Nobody but You (Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani song)

"Nobody but You" is a song recorded by American singers Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani for the former's fifth compilation album, Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019). It was produced by Scott Hendricks and written by Ross Copperman, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, and Tommy Lee James. Following "Go Ahead and Break My Heart" (2016) and "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" (2017), "Nobody but You" marks Shelton and Stefani's third collaboration. The song was first revealed in October 2019, although Stefani's contributions remained a secret until a week prior to the song's release. It was sent to American country music radio outlets on January 21, 2020, becoming the third single from the compilation. Promotional acoustic and live versions of the song were released to the public in March and June 2020, respectively.

"Nobody but You"
Single by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani
from the album Fully Loaded: God's Country
ReleasedJanuary 21, 2020 (2020-01-21)
Recorded2019
GenrePower ballad
Length3:15
LabelWarner
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Scott Hendricks
Blake Shelton singles chronology
"Hell Right"
(2019)		 "Nobody but You"
(2020)		 "Get Ready"
(2020)
Gwen Stefani singles chronology
"Secret Santa"
(2018)		 "Nobody but You"
(2020)		 "Happy Anywhere"
(2020)

"Nobody but You" has been described as a love song and a power ballad duet. The lyrics refer to the couple's personal life and describe two people deeply in love. Music reviewers gave positive feedback to the song, calling it romantic and heartfelt. Particular praise was aimed at Shelton and Stefani's chemistry. In the United States, the song peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top spot on the Digital Songs chart, becoming the second and third number one entry for Shelton and Stefani, respectively. It has sold approximately 142,000 copies in the United States as of March 2020 and was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The song also charted in Canada and on the ARIA digital component chart in Australia.

The song's accompanying music video was directed by Sophie Muller, her second joint collaboration with Shelton and Stefani. It serves as a glimpse of the couple's day-to-day life, featuring scenes of them cuddling, eating food at a diner, and visiting the construction site of Shelton's Oklahoma ranch. Promotional videos for the acoustic and live versions of the song were also created, but filmed at their home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair has performed "Nobody but You" on numerous occasions, including at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards and as a surprise during Stefani's Just a Girl concert residency in Las Vegas.

Background and release
Stefani first learned about "Nobody but You" after working with Shane McAnally (shown), who suggested that Shelton record it.

On October 23, 2019, Blake Shelton announced the details and revealed the cover art for his third compilation album, Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019). A collection of seven singles from If I'm Honest (2016) and Texoma Shore (2017), it also features five new songs including lead single "God's Country" and "Hell Right", a collaboration with Trace Adkins. "Nobody but You" was first announced during this press release, although Gwen Stefani's featured role in the song was not mentioned.[1] On December 4 of the same year, Shelton announced that his partner, Stefani, would duet with him on the track. In the same announcement, the song's producer and writers were given.[2] During the official album release party for Fully Loaded: God's Country, Shelton revealed how he first became aware of "Nobody but You": "I actually got the song through Gwen because she had been working with Shane McAnally. He told her that he had a song he needed to get to me and sent it to her first and she sent it on to me. I listened to it and I knew, 'Oh my god, I gotta cut this song. This song's incredible.'"[3]

With the release of "Nobody but You", it became Shelton and Stefani's third collaboration together. Stefani first appeared as a guest vocalist on the promotional single "Go Ahead and Break My Heart" for his tenth studio album, If I'm Honest (2016).[4] The next year, Shelton teamed up with Stefani for the title track to her fourth studio album and first Christmas album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017).[5]

The song was first teased by Shelton on his Instagram account, where he posted a snippet of the song the day before its scheduled premiere.[6] In the United States, "Nobody but You" was sent to various digital retailers as a paid download, along with the rest of Fully Loaded: God's Country, on December 13, 2019.[7] Following its release, Shelton announced that he believed it to be the most meaningful and important song from his career.[8] Over a month later, it was announced that the song would be released to country music radio stations on January 21, 2020.[9] On March 19th of the same year, Shelton announced that a newly recorded acoustic version of the single would be available for streaming the following day.[10] It was also made available as a digital single on streaming services like Apple Music.[11] A previously unreleased live recording was distributed, also to Apple Music, on June 26.[12] That same day, a digital extended play exclusive to Spotify users was released, containing all three versions of the song.[13]

