"Someone You Loved" is a song recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi ( ; born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. In March 2019, his single " Someone You Loved" topped the UK Singles Chart wher ...

. It was released as a download on 8 November 2018 through

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

and

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

as the third single from his second extended play, ''Breach'' (2018), and was later included on his debut album, '' Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent'' (2019). The song was written by Capaldi, Samuel Romans, and its producers Thomas Barnes, Peter Kelleher and Benjamin Kohn. It was serviced to radio stations on 16 April 2019 as the first US single. "Someone You Loved" was a commercial success, peaking at number one on 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 ...

. The song became Capaldi's first number one single, spending seven consecutive weeks atop of the chart and was the best selling single of 2019 in the UK. It also peaked at number one on 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 bas ...

in March 2019. In the United States, "Someone You Loved", a

piano ballad A ballade (from French '' ballade'', , and German ''Ballade'', , both being words for "ballad"), in classical music since the late 18th century, refers to a setting of a literary ballad, a narrative poem, in the musical tradition of the , or to a o ...

, was a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...

, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in its 24th week on the chart. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the

62nd Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Al ...

. It also received an award for Song of the Year at the 2020 Brit Awards. As of 2021, "Someone You Loved" is the 4th most streamed song on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

, with 2.3 billion streams on the platform.

Background and composition

In an interview with the French magazine ''Brut'', Capaldi revealed he wrote the song about his grandmother who had died. In an interview with ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Capaldi revealed that it took him six months to write the song. He said, "A lot of people say that 'the best songs fall into your lap' and that they're the easiest ones to write and take the shortest amount of time: I wholeheartedly disagree with that. I think my best songs come from me sitting at a piano, bashing my head against a brick wall for hours and hours on end to get one good melody." "Someone You Loved" is played in the

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 110 BPM and key signature of

D♭ major D-flat major (or the key of D-flat) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B and C. Its key signature has five flats. It is enharmonically equivalent to C-sharp major. The D-flat major scale is: : Its ...

Music videos

There are two music videos to accompany "Someone You Loved". The first music video was released on 8 February 2019, starring actor

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

, who is Lewis Capaldi's second cousin once removed. It was directed by filmmaker Phil Beastall. Filming took place in

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.

in late January 2019. The video was made in partnership with charity organisation ''Live Life Give Life'' in order to raise awareness for the issue of

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...

. It contains a message of loss and hope, telling a story of a husband who is trying to cope with the death of his wife. She became the heart donor for the young mother of another family, saving her life. Eventually the two families are brought together and the main character knows that his wife's heart continues to live on. An alternate music video, featuring the singer was released on 29 August 2019. Here, Capaldi wanders the streets, following his lost love as his friends and strangers try to stop him from chasing after her. His brother, Aidan, also made an appearance in the video. Capaldi said: "For me the video is about the people we surround ourselves with that have the strength when we don't and help us continue to make the right decisions in moments of fear or hardship. In the moment we often choose to ignore friends and family, thinking our judgement is better, but of course in hindsight when you’re in that headspace it’s almost impossible to make the right decisions."

Chart performance

"Someone You Loved" reached number one on the

and stayed there for seven consecutive weeks. It is also Capaldi's first entry on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, debuting at number 85 on the issue dated 25 May 2019 and becoming the singer's first number-one single in the country on the issue dated 2 November 2019. It reached number one after 24 weeks on the chart, becoming one of the longest climbs to the top position in ''Billboard'' history. After three non-consecutive weeks on top it was replaced by

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

's "

Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

". In

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the single cumulated 26.8 million streams in 2019 and was the biggest-selling song in the country that year.

Track listing

*Digital download #"Someone You Loved" – 3:02 *Digital download #"Someone You Loved" (Future Humans Remix) – 3:09 *Digital download #"Someone You Loved" (Madism Radio Mix)– 2:37 *CD single #"Someone You Loved" – 3:02 #"Someone You Loved" (Madism Radio Mix) – 2:37 #"Someone You Loved" (Instrumental) – 3:02 #"Voice Note From Lewis"

Personnel

* TMS – production, mixing * Phil Cook – strings * Lewis Capaldi – vocals, piano * Robert Voseign – mastering * Ryan Walter – artwork design * Ali Gavillet – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Covers

The Piano Guys The Piano Guys is an American musical group consisting of pianist Jon Schmidt, cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, videographer Paul Anderson, and music producer Al van der Beek. Originating in Utah, they gained popularity through YouTube, where in ...

covered the song in a piano and cello composition on their video featuring ''World of Dance'' season 2 contestants

Charity Anderson Charity Anderson Reid (born 2000) is an American dancer. She specializes in contemporary and acro dance. She and partner Andres Peñate competed on season 2 of ''World of Dance'' in 2018, becoming the first in the show's history to score a perfe ...

and Andres Penate.

Nicola Roberts Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is a British pop singer. She rose to prominence in late 2002 upon winning a place in Girls Aloud, a girl group created through ITV's '' Popstars: The Rivals''. The group's success helped them win the ...

performed the song in her Queen Bee disguise on the first series of ''The Masked Singer UK''.

Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban-born American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in ...

and the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in W ...

covered the song during

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Live Lounge The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cotton ...

, while

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after p ...

, and

Alec Benjamin Alec Shane Benjamin (born May 28, 1994) is an American singer-songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona. His 2018 breakthrough single "Let Me Down Slowly" reached the top 40 in over 25 countries and has amassed over 1 billion streams on Spotify as of Apri ...

covered the song for

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

. Capaldi performed the song as a surprise guest with

Nina Nesbitt Nina Nesbitt (born ) is a Scottish singer and songwriter. She has two top 40 singles, and is known for her single "Stay Out", which peaked at No. 21 on the UK Singles Chart in April 2013. Her first Extended play, EP, ''The Apple Tree'', was r ...

and

James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost par ...

at their concerts, and with

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

at the 2019

iHeartRadio Music Festival The iHeartRadio Music Festival is a two-day music concert festival held every year in September since 2011 by iHeartRadio along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. From 2011 to 2015, the festival was held at the MGM Gran ...

References

{{Brit British Single Internet memes 2018 songs 2018 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Brit Award for British Single Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Malaysia Lewis Capaldi songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Romans (musician) Songs written by Peter Kelleher (songwriter) Songs written by Tom Barnes (songwriter) Songs written by Ben Kohn Song recordings produced by TMS (production team) Pop ballads Songs written by Lewis Capaldi 2010s ballads Songs about heartache Universal Music Group singles Vertigo Records singles Virgin Records singles