"Without Me" is a song by American recording artist Fantasia featuring

Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the gr ...

and Missy Elliott. It serves as the second single from Fantasia's fourth studio album, ''

Side Effects of You ''Side Effects of You'' is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Fantasia. The album was released in the United States on April 23, 2013, by RCA Records after the disbanding of J Records in 2011. The album features guest appearances ...

'' (2013). The song premiered on Fantasia's official

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account on April 17, 2013.

Background

On April 19, 2013, during a backstage interview at ''

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'', Fantasia revealed that the next single from ''

'' would be the song, "Without Me." Fantasia's inspiration for the song originally came from a heated argument she had with someone over the phone late at night in the studio. After the phone conversation, Fantasia walked back into the studio and requested

Harmony Samuels Harmony David Samuels (born 16 May 1980), also known as H-Money, is an English record producer, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He has produced a multitude of hits for artists such as Brandy, Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, ...

to give her something "hood." When asked on what "sparked her outrage", Fantasia replied, "Exactly what I said in the song. 'You stuntin'! Everything you doing, I put you on to that!' So, you stuntin’, where would you be without me. Go ahead and get your shine time now, but it's going to die soon because there is no talent. You are just stuntin’ because of me." When collaborations for the song were suggested, Fantasia immediately thought of Missy Elliott because the two were friends and knew Missy would "lyrically kill" the verse.

Music video

Production

Though in earlier reports Fantasia requested Missy Elliott to direct the video, Steven Gomillion and Dennis Leupold took on the role of directing. Fantasia expressed her praise for the directors via

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, tweeting: "Thank you Steven and Dennis for bringing my vision to life... It is everything I pictured in my head."

also praised the directors, stating to ''

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'' that, "The directors captured Fantasia and myself in a video style that we've never done before." On July 1, 2013, the music video for the single premiered on

and

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's ''

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''.

Synopsis

The music video shows several different scenes and cuts back and forth in between them. One scene shows Fantasia portraying an executive seated at a table with two men in suits who appear to be enjoying a luxurious lifestyle. Other scenes show Fantasia, Missy, and Kelly Rowland performing the lyrics of the song and dancing in neon-lit nightclubs and in grungy alleys. Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott appear in the video, dancing and performing their lyrics. Certain lyrics of the song are displayed in neon lights shone along the front window of a luxury car.

Chart performance

On the week of May 1, 2013, "Without Me" became the most added single on Adult Urban Mainstream Airplay.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Missy Elliott singles 2013 songs 2013 singles Fantasia Barrino songs Kelly Rowland songs Missy Elliott songs Songs written by Missy Elliott RCA Records singles Songs written by Harmony Samuels Song recordings produced by Harmony Samuels Songs written by Al Sherrod Lambert