"You Need Me, I Don't Need You" (or simply "You Need Me") is a song by English singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...

. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 August 2011 as the second single from his debut studio album, '' +'' ("Plus"). The track "You Need Me" was originally released on the ''You Need Me''

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.

in 2009. The new version of "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" was re-recorded with a heavier beat, and peaked at number 4 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 ...

. It was certified platinum by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with ...

for exceeding 600,000 units.

Background

During his headline set in the

BBC Introducing BBC Music ''Introducing'' is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. It gives artists the opportunity to be played on Local BBC Radio and nationally on BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, ...

tent at the Glastonbury Festival 2011, Sheeran revealed that "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" would be his second single. The single was premiered on

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, ...

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 "Hottest Record In The World" on 6 July 2011. He performed the song live for the SBTV

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and 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 Google, and is the second mo ...

channel, in which he made an entire song, backing track included, in just 5 minutes using a guitar and loop pedal. This version included lyrics from Sheeran's cousin—rapper Alonestar ( Jethro Sheeran)—and reggae group LaidBlak, but the official single release in 2011 included just lyrics written by Ed Sheeran himself. On 27 July 2011, Zane Lowe also made the Loadstar remix his "Hottest Record In The World".

Rizzle Kicks Rizzle Kicks are a British hip hop duo from Brighton, England, consisting of Jordan "Rizzle" Stephens (born 25 January 1992) and Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule (born 1991). Their debut album, ''Stereo Typical'', was released in 2011. As o ...

uploaded their remix of the song to YouTube on 14 August 2011. The original verses were replaced with their own lyrics, while Sheeran sings the chorus.

Composition

According to the sheet music published by

EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by parent company Sony Corporation of America. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending ...

, the song is written in the key of

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 ...

; Sheeran's vocals range from the note of D₃ to G₄.

Instrumentation Instrumentation a collective term for measuring instruments that are used for indicating, measuring and recording physical quantities. The term has its origins in the art and science of scientific instrument-making. Instrumentation can refer to ...

is provided by

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

and a drum loop.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

the Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'', Tris McCall described "You Need Me, I Don't Need You as "a frenetically strummed, wordy kiss-off, and the climax of ''+''." Lewis Corner of '' Digital Spy'' gave a 4/5 rating of song, stating:

'I sing, I write my own tune/ And I write my own verse, hell/ Don't need another wordsmith to make the tune sell,' he sing-speaks over an acoustic hip-hop beat complete with head-nodding guitar riff - marking a swift departure from the saccharine singer-songwriter sound of his heart-tugging debut. 'They say I'm up and coming like I'm f**king in an elevator,' he quips with steely conviction, prompting the response, 'We know you're a real artiste now, but there's no need to be cocky!'

Live performances

On 24 June 2011, Sheeran performed the song at Glastonbury Festival 2011 on the BBC Introducing Stage as well as live at the iTunes Festival on 8 July 2011 and at the 2011

Reading and Leeds Festivals The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fe ...

. Sheeran also performed the track at the BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards on 9 October 2011 at Wembley Arena. At Sheeran's Brixton concert, on 21 January 2012, his performance of the song concluded the gig and included appearances from

Wretch 32 Jermaine Sinclaire Scott (born 9 March 1985), better known by his stage name Wretch 32, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter from Tottenham, North London. He was a member of the grime collective Combination Chain Gang, before forming The M ...

and Devlin, with the performance lasting over 15 minutes. However he has also played the song at various local concerts before making it as a mainstream artist, the very first performance is believed to be at a gig where Sheeran was supported by a band named We Can't Dance. On 21 April 2012, Ed played the song live for the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago while touring with Snow Patrol for the ''Fallen Empires'' tour. On Sunday 25 June, he closed his set and the

Glastonbury Festival 2017 The 2017 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts took place between 21 and 25 June. The three headlining acts were Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Ed Sheeran with Barry Gibb performing in the iconic Legend's Slot. Tickets General Admiss ...

with the song. Sheeran used the song to close the encore sets of approximately 97% of shows on his Divide Tour, which concluded in 2019.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "You Need Me, I Don't Need You" was first released on

on 19 July 2011. The music video was directed by Shane Ramirez. It features signing actor Matthew Jacobs Morgan..

Track listing

Credits and personnel

* Vocals, lyrics, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, bass guitar, percussion, beat-box –

* Producer, programming –

Jake Gosling Jake Gosling is an English music producer, songwriter, remixer, manager, and publisher best known for his work with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, The Libertines, James Bay, Shawn Mendes, All Time Low, One Direction, Major Lazer, Christ ...

* Producer, additional drums and percussion – Charlie Hugall * Bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar – Chris Leonard * Piano – Tom Greenwood * Drums – Ben Scott Hollingsworth (Ben Scott) * Mastering – Christian Wright *

Label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

–

Warner Music Group Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Authority control 2011 singles 2009 songs Ed Sheeran songs Songs written by Ed Sheeran Warner Music Group singles