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The music video for "Tell Me You Love Me" was directed by
's ''
"Tell Me You Love Me" is a song recorded by American singer
, Lovato named "Tell Me You Love Me" as her favorite track on the album, later explaining that "It said exactly what I was wanting to tell that person. I wanted to hear them tell me that they loved me."
Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...
. It was written by Kirby Lauryen
Kirby Lauryen Dockery, also known by the stage names Kirby (stylized as KIRBY) and Kirby Lauryen, is an American singer-songwriter. She has written pop songs such as "FourFiveSeconds" performed by Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney. Kirby is ...
, Stint and John Hill John Hill may refer to:
Business
* John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary
* John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter
* John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...
, with production handled by the latter two. The track was initially released through Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, Island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
and Safehouse Records
Safehouse Records is a defunct American record label created by artists Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas and his manager Phil McIntyre that existed until the late 2010s. Announced on May 26, 2015, its goal was to "put artists in control of their art while ...
on August 24, 2017, as the first promotional single from Lovato's sixth studio album of the same name (2017). It was released as the second and final single from the album on November 14, 2017. Lyrically, the song uses relationship metaphors to reference theme of self-respect
Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...
.
"Tell Me You Love Me" received acclaim from music critics, who praised its production and Lovato's vocals. The song impacted hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
radios on January 22, 2018. Commercially, the song reached the top 40 in Canada and the top 20 in Panama.
Production
"Tell Me You Love Me" was written byKirby Lauryen
Kirby Lauryen Dockery, also known by the stage names Kirby (stylized as KIRBY) and Kirby Lauryen, is an American singer-songwriter. She has written pop songs such as "FourFiveSeconds" performed by Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney. Kirby is ...
, Stint
A stint is one of several very small waders in the paraphyletic ''"Calidris"'' assemblage – often separated in ''Erolia'' – which in North America are known as peeps. They are scolopacid waders much similar in ecomorphology to the ...
and John Hill John Hill may refer to:
Business
* John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary
* John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter
* John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...
for Lovato's sixth studio album of the same name. It was produced by Stint and Hill. Both producers performed the instruments for the song, including bass, drums, guitar, horn, and piano. Mitch Allan
Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, Pi ...
also served as its vocal producer, with Scott Robinson contributing as the additional vocal producer. The song features backing vocals by Lauryen. It was recorded and edited with guidance by Rob Cohen at Rodeo Recordings, located in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
and Venice Way Studios in North Vancouver, Canada. Lovato recorded the vocals for the song with guidance by Zeke Mishanec at Jungle City Studios
Jungle City Studios is a recording studio owned and operated by Ann Mincieli, Alicia Keys's longtime engineer and studio coordinator. Located in Chelsea, Manhattan, it was designed by John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group.
Recordings at Ju ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The song was engineered for mix by John Hanes, and eventually mixed by Serban Ghenea. It was finally mastered
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...
by Chris Gehringer
Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...
and Will Quinnell.
During the album pop-up exhibition in New York City, Lovato revealed that the song was "really stuck" with her when she heard it for the first time. She explained, "At the time I was going through a breakup. It's about the vulnerability of coming out of a very serious relationship and having a tough time with it. It also at the same time calls out a big misconception with the line, 'You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody,' which again comes from that vulnerability with mixed emotions." In an interview with the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Release
Lovato published a black-and-white teaser on August 23, 2017, on social media, announcing the new album, with "Tell Me You Love Me" playing in the background. The clip shows Lovato singing the song in a studio, as it fades into the album artwork. It was released to radio as the album's second and final single from the album on November 14, 2017. An official remix of the song byNOTD
NOTD (pronounced "noted") is a Swedish musical production duo composed of Tobias Danielsson and Samuel Brandt. They are best known for their songs " I Wanna Know" featuring Bea Miller and " So Close" with Felix Jaehn featuring Captain Cuts and G ...
was released on December 15, 2017. The second official remix of the song by American electronic musician Dave Audé
Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, Record producer, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club S ...
was released on January 5, 2018. On March 8, 2018, Lovato released a remix extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
, featuring the original version of the track, the two previous remixes, Spanglish
Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...
and Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
versions and a live acoustic performance. On March 23, 2018, the EP was re-released, and one remix of the song by Matrix & Futurebound
Matrix & Futurebound are a British drum and bass duo consisting of Jamie Quinn ( Matrix) and Brendan Collins (Futurebound). They have had four top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart; "All I Know" peaked at number 29 in 2012, " Magnetic Eyes" peake ...
was released.
Composition
"Tell Me You Love Me" is written in the key ofE minor
E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major.
The E natural minor scale is:
:
Changes needed ...
with a 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 72 beats per minute in common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
. The song follows a chord progression of Em–D–C, and Lovato's vocal range spans from the low note of A3 to the high note of G5.
Critical reception
"Tell Me You Love Me" received acclaim from music critics, who mostly complimented its production and Lovato's vocals. Elias Leight of ''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 ...
'' called the song "a swelling ballad full of horns and handclaps". Mike Wass of Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
described the song as "a fiery mid-tempo anthem". Jeff Benjamin of Fuse
Fuse or FUSE may refer to:
Devices
* Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current
** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles
* Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...
called the song a "booming ballad". Deepa Lakshmin of MTV News
MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
described Lovato's vocals as "sweeping". Raisa Bruner of ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' described the song as a "lush and dramatic love song" that had "powerful hand-clap chorus and big horns". While reviewing the album, Jamieson Cox of ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' described the song as "a desperate plea for affection that gradually morphs into a declaration of self-love".
