"Meet Me Halfway" is the third single from

the Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim H ...

' fifth studio album, ''

The E.N.D. ''The E.N.D.'' (an abbreviation of, and subtitled ''The Energy Never Dies'') is the fifth studio album by American group Black Eyed Peas, released on June 3, 2009. Critics described the album as containing more anthemic and inspirational songs ...

'' It is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song that combines futuristic electro hop beats with vintage 1980s pop stylings. Released in September 2009, the song peaked at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the charts of Australia, Germany, Romania, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. In the latter country, "Meet Me Halfway" became the 10th-biggest-selling single of 2009.

Background

The song was released as a promotional single, as part of the "Countdown to ''The E.N.D.''" where 3 album tracks were released once each week until the release of the album. This song was the final promotional single in the series, the first two, in order of release, were "Imma Be" and "Alive". The song got early airplay on

Today Network The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations. Hist ...

s' Hot30 Countdown in Australia, and on radio stations across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

Promotion

Meet Me Halfway was performed live on the week 5 results show of the British TV singing competition ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' on November 8, 2009. The single was released the previous week in the UK. They performed the song on the American Music Awards of 2009, along with " Boom Boom Pow". The Black Eyed Peas performed the mix of the song at the 2009

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie. From 1995 to 2018, Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under ...

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. ''

Prefix A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy''. Particu ...

'' magazine stated, "''Meet Me Halfway'' is notable mostly for being better than a 'new-wavey' ballad by The Black Eyed Peas has any right to be." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' wrote "Fergie elongates each note for a sensual vocal and offers a nice complement to co-producer Will.i.am, who handles the majority of the rhymes over funk guitar, hand claps and distorted pulses. With this track already climbing the Hot 100, the Peas are proving that their hit parade is far from over." Bill Lamb of '' About.com'' stated that: "Fergie has the clear lead vocal here. She will never blow someone away with a bombastic voice or an otherworldly vocal range. However, she has an almost tearful edge to her voice that makes nearly any of her performances sound soaked with emotion. "Meet Me Halfway" is no exception. With the focus clearly on Fergie, this could in some ways be seen as a solo effort. However, the style of the song fits better in the context of The Black Eyed Peas album ''The E.N.D.'' instead of Fergie's ''The Dutchess''." ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' also gave a positive review: "When the group's glitchy future-funk beats sync up with Fergie's unabashedly feminine melodies, as on the sweetly insidious ''Meet Me Halfway,'' they find pure Top 40 nirvana."

Chart performance

The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 75 for the week ending October 3, 2009, and peaked at number seven during its sixth week (November 7), becoming the third consecutive top ten hit from the album. It makes ''The E.N.D.'' the band's first album to contain three Hot 100 top ten hits. The three songs successively overlapped in the Top 10, giving the group 30 consecutive weeks with a Top 10 hit. It topped the ARIA charts, becoming their third consecutive number 1 single from ''The E.N.D''. In the United Kingdom, "Meet Me Halfway" entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on October 11, 2009, at number 67. In its fifth week on the chart (November 8, 2009) it climbed to number three, being the highest non-'' X Factor'' related song on the chart, and one of only two songs in the top five non-related to ''The X Factor'', along with

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reach ...

's "

Down Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, a ty ...

", although The Black Eyed Peas performed "Meet Me Halfway" on the ''X Factor'' results show on the same night, leading to significant exposure. On November 13, it was announced that "Meet Me Halfway" was outselling its nearest competition, "

Happy Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

" by

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...

, and was on course to reach number one. It became ''The E.N.D.''s third consecutive number one single in Britain, and the band's fourth overall, on November 15, 2009, achieving the same success as in Australia. As of Sunday December 27, "Meet Me Halfway" has sold 517,178 copies in Britain, making it the 13th best selling single of 2009. On December 20, "Meet Me Halfway" fell to number 10 after eight consecutive weeks but rose to number six the following week. As on January 3, 2010, it rose again to number three. On the New Zealand Top 40, the song peaked at number three, making it their third consecutive top three hit from the album. It was certified Gold after 10 weeks on the chart, selling over 7,500 copies. The song entered the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are b ...

on October 15, 2009, at number 27, it has so far peaked at number 2 for five consecutive weeks, fended off by

Cheryl Cole Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. Born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, she rose to fame in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars ...

