"Without Me" is a song by American singer Halsey, released on October 4, 2018. Halsey wrote the song with Brittany Amaradio,

Amy Allen Amy Allen (born October 24, 1976) is an American actress and film crew member who portrayed the Jedi Master Aayla Secura in ''Star Wars'' films released in 2002 and 2005. She worked behind the scenes on many different movies, including ''A.I. ...

, and

Louis Bell Louis Russell Bell (born May 27, 1982) is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. Bell's work includes production for Post Malone, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, 5 Seconds of Summer, T ...

; while production was handled by Bell and Dylan Bauld. It interpolates

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

's " Cry Me a River" with Timberlake,

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

and

Scott Storch Scott Spencer Storch (born December 16, 1973) is an American record producer and songwriter. He started off as a keyboardist for the group the Roots. Early life Storch was born on Long Island, New York. He was raised in South Florida and Phila ...

credited as co-writers. It was released through

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

as the lead single from Halsey's third studio album, '' Manic''. "Without Me" reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Halsey's first number-one single as a lead artist, and her second overall, following her feature on

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...

' song " Closer" in 2016. The song also reached number one in Greece and the top three of ten other countries, namely Australia, Canada, Hungary, Malaysia, Portugal, Slovakia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. It also reached the top five in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Norway. Its music video, directed by

Colin Tilley Colin Tilley (born June 27, 1988) is an American filmmaker, music video director, and television commercial director. Tilley is the CEO and owner of Boy in the Castle Productions. He has directed more than 300 music videos. Tilley directed, pro ...

, was released on October 29, 2018. The track is certified Platinum or higher in eleven countries including 7× Platinum in Australia and 9x Platinum in Canada, and Diamond in Mexico and the US. The single was the number-one song of 2019 on pop radio in the US, the tenth biggest song overall of 2019 in the world, and the twelfth biggest song overall of the 2010s decade in the US. Halsey performed "Without Me" live on a number of high-profile occasions; she performed it on ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', at the

2018 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2018 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) was held at the Bizkaia Arena ( Bilbao Exhibition Centre) in Barakaldo, part of Greater Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, on 4 November 2018. The ceremony's host was Hailee Steinfeld. Thi ...

, at the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, at the

2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards The 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards was held at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on March 14, 2019, and was broadcast live on Fox. Ariana Grande and Ella Mai were the most awarded artists, each winning three iHeartRadio Music Awards on the night. ...

, at the 2019

MTV Millennial Awards The MTV Millennial Awards (commonly abbreviated as a MIAW) is an annual program of Latin American music awards, presented by the cable channel MTV Latin America to honor the best of Latin music and the digital world of the millennial generation. T ...

, and at the 2019 ''Billboard'' Music Awards.

Background and composition

During a performance in London on September 23, 2018, Halsey teased visuals for "Without Me" before announcing it would be released on October 4. The song premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

's ''World Record'' radio show on

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

, and was followed by an interview about the song. It is her first solo song since her 2017 album, ''

Hopeless Fountain Kingdom ''Hopeless Fountain Kingdom'' (stylized in all lowercase) is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Halsey. It was released on June 2, 2017, through Astralwerks. The album features guest appearances from Quavo, Lauren Jauregui and ...

''. "Without Me" was written by Halsey with Delacey, Edei, and Amy Allen; while its production was done by Bell. It is a

mid-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 ...

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

-influenced pop, R&B, electro-R&B, and club-pop break-up song, which comprises an atmospheric blend of synths and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

beats in its production. The song's bridge contains an

interpolation In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

of the pre-chorus of

's " Cry Me a River". Online commentators speculated the song and music video are about Halsey's ex-boyfriend,

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. His first major-label album, '' These Things Happen'', was released on June 23, 2014, and peaked at number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 ...

, as they had split not long before the release of the music video. Halsey disputed these rumors after posting the reasoning behind the song on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, explaining that the song is about several different relationships that she has either experienced or observed, and that the song is a reminder that "you shouldn't allow others to take advantage of you". However, in a January 2019 interview with ''

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The Glamour ...

'', Halsey confirmed that the song is partially about him. It 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 136 BPM and key signature

E 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 ...

Chart performance

"Without Me" debuted at number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, on the issue dated October 20, 2018. With the debut of the music video, the song rose to number 12 on the issue dated November 3. The following week the song hit number 9, and on November 17, it reached number six. The following week, "Without Me" peaked at number 4, giving Halsey her first top-five single since "

Bad at Love "Bad at Love" is a song by American singer Halsey from her second studio album, ''Hopeless Fountain Kingdom'' (2017). It was released on August 22, 2017, through Astralwerks as the second single from the album. Halsey co-wrote the song with Justin ...

" reached number five in January 2018. On the issue dated January 12, 2019, "Without Me" reached number one, becoming Halsey's first number-one song on the Hot 100 as a lead artist, and her second overall, after her feature on " Closer" with

in 2016. It fell to the runner up spot the following week but regained the top spot on January 26, 2019. It again slipped to number two on February 2, 2019, as

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

's "

7 Rings "7 Rings" (stylised in all lowercase) is a song by American singer Ariana Grande, from her fifth studio album ''Thank U, Next''. It was released as the album's second single on January 18, 2019, through Republic Records. The song was written by ...

