"With You" is a song by American singer and songwriter
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
from her fifteenth studio album, ''
Caution'' (2018). On October 4, 2018,
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
released it as the album's lead single. The song was written by Carey,
Charles Hinshaw,
Dijon McFarlane and Greg Lawary, with Carey and
DJ Mustard
Dijon Isaiah McFarlane (born June 5, 1990), known professionally as Mustard (also known as DJ Mustard), is an American record producer and beatmaker. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow California-bred artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign; among var ...
also producing it. The song was announced on October 2, along with its single artwork. A "velvety"
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
with a finger-snap beat and warm piano, the song's lyrics center around a woman seeking safety and security and her partner promising his love.
"With You" received positive reviews from critics. It reached the top 10 in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, and peaked at number seven on the US
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, quie ...
chart. The accompanying music video, directed by Sarah McColgan, was released on October 10, 2018. Its
black and white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
visuals feature Carey creating a sense of intimacy, while highlighting her lush life by posing in different spots across Los Angeles. The song was performed live at the
American Music Awards of 2018
The 46th Annual American Music Awards were held on October 9, 2018, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. It aired live on ABC and was hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross. Cardi B and Drake led the list of nominations with eight mentions e ...
.
Background and composition
DJ Mustard
Dijon Isaiah McFarlane (born June 5, 1990), known professionally as Mustard (also known as DJ Mustard), is an American record producer and beatmaker. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow California-bred artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign; among var ...
and
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
produced "With You" and co-wrote it with
Charles Hinshaw and Greg Lawary over a two day period at
Westlake Recording Studios,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
In reference to working with the singer, Lawary stated "When I saw my name among Mariah Carey and DJ Mustard, I teared up. She's such a legend. It's like working with
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...
. She's done so much for music". The song was announced on October 2, 2018, along with its single artwork. It was released two days later.
"With You" served as the second single from Carey's fifteenth studio album ''Caution'', and was preceded by the promotional single "
GTFO".
The song is a "velvety"
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
with a finger-snap beat and warm piano. It features lyrics about a woman seeking safety and security and her partner promising his love. The song's outro features one of Carey's signature high-tone whistle notes. "With You" is centered around Carey telling someone she “fucks with" them in a romantic capacity. It includes a reference to her 1998 single "
Breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:
Breaking down
*Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated
*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components
*Decompo ...
" featuring
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, with her singing "Ever since that Bone Thugs song, you ain't gotta break down, you're too strong".
Some critics viewed the song as reminiscent of Carey's earlier work, including the songs: "
I Stay in Love
"I Stay in Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her eleventh studio album, ''E=MC² (Mariah Carey album), E=MC²'' (2008). It was written by Carey, Bryan-Michael Cox, Adonis Shropshire and Kendrick Dean, and prod ...
", "
Bye Bye", and "
Angels Cry".
Critical reception
"With You" received positive reviews from critics. ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
''s Spencer Kornhaber praised "With You", stating that he "can’t stop playing" it, and opined that Carey "regards romance with open-eyed caginess". Writing for ''
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 ...
'', Brittany Spanos called the song a "shchmaltzy slow jam", and made note of the singer's use of the whistle register. Chris DeVille of ''
Stereogum
''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine.
''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...
'' described it as "a different sort of ballad: warm, organic, built from little more than gospel piano and booming 808s", adding "When she leans into the hook,
.. you feel that too". Critics for ''
'' wrote "she will have you know that she is Mariah the star", but added that it is "not super exciting stuff".
Lists
Commercial performance
"With You" was Carey's first lead single to not enter the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, but it peaked at number seven on the
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, quie ...
chart, giving Carey her 23rd top-ten single and becoming her highest-charting non-holiday song on the chart since "
We Belong Together
"We Belong Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her 10th studio album, ''The Emancipation of Mimi'' (2005). The song was released on March 15, 2005, through Island Records, as the second single from the album. ...
" in 2005.
It also became Carey's 14th top-ten single on the
Adult R&B Songs
The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...
chart, peaking at number three and giving Carey her highest-charting song on the chart since "
Fly Like a Bird
"Fly Like a Bird" is a song by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey, released on March 13, 2006, by Island Records as a single from her tenth studio album, ''The Emancipation of Mimi'' (2005). Written and produced by Carey and James "Big ...
" in 2006.
Additionally, the song peaked at number 33 on the
Adult Top 40
The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
chart,
and number 21 on the
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...
chart.
Outside the US, the song reached number 125 on the France Downloads chart, and number 30 on Spain's Physical/Digital chart respectively.
The highest peak of the song was number eight on the Hungarian
Single Top 40 chart. It was Carey's most successful single in Hungary since "
I Want to Know What Love Is
"I Want to Know What Love Is" is a power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. It was released in November 1984 as the lead single from their fifth album, ''Agent Provocateur''. The song hit number one in both the United Kingdom ...
" in 2009.
Music video
The accompanying
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
for "With You" was directed by Sarah McColgan. Its release was teased by Carey a day prior to the premiere via her
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 ...
channel on October 10, 2018. The video is set in
black and white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
and features Carey creating a sense of intimacy while highlighting her lush life by posing in different spots across Los Angeles. It includes the singer posing at various locations such as a balcony, a beach and the floor of a mansion; she is also seen driving around the city in a car and walking down the Hollywood Boulevard. The outfit worn by Carey consists of a faux fur coat and sunglasses.
Live performances
Carey performed "With You" for the first time at the
American Music Awards of 2018
The 46th Annual American Music Awards were held on October 9, 2018, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. It aired live on ABC and was hosted by Tracee Ellis Ross. Cardi B and Drake led the list of nominations with eight mentions e ...
. During the performance, she wore a hot pink gown, and was surrounded by shirtless male dancers who performed intricate choreography. While performing, Carey was raised on a pink platform which appeared to be part of her gown. The singer stood in one place throughout the entire performance while dancers mimicking a flower executed choreography around her, and she concluded it by blowing a kiss to the audience. Carey later performed the song on selected dates of her
Live in Concert tour. On November 19, 2018, Carey performed "With You" on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
''. It was included in the setlist for her
Caution World Tour
Caution World Tour was the eleventh concert tour by American singer Mariah Carey. The tour consisted mostly of theaters and small to midsize arenas and with 35 dates in total included shows in North America, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Middl ...
(2019), serving as part of the encore.
Credits and personnel
Credits are referenced from the album's liner notes.
*
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...
–
songwriting
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
,
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
*
DJ Mustard
Dijon Isaiah McFarlane (born June 5, 1990), known professionally as Mustard (also known as DJ Mustard), is an American record producer and beatmaker. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow California-bred artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign; among var ...
– songwriting, production
* Greg Lawary – songwriting
* Charles Hinshaw – songwriting
* Chris Gehringer –
mastering
* Brian Garten –
mixing,
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, ...
* Phil Tan – mixing
* Bill Zimmerman –
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
* Will Quinnell – engineering
* Jeremy Nichols – engineering
Track listings and formats
Digital download
# "With You" – 3:47
Promotional CD single
# "With You" (Radio Edit) – 3:47
# "With You" (Clean) – 3:47
# "With You" (Main) – 3:47
# "With You" (Instrumental) – 3:47
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{Mariah Carey singles
2018 singles
2018 songs
Mariah Carey songs
2010s ballads
Songs written by Mariah Carey
Songs written by Mustard (record producer)
Song recordings produced by Mustard (record producer)
Song recordings produced by Mariah Carey
Contemporary R&B ballads