"29" is a song by Belgian singer

Loïc Nottet Loïc Nottet (; born 10 April 1996) is a Belgian singer, songwriter and dancer. He began his career as a singer in the third season of ''The Voice Belgique'' in 2014 and represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where he placed fo ...

, released for digital download on 5 June 2019 by

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as the third single from his second studio album ''

Sillygomania ''Sillygomania'' is the second studio album by Belgian singer Loïc Nottet. It was released on 29 May 2020 by Sony Music. The album includes the singles "Doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the hold ...

''. It was written by

Sacha Skarbek Sacha Skarbek is a British songwriter and producer. He is best known for co-writing James Blunt's hit singles "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover" as well as Miley Cyrus' hit song "Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus song), Wrecking Ball". Skarbek ...

and Nottet, while the production was handled by the latter. A piano-driven

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, the track builds to a "strong and explosive"

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

and features Nottet reaching high notes throughout. The

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

lyrics delve on the ending on a relationship and also approach themes of hopelessness, loneliness and struggle. An accompanying music video for the track was uploaded to the singer's

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channel on 4 June 2019. Directed by Julien Hosmalin, the critically acclaimed clip depicts Nottet and his love interest, played by Fanny Sage, reaching for each other on top of a levitating

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car. Commercially, the track charted in the

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

regions of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It was also promoted by a live performance for MNM.

Background and composition

"29" was written by

and Sacha Skarbek, while production was handled by the latter. It was released for digital download by

on 5 June 2019 in various countries. A piano-driven

which sees Nottet reaching high notes throughout, the song starts "quiet" and builds to a "strong and explosive"

. Its lyrics delve on the ending point of a relationship at which both partners still have feelings for one another. Elvir Pelešević of EuroVisionary also noted that "29" was characterized by feelings of hopelessness, loneliness and struggle. Lyrics include: "Please can we just say / Pretty lies, pretty lies / Lie to each other again / One last time". During the refrain, Nottet sings: "Slowly let me down / Every word pulls me apart / Gently tell me how / To forgive me now / 'Cause all I need is on your lips / They're my enemy / They're my remedy / So slowly let me down / Give me a kiss just one last time". The track's lyrics derive from a "painful" experience of Nottet's, with the singer deeming it "the most personal song" he had ever created. He further elaborated on its

nature: "I wrote '29' the night of my breakup, the ..night of October 29 when we kissed for the last time ..We decided to break it off in a car parked on a parking lot".

Music video

An accompanying music video for "29" was uploaded to Nottet's

channel on 4 June 2019. It was directed by Julien Hosmalin and produced by LEFT productions. ''Note: Open the description for credits''. The filming process was completed in 16 hours, with Fanny Sage being hired to play the role of Nottet's love interest. The clip starts with Nottet sitting in the driving seat of a

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car and Sage in the passenger seat of the car looking out the window at pouring rain. The car is subsequently levitating in mid-air against a blue backdrop, with the singer sitting on its bonnet and Sage on its boot. Over the course of the video, they both climb over to each other's side while the car steeply inclines. As they make an attempt to meet in the middle, Nottet loses his balance and eventually falls down. The final scene sees the singer inside the car as in the video's beginning, though he is alone, since Sage had previously left. Jonathan Currinn of CelebMix praised the music video's connection to the song, calling it a "brilliant metaphor regarding the end of a relationship and it's simply interesting to watch". Echoing Currinn's thoughts, Julien Goncalves of

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called it "melancholic".

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2010s ballads 2019 songs 2019 singles Loïc Nottet songs Songs about loneliness Songs written by Sacha Skarbek Songs written by Loïc Nottet