"Don't Leave Me" is a song by American R&B group Blackstreet, produced by

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American record producer, singer, and songwriter credited with the creation of the R&B and hip-hop fusion genre, new jack swing. Musical artists who utilized Riley's production and songwri ...

and released in February 1997 as the third single from their second album, '' Another Level'' (1996). It contains a sample of the

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consiste ...

song " A Dream", also used in " I Ain't Mad at Cha" by Tupac Shakur. "Don't Leave Me" features Eric Williams, Mark Middleton, and Chauncey Hannibal on lead vocals. It topped the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

for two weeks in May 1997 and reached 6 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 12 on the ''

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Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

chart.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' noted that after the success of " No Diggity", "

Riley Riley may refer to: Businesses * Riley (brand), British sporting goods brand founded in 1878 * Riley Motor, British motorcar and bicycle manufacturera 1890–1969 * Riley Technologies, American auto racing constructor and team, founded by Bob ...

& Co. switch to

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

mode with this well constructed song, which has already met with approval across Europe." Stephan Hampe, head of music at RSH, a CHR network covering northern Germany commented, "I think this is going to break Blackstreet in a big way in Germany, because it is the kind of great song that really stands out". He added, "while No Diggity received a warm welcome too, it remained largely confined to the quarters traditionally inhabited by the R&B fraternity over here. This record however, has the potential to appeal to a much broader audience, so we put in powerplay rotation (32 plays a week) because we want to familiarize our audience quickly with this song." David Finlan from ''Experience'' said that the song "is slightly depressing, because it is about a man trying to keep his girlfriend from breaking up with him. This song hits home because everybody has been through a breakup and as we all know, they are not fun." Malaysian newspaper ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' noted "the fantastic four-part harmony interplay" on "Don't Leave Me". A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'' stated that Blackstreet "pours on the heartache and late-night yearning". David Fricke from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' felt "the turn-ons" in songs like "Don't Leave Me", "are as banal as the titles suggest." James L. Brown from ''USC Today'' described it as "a slow bump and grind ballad".

Chart performance

The song did not chart on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 or the

Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart due to ''Billboard'' rules at the time preventing songs not released as physical singles from charting. However, the song peaked on the

and

Hot R&B 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 ...

charts at No. 12 and No. 1, respectively. Internationally, it went to No. 1 in New Zealand and No. 6 in the United Kingdom. In the former country, it stayed at No. 1 for two weeks in May 1997 and earned a Gold sales certification from

Recorded Music NZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...

, finishing the year as the 12th-most-successful single.

Music video

The official

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was directed by Michael Martin.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1996 songs 1997 singles Blackstreet songs Contemporary R&B ballads Interscope Records singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Song recordings produced by Teddy Riley Songs written by Bink (record producer) Songs written by Teddy Riley Soul ballads