Be Without You

"Be Without You"
Single by Mary J. Blige
from the album The Breakthrough
B-side	"Show Love"
Released	September 15, 2005
Format	Digital download CD single 12" single
Recorded	2005
Genre	R&B hip hop soul
Length	4:09
Label	Geffen
Writer(s)	Mary J. Blige Johnta Austin Bryan-Michael Cox Jason Perry
Producer(s)	Bryan-Michael Cox Ron Fair
Certification	2× Platinum (RIAA)
Mary J. Blige singles chronology
"MJB da MVP" (2005) "Be Without You" (2005) "One" (with U2) (2006)

	"Be Without You" Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" from The Breakthrough
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"Be Without You" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was written by Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, Jason Perry and Blige for her seventh studio album, The Breakthrough. Produced by Cox and Ron Fair, it was released as the album's first official single in late 2005.

Ranking among the most played songs on US radio in the year 2006, the single was certified double-platinum by the RIAA in 2007. With 15 weeks at number one and a 75-week span on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, it is the most successful R&B song in the 50-year history of that chart. It is also one of Mary J. Blige's most successful singles to date, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year and won the Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance categories at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

Composition

"Be Without You" is an R&B and hip hop soul song written in the key of D minor with a tempo of 73 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of Dm – B♭maj7 – C – Dm – Gm7 – C – A7, and Blige's vocals span from F₃ to D₅.^[1]

Music video

The music video for "Be Without You" was directed by Matthew Rolston and was shot on various locations in New York City in October 2005.

Starring Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard in the role of Blige's boyfriend the video first aired on November 28, 2005. It peaked on AOL Videos Top 11 on the tenth spot on the January 21, 2006 entering the chart the first time and also the LAUNCH Music Videos Top 100 at the sixth position the same week. There's also a "Live At Launch Exclusive Performance" available for download from January 2006, which peaked seventieth on the same chart. It won the "Video of the Year" award at the 2006 BET Awards on June 27, 2006 and was nominated for "Best R&B Video" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. The video begins in a black and white city where Blige is standing on top of the building as the song begins. Then, it shifts into a bathroom where Blige cleans out the mirror. In the 1st scene, Blige is typing the lyrics on her laptop. The next scene shows a color appeared where Blige is falling in love with her boyfriend and sleeping with him. Then, the next scene goes to a kitchen where Blige and her love interest are celebrating dinner with her family. Meanwhile, she is seen in a color scene where she is standing next to a group of candles and the next scene shows at a red carpet premiere where Blige wallks out of the limo. Then, Blige and her boyfriend breaks up after having a fight (As seen in the events at the beginning of the video) and her boyfriend storms off. After 2 candles started melting, the final scene as the black and white changes to a color scene where a knock was on the door. Blige opens it and it was her boyfriend. She hugged him at the end of the song.

Chart performance

The single debuted at number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number three in February 2006, Blige's third highest peak of her career after 2001's "Family Affair" and 1996's "Not Gon' Cry." Moreover, the song became the most successful release in the history of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (until 2013) when it spent a record 15 consecutive weeks at number one. "Be Without You" topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart for nine weeks, and the dance remix has also topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song broke the record for the longest-running single in the existence of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it spent a grand total of 75 weeks on that chart. After its run on the main R&B chart, it moved to the Recurrent R&B Airplay chart.

In the UK, the single only peaked at number 32 on the UK singles chart; however, with the Moto Blanco remix of the song becoming a large club hit in the UK, the song actually managed to hold (to that time) the record for the most weeks on the UK top 75 for a Mary J. Blige single (18 in total). Having proved very popular, the Moto Blanco remix was featured as a B-side in the UK on subsequent singles "MJB Da MVP" and "Enough Cryin'." A cover of the Moto Blanco remix by Wi-Fi featuring Melanie M was due to be released in the UK by record label All Around the World in February 2007.

Remixes

The official remix was also produced by Bryan-Michael Cox and features former Shady Records rapper Stat Quo.

Covers

• Paris Bennett covered the song for fifth season of American Idol.
• Lil Rounds covered the song for the eighth season of American Idol.
• English dance group Booty Luv covered the song for their debut album, Boogie 2Nite.

Track listings and formats

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Be Without You".

U.S. CD single "Be Without You" (Kendu Mix) "Show Love" "Be Without You" (Moto Blanco Vocal Mix) "Be Without You" (video) UK CD single "Be Without You" (Kendu Mix) "Be Without You" (Moto Blanco Vocal Mix) "Be Without You" (instrumental) "Be Without You" (video)

12" promo "Be Without You" (Main Mix) "Be Without You" (Instrumental) "Be Without You" (A Capella) 12" single "Be Without You" (Kendu Mix) "Be Without You" (Moto Blanco Vocal Mix) "Be Without You" (Moto Blanco Dub) "Be Without You" (instrumental)

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2006) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[2] 30 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[3] 23 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] 42 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[5] 13 France (SNEP)[6] 22 Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 12 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 6 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] 9 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[10] 34 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[11] 5 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 32 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 3 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[14] 1 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[15] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[16] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2006) Position Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 73 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 53 US Billboard Hot 100 11 Certifications [19] Region Certification Sales/shipments United States (RIAA)[20] 2× Platinum 2,000,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

References

1. Cox, Bryan-Michael. "Mary J. Blige "Be Without You" Sheet Music in D Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-26.
2. "Australian-charts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
3. "Austriancharts.at – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
4. "Ultratop.be – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
5. "Mary J Blige: Be Without You" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
6. "Lescharts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
7. "Musicline.de – Mary J Blige Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mary J Blige search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
9. "Charts.org.nz – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
10. "Swedishcharts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
11. "Swisscharts.com – Mary J Blige – Be Without You". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
12. "Mary J. Blige: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
13. "Mary J. Blige – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Mary J. Blige. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
14. "Mary J. Blige – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Mary J. Blige. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
15. "Mary J. Blige – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Mary J. Blige. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
16. "Mary J. Blige – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Mary J. Blige. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
17. "Single top 100 over 2006" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
18. "2006 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 9 May 2010.
20. "American single certifications – Mary J. Blige – Be Without You". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH