"If I Can't Have You" is a song by Canadian singer
Shawn Mendes
Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...
. It was released as the lead single (sixth overall) from the deluxe edition of Mendes'
self-titled third studio album through
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
on May 3, 2019.
The music video was released the same day.
"If I Can't Have You" has reached number one in Hungary and China, as well as the top five in Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Malaysia, New Zealand, Scotland, Slovakia, and the United States.
Background
Mendes told
Zane Lowe
Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.
After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...
on the
Beats 1
Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...
radio show that out of the 45 songs he has written in the last six months, which are stylistically "all over the place" and have "different vibes", "If I Can't Have You" was "the one consistently every time I played for myself and for friends and family was giving people that smile".
Promotion
Mendes announced the release through his social media on May 1. He shared a link to the promotional website canthaveyou.com, which redirects to his webstore and offers the single as a
7-inch vinyl
In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separat ...
,
cassette
Cassette may refer to:
Technology
* Cassette tape (or ''musicassette'', ''audio cassette'', ''cassette tape'', or ''tape''), a worldwide standard for analog audio recording and playback
** Cassette single (or "Cassingle"), a music single in th ...
and
CD single
A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...
, with each format available in three versions containing a unique voice memo from Mendes.
He performed the song for the first time during ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
'' on May 4, 2019.
Commercial performance
"If I Can't Have You" debuted at number two on both the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
and the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, behind "
Old Town Road
"Old Town Road" is the debut single of American rapper Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. Lil Nas X also recorded a remix with America ...
" by
Lil Nas X
Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...
. It was Mendes' highest-charting hit in both countries at the time surpassing 2015's "
Stitches", which peaked at number 4 in the US.
"
Señorita
Señorita (the Spanish honorific equivalent of Miss) may refer to:
Film
* ''Senorita'' (film), a 1927 American silent film
*''Señorita'', a 2011 film directed by Isabel Sandoval
Music
* "Señorita" (Don Williams song), 1987
*'' Señorita EP'' ...
" became his highest-charting single later in the year.
Music video
The music video was released on May 3, 2019, via the singer's official Vevo channel on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. A lyric video was also released on May 6, 2019.
Track listing
Each version of the 7-inch, cassette and CD single contains one of three voice memos from Mendes.
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
*
Shawn Mendes
Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...
– vocals, songwriter, producer, programmer, guitar
*
Teddy Geiger
Teresa Geiger (born September 16, 1988) also known by her stage name Teddy Geiger, is an American artist, songwriter and record producer.
Early life
Geiger was born on September 16, 1988, to Lorilyn Rizzo-Bridges and John Theodore Geiger, I. Sh ...
– songwriter, producer, drums, guitar, keyboards, programmer
*
Scott Harris – songwriter, additional producer, guitar
* Nate Mercereau – songwriter, additional producer, guitar, bass guitar, piano
*
Ojivolta
Ojivolta are an American record production and songwriting duo, composed of Mark Williams and Raul Cubina. Their credits include production and co-writing for Kanye West, Playboi Carti, XXXTentacion, Lil Nas X, Justin Bieber
Justin Drew ...
– songwriter, additional producer
* Ray 'August Grant' Jacobs – backing vocals
* Raul Cubina – drums, percussion, programmer
* Ryan Svendsen – trumpet, flugelhorn
* Mark Williams – guitar, keyboards, programmer
* Zubin Thakkar – engineer, studio personnel
* George Seara – mixer, recording engineer, studio personnel
* Mike Gnocato – assistant mixer, studio personnel
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{authority control
2019 singles
2019 songs
Black-and-white music videos
Island Records singles
Shawn Mendes songs
Songs written by Scott Harris (songwriter)
Songs written by Shawn Mendes
Songs written by Teddy Geiger