" entered at the top of the chart. Additionally, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland scored their sixth and eighth Hot 100 chart-topper as songwriters, respectively. The song spent 29 weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100 and logged its 52nd week, one full year, on the chart on the issue dated October 12, 2019. It was also the number-one selling song in the US for six weeks on the

Digital Songs The Digital Songs or Digital Song Sales chart (previously named Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally sta ...

chart. In the UK the song peaked at number three, making it her third top five hit. Due to "Without Me" becoming number one, Halsey became the eighth woman to achieve multiple number ones on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 during the

2010s File:2010s collage v21.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gadd ...

. ''

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 ...

''s Jason Lipshutz stated, "there's no cheat code that 'Without Me' used to get to the top of the Hot 100 — it's just a really polished, successful pop single, the type that Halsey has been tossing out more and more frequently." In February 2019, Halsey's song " Eastside" replaced "Without Me" as number one on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

. It made Halsey the first artist since 2014 to replace themselves as #1 on the chart, and it also made "Eastside" the longest journey to #1 in the charts history. "Without Me" also became Halsey's third number one on ''Billboard''s

Dance/Mix Show Airplay Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. History The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...

Chart in its March 9, 2019 issue.

Music videos

vertical video A vertical video is a video created either by a camera or computer that is intended for viewing in portrait mode, producing an image that is taller than it is wide. It thus sits in opposition to the multiple horizontal formats normalised by cin ...

for the song was released 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 ...

on October 12, 2018, and posted on

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 ...

on January 9, 2019. The music video was directed by

and released on October 29, 2018. It features Halsey and a love interest go through the cycles of a toxic relationship. The singer said in a post to her Instagram, "The story is a reflection of a combination of relationships I've been in, or watched the people I love go through". She went on to say that, with the video, she is aiming to reassure people that it is not okay to be taken advantage of. The video features product placement by Beats and YSL.

Live performances

Halsey - Without Me Live MTV EMAs 2018 7

On November 4, 2018, Halsey first performed "Without Me" live at the

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

. On November 8, Halsey performed the song live on the 2018 ''

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie. From 1995 to 2018, Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under ...

'', which aired on December 2. On November 15, she collaborated with

Sebastián Yatra Sebastián Obando Giraldo (born 15 October 1994), known professionally as Sebastián Yatra, is a Colombian singer, songwriter and actor. He began as a Latin pop artist and has recorded many ballads, but has released several successful reggaeton ...

and performed a remixed version of "Without Me" live at the 2018 Latin Grammy Awards. On December 5, she delivered another live performance of the song on ''

''. On December 8, she performed "Without Me" live at

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

's 2018

Jingle Bell Ball The Jingle Bell Ball is a concert held annually in December since 2008 (except for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic), by the radio station Capital FM at The O2. Artists that have headlined the concert include Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Li ...

the O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...

in London. On December 18, the singer appeared on the finale episode of ''

'' to perform the song with her dance partner

Jade Chynoweth Jade Chynoweth (, born August 21, 1998) is an American actress and dancer. She is known for her roles as young Artemisia in the 2014 epic action film '' 300: Rise of an Empire'' and Carmen in the 2016 superhero film '' Batman v Superman: Dawn ...

playing the role of her partner. The performance received criticism on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

for "being inappropriate for television," to which Halsey responded saying, " 'mvery proud to have pissed off the homophobic viewers at home who missed the message." On December 31, she performed the song live at

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve ''Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (''NYRE'') is an annual New Year's Eve television special broadcast by ABC. The special broadcasts primarily from New York City's Times Square and prominently features coverage of its annual ball drop ev ...

2019. In February 2019, she performed the song on ''

,'' with fans questioning if she was referencing another artist with the performance. In March, Halsey performed "Without Me" live at the

. In May, she performed the song live at the 2019 ''Billboard'' Music Awards.

Remixes

In October 2018, electronic music artist ''Nurko'' and DJ duo ''Miles Away'' collaborated to produce their

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the song. On November 30, 2018, American DJ

Illenium Nicholas Daniel Miller (born December 26, 1990), professionally known as Illenium, is an American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has released four studio albums, his most recent being '' Fallen Embers'', released in July 2021. It earne ...

released the

remix of the song on

. On January 9, 2019, the singer released a remix of the song featuring American rapper

Juice WRLD Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a leading figure in the emo rap and So ...

, who inspired the track's "

vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

". The Juice WRLD remix was later featured on Halsey's 2020 EP, ''

Collabs American pop singer Halsey has released four studio albums, one live album, 14 extended plays (including one standard EP, seven compilation EPs, five remix EPs, and two live session EPs), 24 singles (including three as a featured artist), ni ...

''.

Track listing

Digital download and streaming # "Without Me" – 3:21 Digital download and streaming – Illenium remix # "Without Me" – 4:08 Digital download and streaming – featuring Juice Wrld # "Without Me" – 3:48 7-inch single # "Without Me" – 3:21 # "Without Me" – 4:08

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * Tidal (album), ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * ...

. * Halsey – vocals, songwriting *

– production, songwriting, record engineering, programming * Brittany Amaradio – songwriting *

– songwriting *

Timothy Mosley Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

– songwriting *

– songwriting * Serban Ghenea – mixing * John Hanes – mixing assistance * Chris Gehringer – mastering engineering

Awards and nominations

Original version

Illenium remix

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Song 2018 singles 2018 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Capitol Records singles Halsey (singer) songs Music videos directed by Colin Tilley Songs written by Halsey (singer) Songs written by Justin Timberlake Songs written by Timbaland Songs written by Scott Storch Songs written by Louis Bell Songs written by Amy Allen (songwriter) Song recordings produced by Louis Bell Vertically-oriented music videos Juice Wrld songs Songs written by Juice Wrld American contemporary R&B songs