Composition and lyrics

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic described the single as a power ballad and felt the song displayed Shelton's sweeter side, in contrast to the album's first two singles.[14] Rolling Stone's Jon Freeman agreed, also calling it a power ballad and comparing the chorus to Aerosmith's 1998 single "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing".[15]

According to the official sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, "Nobody but You" is set in common time and has a moderately slow tempo with 144 beats per minute.[16] The key of the song is in C major, with the pair's vocal range spanning an entire octave, from C4 to G5 in scientific pitch notation.[16] The song begins with the chord progressions of C–C/E–Am–F, which is replicated during the verses.[16] "Nobody but You" was produced by Shelton's longtime collaborator Scott Hendricks and written by Ross Copperman, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, and Tommy Lee James.[17][18]

Lyrically, the song describes a couple with mutual admiration and love for each other. Freeman from Rolling Stone summarized the meaning as "two people declaring their love for each other and the gratitude for the journey that brought them together".[15] Several of the verses' lyrics feature Shelton's vocals overlapping with Stefani's, although she sings an octave above him, including in the line "Want to say it now, want to make it clear / For only you and God to hear".[15] They also sing the chorus as a joint effort, with lyrics such as "I don't want to live without you / I don't want to even breathe / I don't want to dream about you / I want to wake up with you next to me".[19]

Critical reception

Kelli Boyle, a journalist from E! News, called the duet "gorgeous" and predicted that it will "be played at many a wedding".[20] Annie Reuter of Billboard also enjoyed the song, calling it "heartfelt".[21] Matt Bjorke, from the online country music publication Roughstock, was pleasantly surprised by the duet and wrote in his review of the song that "Blake and Gwen is something that shouldn't work on many levels yet, particularly here, it does. And it works spectacularly well".[22]

Commercial performance
Shelton and Stefani performing together live in August 2016.

Following the full release of Fully Loaded: God's Country, "Nobody but You" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States at number 79.[23] It became the pair's second-highest charting effort, behind "Go Ahead and Break My Heart" which reached number 70 in 2016.[24] "Nobody but You" reached the top spot on the Digital Songs chart, becoming the final number one of the decade and Shelton's second entry after "God's Country", which charted earlier in 2019.[25][26] For Stefani, it was her third top spot, following "Hollaback Girl" in 2005 and "The Sweet Escape" in 2007.[27] "Nobody but You" generated approximately 4.5 million streams during its first week of availability, and sold 30,000 digital copies.[28] After the release of the song's music video, it reentered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 76 during the week of February 1, 2020.[29] On April 24 of the same year, the song reached its peak position on the chart at number 18.[24] For Shelton, it became his fifth top 20 entry and for Stefani, it was her eight top 20 entry and best performing release since "The Sweet Escape" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 2007.[30][31] The song spent 25 weeks on the chart, with its final position being at number 43 for the issue dated July 11, 2020.[32]

During its debut week, "Nobody but You" hit number nine on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and also reached number one on Billboard's Country Digital Song Sales component chart.[33][34] Before its official release to radio outlets in January 2020, the collaboration entered the Country Airplay chart at number 46.[35] In April 2020, the song reached the top spot in the radio chart, becoming Stefani's first number one on the chart and Shelton's twenty-seventh. It increased his record as the artist with the third most chart-topping entries on the Country Airplay chart, behind Kenny Chesney who has 30 and Tim McGraw who has 29.[36] The song also made an appearance on the Rolling Stone Top 100, peaking at number 32.[37] "Nobody but You" has sold 142,000 copies in the United States as of March 2020.[38] On April 27, 2020, the single was awarded a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, signifying 500,000 track-equivalent units.[39] That number later increased to 815,000 equivalent units by May 5, 2020,[40] and 1,000,000 by July 22 of the same year, this time receiving a Platinum certification from the RIAA.[39]

Outside the United States, "Nobody but You" charted in Canada on the Canadian Hot 100. For the week ending December 27, 2019, it debuted at number 93, becoming Shelton's second-lowest entry since 2017's "Every Time I Hear That Song" at number 100.[41] During the week of January 31, 2020, the single reentered the Canadian Hot 100, improving its peak to number 79.[42] However, it faired better on the digital component chart, where it reached the top ten and peaked at number 3.[43] In Australia, the single did not reach the ARIA Singles Chart, but instead entered the country's official digital tracks chart at number 36.[44] After the release of the song's music video, it re-entered the chart and peaked at number 31.[45]

Music video
Shelton's dog Betty appears in the music video for "Nobody but You".