Music video
Background and synopsis
The music video for "Tell Me You Love Me" was directed by Mark Pellington
Mark Pellington (born March 17, 1962) is an American film director, writer, and producer.
Life and career
Pellington was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebacker who played football with the Baltimore Colts ...
, who had previously worked with Lovato on the video for her 2011 single "Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
". The video co-starred actor Jesse Williams. About filming the music video, Lovato commented, " hooting the music videowas really fun too! We had a full on wedding and my best friends were even my bridesmaids and groomsmen."
The music video is six minutes and forty-seven seconds long. The first two minutes of the video are dedicated to the couple's engagement as well as the jealousies that strain their relationship before their wedding. The track eventually begins during the wedding sequence where, after a few suspenseful moments, Williams' groom tells Lovato's bride he is not ready and leaves her at the altar to the shock of their family and friends. The video ends with Lovato singing "''Everything I need, is standing right in front of me, I know that we will be alright, alright''" as she stands in front of a mirror.
Release and reception
On November 22, 2017, Lovato posted a photo of herself in a wedding dress on her social media with no description. Rumors of the possibility of the photo being a sneak peek from the music video were made on social media. On November 27, 2017, Lovato announced that the official music video for the song would be released on December 1, 2017, by posting a wedding invitation from Lovato and Williams. According toIsland 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 ...
' president David Massey, the music video reached 10 million views on its first day.
Megan Armstrong of ''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 advertise ...
'' praised Lovato and Williams' acting performances, saying they "make it hard to believe they aren't actually a couple in real life." Markos Papadatos of ''Digital Journal'' said the music video was "superb from start to finish" and called it one of Lovato's "most compelling videos". Sara M Moniuszko of ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' praised the music video as one that "perfectly matches the emotional and longing lyrics of the track." Kaitlyn Tiffany of ''The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' described the video as "a Lifetime movie you can watch at your desk". Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
listed the video 11th among the best music videos of the year.
Live performances
On October 5, 2017, the singer performed the song for the first time on television on ''The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
'', where she also performed " Sorry Not Sorry". On November 10, 2017, Lovato performed the song at BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Sounds Like Friday Night
''Sounds Like Friday Night '' is a music entertainment programme that began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom from 27 October 2017. Presented by broadcaster Greg James and rapper A.Dot (credited as Dotty), the programme features both emer ...
''. On November 12, 2017, Lovato performed a medley of "Sorry Not Sorry" and "Tell Me You Love Me" at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards. The song was on Lovato's set list for the 2017 Jingle Ball Tour. On December 19, 2017, Lovato performed the song on the live finale of ''The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
''. Lovato performed the track on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'' on January 15, 2018. The song serves as the encore to the Tell Me You Love Me World Tour
The Tell Me You Love Me World Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour and third worldwide tour by American singer Demi Lovato, in support of her sixth studio album '' Tell Me You Love Me'' (2017). The tour began on February 26, 2018, in San Di ...
, where Lovato sings accompanied by a guest choir while confetti
Confetti are small pieces or streamers of paper, mylar, or metallic material which are usually thrown at celebrations, especially parades and weddings. The origins are from the Latin ''confectum'', with ''confetti'' the plural of Italian ''con ...
is raining down.
Track listings
*Digital download #Credits and personnel
Recording and management *Recorded at Rodeo Recordings (Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
) and Venice Way Studios ( North Vancouver, BC, 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 tot ...
)
*Vocals recorded at Jungle City Studios
Jungle City Studios is a recording studio owned and operated by Ann Mincieli, Alicia Keys's longtime engineer and studio coordinator. Located in Chelsea, Manhattan, it was designed by John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group.
Recordings at Ju ...
(New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
)
*Mixed at MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...
)
*Mastered at Sterling Sound Studios
Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''.
Biography
T ...
(New York City)
*Published by Rodeoman Music (GMR), EMI April Music, WB Music Corp. (ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
), Roc Nation Music (ASCAP), A Song A Day (ASCAP), Stint Music Publishing (SOCAN
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...
)
Personnel
*Demi Lovato
Demetria Devonne Lovato ( ; born August 20, 1992), known as Demi Lovato, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. After appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), Lovato rose to prominence for pl ...
– lead vocals
*John Hill John Hill may refer to:
Business
* John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary
* John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter
* John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...
– production, bass, drums, guitar, horn, piano, programming
*Stint – production, bass, drums, guitar, horn, piano, programming
*Mitch Allan
Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, Pi ...
– vocal production
*Scott Robinson – additional vocal production
*Rob Cohen – recording, editing
*Zeke Mishanec – vocals recording
*Serban Ghenea – mixing
*John Hanes – mixing engineering
* Dave Palmer – keyboards
*Kirby Lauryen
Kirby Lauryen Dockery, also known by the stage names Kirby (stylized as KIRBY) and Kirby Lauryen, is an American singer-songwriter. She has written pop songs such as "FourFiveSeconds" performed by Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney. Kirby is ...
– background vocals
*Chris Gehringer
Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...
– mastering
*Will Quinnell – mastering
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Tell Me You Love Me''.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Notes
References
{{Authority control 2010s ballads 2017 singles 2017 songs Demi Lovato songs Hollywood Records singles Island Records singles Safehouse Records singles Gospel songs Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by John Hill (record producer) Music videos directed by Mark Pellington Torch songs Songs written by Ajay Bhattacharya Songs written by Kirby Lauryen Song recordings produced by Mitch Allan