's "

Fight For This Love "Fight for This Love" is the debut solo single by English singer and Girls Aloud member Cheryl Cole, recorded for her debut studio album, ''3 Words'' (2009). It was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland as the lead single on 2009 by Fascinat ...

", the ''X Factor'' finalists' cover of " You Are Not Alone" and finally

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's " Bad Romance". The song also reached number one on the German Single Charts, making it their third chart topper since almost 5 years (last two were "

Where Is the Love? "Where Is the Love?" is a song by American hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. It was released on May 12, 2003, as the lead single from their third album, ''Elephunk''. The song was written by will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, Justin Timberlake, P ...

" and " Shut Up" – both in 2003).

Music video

The music video was confirmed by will.i.am to be directed by Ben Mor (director of "I Gotta Feeling"). "This is a very different type of video ... 'Boom Boom Pow' was very futuristic and 'I Gotta Feeling' had a party vibe, but this is more artistic video. It's very arty." The video premiered on October 12, 2009. It was released onto the iTunes Music store on October 13, 2009. The video features the members in different parts of the

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

. The video opens on a road in the middle of a desert panning up to the cosmic sky which shifts to scenes of each of the members singing in different locations of space: Fergie lies in the middle of a lush, green jungle, apl.de.ap levitates on a desert planet in nomadic clothing, will.i.am rides an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

on a moon of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...

and

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannic ...

glides around the Sun in a spacesuit. Apl takes out a map and will.i.am uses a compass to search for a path to the other members. After a while, will.i.am finds a dial that reveals gateways for each of the members to go through. All the members use a stargate and turn into

shooting star Shooting star refers to a meteor. Shooting star may also refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Shooting Star'' (2015 film), a 2015 Bulgarian short film * ''Shooting Star'' (2020 film), a 2020 Canadian short film * ''Shooting Stars'' ( ...

s, and land on the planet (presumably Earth because it is a mix of all the different places were the singers are and is a halfway of all the locations in the video), with the road in the middle of the desert. This is the first video of the album that does not end with the phrase "The E.N.D."

Covers

In May 2010, two members of the British hip-hop trio,

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around t ...

performed an acoustic mash-up of the song with "

" by

at Live Lounge with singer Ny, as the third member Tulisa was ill, the full trio later performed the acoustic mash-up at

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these earl ...

and later on their Love.Live.Life Tour. In June 2010,

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...

band Haste the Day released a cover of the song on the special edition of their final studio album, '' Attack of the Wolf King''. In 2012, a cover of "Meet Me Halfway" featured on The Futureheads a capella album '' Rant''.

Track listing

UK CD Single (2721563) Digital Download E.P.

Credits and personnel

Source adapted from Discogs. *Bass ynth Bass- Printz Board *Guitar uitars By- George Pajon, Tim "Izo" Orindgreff *Keyboards eys Synthesizer ynths Bass Guitar, Drum Programming - Keith Harris *Written-By - William Adams, Allan Pineda, Jaime Gomez, Stacy Ferguson,

Jean Baptiste Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

, Keith Harris, Sylvia Gordon *Vocals - will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo, apl.de.ap *Recorded at: Metropolis Studios in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, UK *Management: David Sonenberg and William Derella for DAS Communications, Ltd. and Polo Molina for Grass Roots Productions, Inc

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2009 singles Black Eyed Peas songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in Romania Number-one singles in Scotland UK Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Song recordings produced by will.i.am Interscope Records singles Songs written by Keith Harris (record producer) Song recordings produced by Keith Harris (record producer) 2009 songs