15] | Motown | |
| July 31, 2012 | Rhythmic / Crossover[14] | ||
| August 7, 2012 | Pop / Mainstream[13] |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)