The music video for "Nobody but You" was filmed throughout November and December 2019 in Los Angeles and near Shelton's ranch in rural Oklahoma.[46] It was directed by Stefani's long-time collaborator Sophie Muller,[47] who also directed the video for "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" in 2018.[48] Mentions of a music video for the track originated right after the song's official release by Shelton himself; he stated: "There is no way I am going to have a duet with Gwen Stefani and not [make a music video]. [...] she is drop-dead beautiful and if I can have her in one of my videos, people actually look at my video for once in my entire career, you're damn right we're gonna do the video."[3] To coincide with the song's official distribution to radio playlists, the two revealed the music video's release date to be January 21, 2020; both singers uploaded teaser clips and pictures to their Instagram accounts in the days leading up to the event.[49] In a press release, Shelton's team described the video as "[showing] the couple from two different worlds coming together to create one blended and loving life".[50]

The video begins with Shelton walking through the woods with his dog, Betty. Footage of Stefani in the same setting is shown, with her rising from the ground as leaves fall from the trees surrounding her. During the first chorus, scenes of the two singing along are intermixed. The next part of the video shows the couple standing behind a guard rail overlooking and admiring large waves. Later scenes feature Shelton and Stefani cuddling on a couch with Betty, enjoying a meal at a diner, and performing the song live in formal attire.[51][52] Additional clips of the two, filmed in a home video style, show them driving in a truck in front of a green screen. Another one shows the couple visiting the construction site of a house, suggesting that the two are building a home and "hinting that this is the place where they'll live happily ever together"; the final scene of the video displays Shelton and Stefani preparing to kiss before the screen cuts to black.[53]

Boyle from E! News considered the home video footage to be among the best parts of the music video; she called the scene where Shelton kisses Stefani at the construction site to be "as adorable as it sounds".[54] Critics such as Stephen Hubbard from Good Morning America described the video as dramatic and romantic,[55] and the staff at KTLO-FM found it to be theatrical as well.[56]

Live performances

Shelton and Stefani performed "Nobody but You" live at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on January 26, 2020.[57]

At the Just a Girl concert residency in Las Vegas, Stefani brought out Shelton and performed "Nobody but You", as a surprise to the audience. The performance began with Shelton exiting an elevator, before joining Stefani on stage. Katie Colley from Entertainment Tonight Canada wrote highly of the performance, calling it "an unforgettable concert".[58]

Track listings

Charts
Chart performance for "Nobody but You"
Chart (2019–2020) Peak
position
Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)[45] 31
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[42] 38
Canada Country (Billboard)[59] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 18
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[35] 1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[33] 2
US Rolling Stone Top 100[37] 32

Certifications and sales
Certifications for "Nobody but You"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[60] Platinum 80,000
United States (RIAA)[39] Platinum 1,000,000 / 142,000[38]

*sales figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Nobody but You"
Region Date Format(s) Version Label Ref.
United States December 13, 2019
Original Warner [7]
January 21, 2020 Country radio [9]
Various March 20, 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Acoustic [11]
June 26, 2020
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 Live [12]

See also

References
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  4. If I'm Honest (Liner notes (CD)). Blake Shelton. Warner Bros. Records. 2016. 2-555352.CS1 maint: others (link)
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  12. References regarding the release of the live version of "Nobody but You" on Apple Music:
  13. "Nobody But You (Duet with Gwen Stefani) [Live]" (Spotify digital EP). Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani. Warner Records. June 26, 2020. Spotify URI: 28JOBmOhSs9ssOBgbxGTrp.CS1 maint: others (link)
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