"Nothing Without Love" is the debut single by American singer

Nate Ruess Nate Ruess is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known as the founder and lead singer of the indie pop band Fun, and of The Format. As of 2015, he also performs as a solo musician. Early life Ruess was born the second child of Larry ...

from his debut solo studio album ''

Grand Romantic ''Grand Romantic'' is the debut studio album of Nate Ruess, lead vocalist from The Format and Fun. It was released on June 16, 2015, by Fueled by Ramen. The album was produced by '' Some Nights'' producer Jeff Bhasker. Following the hiatus of Fun ...

''. The song was released on February 23, 2015 via

Fueled By Ramen Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City. History John Janick conceived of the lab ...

. The song impacted

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

radio on March 3, 2015.

Background

In the spring of 2014, Ruess was in the studio with producer Jeff Bhasker recording a demo for what was planned to be an upcoming fun. song. However, Ruess' band

fun. Fun (stylized as fun.) is an American pop rock band based in New York City. The band consists of Jack Antonoff (of Steel Train and Bleachers), Andrew Dost (formerly of Anathallo), and Nate Ruess (then-former lead singer of the Format). Fun f ...

announced on February 5, 2015 via Facebook that the band was taking a hiatus for its members to pursue other projects. Ruess announced in a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' interview the following day that he planned to start a solo singing career. On February 18, Ruess released a teaser of his new single via his own YouTube channel. The full song was released five days later via Fueled by Ramen. Its iTunes chart sale were within the iTunes Top 40, peaking at 31 on 4/24/15.

Composition

While composing the song, Ruess was unable to think of lyrics. Ruess turned to singing about recent events in his life, stating that "it felt so believable; I was saying what I was thinking." Ruess continued, stating that "this is the first time I've been comfortable in my own skin, and it's with someone who's comfortable in their own skin."

Promotion

On May 12, 2015, Ruess performed "Nothing Without Love" on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

''. On July 31, 2015, Ruess performed the song on ''

X Factor Indonesia The ''X Factor Indonesia'' is an Indonesian reality television music competition to find new singing talent, contested by aspiring singers drawn from public audition. The show was adopted from British ''The X Factor'' and produced by FremantleMed ...

''.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Fueled by Ramen singles Songs written by Nate Ruess Songs written by Emile Haynie Song recordings produced by Emile Haynie Songs written by Jeff Bhasker Song recordings produced by Jeff Bhasker Songs written by Josh Klinghoffer Music videos directed by Anthony Mandler Nate Ruess songs