"When I'm with You" is a song by Thai rapper and singer

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

featuring South African singer

Tyla Tyla Laura Seethal (born 30 January 2002), known mononymously as Tyla, is a South African singer and songwriter. Her musical style is characterised by a fusion of pop and amapiano, with many publications dubbing her " Queen of Popiano". Born a ...

. It was released through

Lloud Lalisa Manobal (; born Pranpriya Manobal, March 27, 1997), known mononymously as Lisa (), is a Thai rapper, singer, dancer, and actress. She is a member of the South Korean girl group Blackpink, which debuted under YG Entertainment in August 20 ...

and

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on February 28, 2025, as a track on Lisa's debut studio album ''

Alter Ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

'' (2025). A music video for the song was directed by Olivia De Camps and uploaded on Lloud's

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channel on May 16.

Background and release

After departing from her label

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for solo activities, Lisa founded her own artist management company called

in February 2024. She subsequently signed with

in April to release solo music in partnership with Lloud. She was introduced to Tyla one night in the studio in

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with producer and songwriter Sammy Soso, who had worked with both artists. Tyla, who was preparing to release her self-titled debut studio album (2024), came to the studio and let Lisa listen to the album in full. Months later in July, the artists appeared together in ''

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''s "Musicians on Musicians" series and interviewed one another. On November 19, Lisa announced her debut studio album ''

'' (2025). She posted the album's tracklist on February 21, 2025, which included "When I'm with You" featuring Tyla as the album's ninth track. It marked Lisa and Tyla's first time collaborating on a song together. The song was released alongside the album on February 28, 2025.

Composition and lyrics

"When I'm With You" was written by the artists Lisa and Tyla with Samuel Awuku, Imani Lewis, Corey Marlon Lindsay-Keay, P2J, and Ari PenSmith. The latter two produced the song with Mocha, Sammy Soso, and Believve. It is a

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

song that blends "smooth R&B harmonies with minimalist,

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-driven production." Lyrically, it captures the "excitement of a casual fling blossoming into much more." In the first verse, Lisa and Tyla sing about ignoring their friends' warnings and being unable to resist a new love interest: "My girls told me take it slow / But they don’t know what I know / Say I need to stay composed / But they don’t know what I know / Told me I should leave you alone / Told me, ‘Stay your ass at home’ / But I don’t mind." The rest of the song centers on Lisa and Tyla pursuing the romance with no reservations, with Tyla singing "All my pride goes out the window / When I’m with you." In her rap verse, Lisa expresses her feelings for her lover: "I like that side of me when we get together / I’m way better / When I’m with you."

Critical reception

"When I'm with You" received acclaim from critics as one of the highlights on ''Alter Ego'', with praise going towards the artists' vocals and chemistry. It was described as a "smooth, effortless duet" by ''

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''s Crystal Bell and "sweetly effervescent" by ''

''s

Maura Johnston Maura K. Johnston (born May 28, 1975) is a writer, editor and music critic. A member of Boston College's journalism faculty, she has written for ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''Pitchfork'', ''The Awl'', ''The New York Times'', ''Spin' ...

, who pointed to the track as an "example of how Lisa shines brightest in the moments when her sturdy, yet winsome singing takes center stage." Writing for ''

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'', Eunbo Shim ranked it as the fourth-best song on the album and echoed the praise for Lisa's "polished singing", describing it as a "deliberate showcase of her versatility beyond rap." He further commended Lisa's "tight rap verses" and found the song to be proof of her "ability to anchor both flow and melody in her songs." Tyla's vocals were also praised as "soulful" by Elise Ryan of ''

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'' as well as "lithe" and "soft" in comparison to the "metallic sheen" of Lisa's voice by Shaad D'Souza of ''

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''. ''

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''s Gabriel Saulog opined that Tyla's "gorgeous" feature added "a whole lot heart and sensuality to Lisa's sonic capabilities", particularly when the duo's voices harmonize on the final chorus. Writing for ''

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'', Benjamin Lassy found the song to be a "highlight" on the album with "solid moments, especially a warm chorus accompaniment as a fade out." ''

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''s Joshua Minsoo Kim described the song and its "syncopated percussion" as "seductive" and a "welcome change of pace", though he felt it was worse than the songs on ''

''.

Music video

An accompanying music video for "When I'm with You" was directed by Olivia De Camps and uploaded to Lloud's

channel on May 16, 2025. Lisa teased its release earlier in the day with a teaser clip captioned “Had the best time making this music video with Tyla 😘". Set on a hot summer day, the video begins with a weather forecaster announcing on the radio that a heatwave will make it "the hottest summer ever recorded." In accordance with the summer setting, Lisa and Tyla show off a "sultry wardrobe full of cut-out dresses, crop tops, and lace-up heels." The video intersperses "hot and heavy" choreography dance breaks with "cool waves of poolside shots." For the first verse, the artists trade lines as Lisa fans herself on a lounge chair and Tyla hangs out with friends at a salon, before they unite to dance through the song’s chorus. After the sun goes down, the duo attend a late-night pool party with "plenty of dancing, a throne made of ice, and an unexpected rainstorm." In the second verse, American actor

Mason Gooding Mason Gooding (born November 14, 1996) is an American actor. The son of actor Cuba Gooding Jr., he has appeared in television series and films. He had a recurring role in the television series ''Ballers'' (2018) and a starring role in the teen d ...

flirts shirtless with Lisa by the pool as she raps and dances on him. '' Love Island'' stars

Leah Kateb Leah Kateb (born August 11, 1999) is an American reality television personality. She appeared on the Peacock reality show ''Love Island'' in 2024, finishing as a runner-up. Life and career Leah Kateb was born on August 11, 1999, in Los Angele ...

and Miguel Harichi also make cameo appearances, depicted on a poolside date night. The video culminates with Lisa and Tyla taking a swim in the pool together during the song's outro.

Live performances

Lisa performed "When I'm with You" live for the first time at the

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on April 11 and 18, 2025.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the

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of ''Alter Ego''. Recording * Mixed at SoundRight Music Studios (

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) Personnel *

– vocals, songwriter *

– featured vocals, songwriter *Samuel Awuku – songwriter * P2J – songwriter, additional producer * Ari PenSmith – songwriter, producer *Imani Lewis – songwriter *Corey Marlon Lindsay-Keay – songwriter *Sammy Soso – producer *Mocha – producer *Believve – producer *

Kuk Harrell Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( ) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, K ...

– vocal producer *Jelli Dorman – vocal engineer *Austen Jux-Chandler – vocal engineer *Leandro "Dro" Hidalgo –

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

*Aidan Duncan – assistant mix engineer

Charts

References

{{Tyla 2025 songs Lisa (rapper) songs Tyla (South African singer) songs Songs written by Lisa (rapper) Songs written by Tyla (South African singer) Songs written by Ari PenSmith