"Never Gone" is a song written and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter

Andee Andee (born Andrée-Anne Leclerc on November 1, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Saint-Jean-Chrysostome, Quebec. She rose to fame as a finalist on the Quebecois singing competition '' Star Académie'' before pursuing a solo career i ...

for her debut studio album, '' Black and White Heart'' (2015). The song was co-written and produced by Sébastien Lefebvre, best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for Canadian band

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...

. "Never Gone" was released May 19, 2014 as Andee's debut single and the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

for the album. Upon release, the single was available in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, as a tribute to the co-writers'

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

heritage. "Never Gone" experienced commercial success in Canada, reaching number 40 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

in August 2014 and also peaking within the top 10 on the national

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

airplay chart. The song's success at the format garnered Andee a nomination for Best New Group or Solo Artist at the 2015

Canadian Radio Music Awards The Canadian Radio Music Awards is an annual series of awards presented by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters that was part of Canadian Music Week The Departure Festival + Conference, formerly known as Canadian Music Week, is an industr ...

Background

Andee, then going by her birth name Andrée-Anne Leclerc, first gained exposure by competing on the fifth edition of Québecois reality singing competition ''

Star Académie ''Star Académie'' is a Canadian reality television series that started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of young women and men under the age of 30 competing for the title of the next solo singing sens ...

'' in 2012 where she placed in the top eight and drew the attention of Paul Jessop, the vice-president of promotions at

Universal Music Canada Universal Music Group (UMG) owns, or has a joint share in, many of the record labels listed here. According to the UMG official website, the main labels are Abbey Road Studios, Capitol Music Group, Decca Records, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Gra ...

. In early 2013, Andee encountered Sébastien Lefebvre, who would work with her over the next year as the

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

of her debut album. In January 2014, Leclerc signed a record deal with Universal Music Canada and adopted the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Andee, an

anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

derivative of Andrée-Anne. "Never Gone" was released as the first single from the project in May 2014.

Reception

Critical

Noah Siegel of New Canadian Music wrote that the song is "a forceful

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

-inspired single that's effective pop in both English and French versions." Andee was nominated for Best New Group or Solo Artist in the category of AC (adult contemporary radio) at the 2015

for the song.

Commercial

"Never Gone" debuted at number 94 on the

chart dated June 28, 2014. It entered the top 50 in its sixth week, rising 53–43 on the chart dated August 2, 2014. The song reached its peak position of 40 on the chart dated August 23, 2014. "Never Gone" is Andee's only top fifty single to date and spent a total of 20 weeks on the chart. The song was also a multi-format radio hit, peaking at numbers 6, 25, and 15 on the ''Billboard''

Canada AC The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

CHR/Top 40 Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

, and

Hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, ...

charts, respectively.

Music video

An accompanying

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 ...

was directed by Alon Isocianu and premiered June 26, 2016. A French version was released the same day.

Track listings

;Digital download # "Never Gone" – 2:52 ;Digital download (French) # "Never Gone" – 2:50

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes. ;Technical * Recorded by Sébastien Lefebvre at Man of the Hour Studio / Fever Music Group in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

* Mixed by Serban Ghenea at Mixstar Studio in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

* Mastered by Ryan Morey at Ryan Morey Mastering in

Outremont Outremont () is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by F ...

, Québec ;Musicians * Andee (Andrée-Anne Leclerc) – vocals * Sébastien Lefebvre – guitar, bass, keyboards, programming * Chantal Bergeron – violin * Brian Bacon – violin alto * Christine Giguère – cello * Nathalie Bonin – violin ;Additional personnel * Strings recorded by Patrick Goyette at Planet Studio ** Strings arranged by Sébastien Lefebvre and Jay Lefebvre

Charts

Weekly charts

Year end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 debut singles Universal Music Canada singles Songs written by Sébastien Lefebvre