"If You Leave Me Now" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his cover (music), song covers uploaded to YouTube. Puth signed with the record labe ...

, featuring American vocal group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

. It was released via

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

on January 5, 2018, as the first

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

from Puth's second studio album, ''

Voicenotes ''Voicenotes'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. Almost entirely produced by Puth himself, the album was released by Artist Partner Group and Atlantic Records on May 11, 2018. Five singles have been released ...

'' (2018). An

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

song, it interpolates "I Thought She Knew" by

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

from their 2000 album '' No Strings Attached''. While the song is not a cover of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's 1976

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

, Puth recognizes the eponymous song's legacy by including the line "You will take the biggest part of me," which is featured prominently in the predecessor song's lyrics. Boyz II Men recorded a cover of the Chicago song in 2009.

Background

Puth detailed on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that this song serves as a consolation for his pushing back of the album's release. "So I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I have to push the album release date. I'm producing this album all myself and with that comes a lot of work, and in my opinion, the album is not perfect yet. However, it will still come out this year, and soon. But to make it up to all of you, here's the good news. I'm putting out a song I did with Boyz II Men tomorrow. And it's probably one of my favorite songs I've ever written. Love you guys and thank you for understanding," Puth wrote on Twitter a day before the song's release. Boyz II Men celebrated the collaboration on social media by writing: "Had a great time working with uthon this record. Pure talent."

Composition

It is in the key of

D Major D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...

with a key change to

E Major E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...

after the bridge.

Critical reception

Taylor Weatherby of ''

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 advertis ...

'' praised the song, calling it a showcase of "Puth's impressive falsetto and power-note abilities". She also like the song's feature of "another '90s classic in addition to Boyz II Men: A good old-fashioned key change". Madison Vain of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' opined that the song is "remarkably understated in its production", calling it "Puth's most straightforward R&B cut to date". She found Boyz II Men "lending their honeyed harmonies to the song", along with "a few delightful standout lead moments". Hugh McIntyre of

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

wrote that the song is distinct from Puth's previous productions. He felt the song "surprisingly mature" and "shows some serious growth on Puth's part". Sydney Gore of

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

regarded it as "an uplifting song" and "a polished a cappella ballad", noting that "it will really tug at your heart strings" with Boyz II Men on board. Lucas Villa of

AXS AXS may refer to: Anschutz Entertainment Group * AXS (company), primary ticket platform developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). * AXS TV, a cable channel partially owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). Other * Access (group), a Japa ...

wrote that the song "harks back to a time of doo-wop with finger snaps and sweet harmonies courtesy of Puth and Boyz II Men".

Charts

References

{{authority control 2018 singles 2018 songs Atlantic Records singles Boyz II Men songs Charlie Puth songs Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by Charlie Puth Songs written by Tobias Jesso Jr.