Be Without You

"Be Without You" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was written by Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, Jason Perry and Blige for her seventh studio album, The Breakthrough (2005). Production was helmed by Cox and Young Smoke, while vocal production was overseen by Ron Fair and Blige. It was released as the album's first official single in late 2005.

"Be Without You"
Single by Mary J. Blige
from the album The Breakthrough
ReleasedSeptember 15, 2005
Length4:09
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Cox
  • Young Smoke
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"MJB da MVP"
(2005)		 "Be Without You"
(2005)		 "One"
(2006)
Music video
"Be Without You" on YouTube

Ranking among the most played songs on US radio in the year 2006, the single was certified double-platinum by the RIAA in 2007. In March 2017, Billboard ranked "Be Without You" as the most successful R&B/Hip-Hop Song of all time. It is also one of Mary J. Blige's most successful singles to date, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year and won the Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance categories at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

Background

"Be Without You" is a contemporary R&B and hip hop soul song written in the key of D minor with a tempo of 73 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of Dm – B♭maj7 – C – Dm – Gm7 – C – A7, and Blige's vocals span from F3 to D5.[1] It was co-written by Blige along with Bryan-Michael Cox, Jason Perry and Johnta Austin, and co-produced by Cox and Young Smoke.[2] Cox played all instruments, helped by Young Smoke, as well as Ron Fair, who also did the additional vocal arrangements and string arrangements. In addition, the song features three engineers and was mixed by David Pensado.[2] Cox xommented on the production of "Be Without You": "I did the whole track and Jason co-composed the bridge with me, and Johnta wrote the lyrics and the melody. Mary came in and she and I tweaked some of the lines and tightened the record up lyrically to fit her. We threw ideas around, we talked about the track and we came up with concepts."[2]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Be Without You" was directed by Matthew Rolston and was shot on various locations in New York City on October 2005.

Starring Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard in the role of Blige's boyfriend the video first aired on November 28, 2005. It peaked on AOL Videos Top 11 on the tenth spot on the January 21, 2006 entering the chart the first time and also the LAUNCH Music Videos Top 100 at the sixth position the same week. There's also a "Live At Launch Exclusive Performance" available for download from January 2006, which peaked seventieth on the same chart. It won the "Video of the Year" award at the 2006 BET Awards on June 27, 2006 and was nominated for "Best R&B Video" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.

Synopsis

The video begins in a black and white city where Blige is standing on top of the building as the song begins. Then, it shifts into a bathroom where Blige cleans out the mirror. In the 1st scene, Blige is typing the lyrics on her laptop. The next scene shows a color appeared where Blige is falling in love with her boyfriend and sleeping with him. Then, the next scene goes to a kitchen where Blige and her love interest are celebrating dinner with her family. Meanwhile, she is seen in a color scene where she is standing next to a group of candles and the next scene shows at a red carpet premiere where Blige walks out of the limo. Then, Blige and her boyfriend breaks up after having a fight (As seen in the events at the beginning of the video) and her boyfriend storms off. After 2 candles started melting, the final scene as the black and white changes to a color scene where a knock was on the door. Blige opens it and it was her boyfriend. She hugged him at the end of the song.

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number three in February 2006, Blige's third highest peak of her career after 2001's "Family Affair" and 1996's "Not Gon' Cry." Moreover, the song became the most successful release in the history of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (until 2013) when it spent a record 15 consecutive weeks at number one. "Be Without You" topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for nine weeks, and the dance remix has also topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song broke the record for the longest-running single in the existence of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it spent a grand total of 75 weeks on that chart. After its run on the main R&B chart, it moved to the Recurrent R&B Airplay chart.

In the UK, the single only peaked at number 32 on the UK singles chart; however, with the Moto Blanco remix of the song becoming a large club hit in the UK, the song actually managed to hold (to that time) the record for the most weeks on the UK top 75 for a Mary J. Blige single (18 in total). Having proved very popular, the Moto Blanco remix was featured as a B-side in the UK on subsequent singles "MJB Da MVP" and "Enough Cryin'." A cover of the Moto Blanco remix by Wi-Fi featuring Melanie M was due to be released in the UK by record label All Around the World in February 2007.

Remixes

The official remix was also produced by Bryan-Michael Cox and features former Shady Records rapper Stat Quo.

Covers

Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Be Without You".

Charts

Certifications

[28]

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[30] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

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References
  1. Cox, Bryan-Michael. "Mary J. Blige "Be Without You" Sheet Music in D Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
  2. Tingen, Paul. "Writing & Producing R&B". soundonsound.com. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  3. "Australian-charts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  4. "Austriancharts.at – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  5. "Ultratop.be – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  6. "Ultratop.be – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  7. "Mary J Blige: Be Without You" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  8. "Lescharts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mary J Blige" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  11. "Dutchcharts.nl – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  12. "Charts.nz – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  13. "Swedishcharts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  14. "Swisscharts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
  15. "Mary J. Blige: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  16. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  17. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  18. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  19. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  20. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  21. "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
  22. "Single top 100 over 2006" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  23. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2006" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  24. "2006 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
  25. "Dance Club Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  26. "Dance/Mix Show Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  27. "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  29. "British single certifications – Mary J. Blige – Be Without You". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Be Without You in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  30. "American single certifications – Mary J. Blige – Be Without You". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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