Let It Go (James Bay song)

"Let It Go"
Single by James Bay
from the album Chaos and the Calm
Released	15 September 2014
Format	10" CD digital download
Recorded	2013–14 in Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Blues rock soft rock soul indie rock
Length	4:21 (album version) 4:08 (international edit)
Label	Republic
Writer(s)	Paul Barry James Bay
Producer(s)	Jacquire King
James Bay singles chronology
"Let It Go" (2014) "Hold Back the River" (2014)
Music video "Let It Go" on YouTube

"Let It Go" is a song by English singer-songwriter James Bay. It was released in Europe on 15 September 2014 through Republic Records as the first single from Bay's second extended play of the same name. It was included on Bay's debut studio album Chaos and the Calm (2015). The song was written by Bay with Paul Barry and produced by Jacquire King. The Let It Go EP was released prior on 3 May 2014.

The song was re-released in March 2015 after the success of "Hold Back the River" and has peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, beating its previous peak of 62 on 27 September 2014.^[1] "Let It Go" has proven to be a big success in Oceania, where, in May 2015, it peaked at number 8 in Australia, whilst in New Zealand, the song debuted on June 15, 2015 at number 31, before climbing to number 24 the following week. A week after that the song shot into the top 10 of the New Zealand Singles Chart, where it currently sits at number 10. "Let It Go" is Bay's first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 30.

A remix by Jack Steadman was released in 2015.

Usage in media

"Let It Go" was featured in the episode "For the Girl Who Has Everything" of the American TV series Supergirl, on the episode "Let Her Go" (season 6) of the TV series "The Vampire Diaries", and the episode "Doubt Truth to Be a Liar" of the TV series The Royals season 2 and remember me by Allen coulter. The song was also featured in the episode "The Great Pretender" on Season 11 of Grey's Anatomy.

Music video

A music video to accompany the release of "Let It Go" was first released onto YouTube on 23 March 2015 at a total length of four minutes and eighteen seconds.^[2]

Critical reception

"Let It Go" received positive reviews. Gregory Robson of AbsolutePunk said "Let It Go" was "a rising current of despondency, heartache and powerhouse vocals. Arguably one of the year's most heart-rendering songs, "Let it Go" is also the clearest example of who exactly Bay is, that is, supple instrumentation, gauzy textures and that ageless croon."^[3]

Track listing

Digital download – single[4]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Let It Go"	Paul Barry James Bay	4:21

CD[5] / digital download – EP[6]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Let It Go"	Paul Barry James Bay	4:21
2.	"If You Ever Want to Be in Love"	Bay Jimmy Hogarth Steve McEwan	3:59
3.	"Heavy Handed"	Bay Ed Harcourt	3:29
4.	"Hear Your Heart"	Bay Steve Robson Caitlyn Smith	3:02
5.	"Running"	Bay	3:37

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2014–16) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 45 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[9] 23 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 40 France (SNEP)[11] 182 Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 22 Ireland (IRMA)[13] 21 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 18 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] 15 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 10 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[17] [18] 82 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[19] 10 US Billboard Hot 100[20] 30 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[21] 2 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[22] 47 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[23] 13 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[24] 5 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[25] 20

Year-end charts Chart (2015) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[26] 35 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[27] 32 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[28] 41 US Billboard Hot Rock Songs[29] 34 US Billboard Rock Digital Songs[30] 49 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[31] 2× Platinum 140,000 Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[32] Gold 10,000 New Zealand (RMNZ)[33] Platinum 15,000 United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Platinum 600,000 United States (RIAA)[35] Gold 500,000 ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Catalogue no.
Europe	3 May 2014	Digital download (EP)	Republic	—[6]
	15 September 2014	Digital download (single)		00602547187154[4]
United States	18 April 2015	CD (EP)		DNR22594-02[5]

References

1. "James Bay, Artist". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
2. "James Bay - Let It Go". YouTube.
3. "James Bay - Let it Go EP". June 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
4. "James Bay – Let It Go (File, Single)". Discogs. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
5. "James Bay – Let It Go (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
6. "James Bay – Let It Go (File, EP)". Discogs. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
7. "Australian-charts.com – James Bay – Let It Go". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
8. "Austriancharts.at – James Bay – Let It Go" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
9. "Ultratop.be – James Bay – Let It Go" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
10. "James Bay – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for James Bay. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
11. "Lescharts.com – James Bay – Let It Go" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
12. "Musicline.de – James Bay Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
13. "Chart Track: Week 42, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – James Bay search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – James Bay – Let It Go" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
16. "Charts.org.nz – James Bay – Let It Go". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
17. "Swedishcharts.com – James Bay – Let It Go". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
18. "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
19. "Archive Chart: 2015-07-04" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
20. "James Bay – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for James Bay. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
21. "James Bay – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for James Bay. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
22. "James Bay – Chart history" Billboard Rock Airplay for James Bay. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
23. "James Bay – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for James Bay. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
24. "James Bay – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for James Bay. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
25. "James Bay – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for James Bay. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
26. "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
27. "Top Selling Singles of 2015". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
28. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
29. "Hot Rock Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
30. "Rock Digital Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
31. Ryan, Gavin (15 August 2015). "ARIA Singles: Delta Goodrem 'Wings' Tops Australian Chart". Noise11. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
32. "Danish single certifications – James Bay – Let It Go". IFPI Denmark. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
33. "New Zealand single certifications – James Bay – Let It Go". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
34. "British single certifications – James Bay – Let It Go". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Let It Go in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
35. "American single certifications – James Bay – Let It Go". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH