"If I Ain't Got You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

for her second studio album ''

The Diary of Alicia Keys ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' is the second studio album by American singer Alicia Keys. It was released on December 2, 2003, by J Records. The album was recorded at several recording studios, and production was handled primarily by Keys with contr ...

'' (2003). Inspired by the 2001 death of singer Aaliyah, the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, and other events in the world and in Keys' life, the song is about "how material things don't feed the soul". It was released as the second single from ''The Diary of Alicia Keys'' on February 17, 2004, by

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG’s record labels in late 2008. It was distributed through the RCA Music Gro ...

. The single cover depicts Keys similarly to the subject of

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to eac ...

's 1924 photograph ''Le Violon d'Ingres''. "If I Ain't Got You" peaked at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became Keys' second consecutive R&B chart-topper, remaining atop of the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart for six weeks. The song received two nominations at the

47th Annual Grammy Awards The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Lati ...

(2005), for Song of the Year and

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

, winning the latter. It was ranked at number 440 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

s "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time". Since its release, Keys has herself said that it is one of her favorite songs.

Background

Keys said that the idea of the song was inspired by Aaliyah's death: "The song idea came together right after Aaliyah passed away. It was such a sad time and no one wanted to believe it. It just made everything crystal clear to me—what matters, and what doesn't." In September 2020, Keys revealed that she almost offered the song to

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

, as the singer wanted to work with Keys. She eventually wrote the song "Impossible" for Aguilera's album ''

Stripped Stripped may refer to: Music * "Stripped" (song), by Depeche Mode, 1986 * ''Stripped'' (Christina Aguilera album) or the title song, 2002 * ''Stripped'' (Daniel Ash album), 2014 * ''Stripped'' (Macy Gray album), 2016 * ''Stripped'' (Pretty Ma ...

''.

Commercial performance

"If I Ain't Got You" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number sixty-four on the issue dated March 6, 2004, peaking at number four, four months later, on July 3, 2004. It spent twenty non-consecutive weeks in the top ten, one of the longest stays of any song that year and outlasting many number one singles. The song topped the

on May 1, 2004, and spent six non-consecutive weeks atop the chart. It was also successful on ''Billboard'' component charts, reaching number five on the

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

and number nine on the Mainstream Top 40. The single was ultimately placed at number three on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 chart of 2004. In the United Kingdom, "If I Ain't Got You" debuted and peaked at number eighteen on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for the week ending April 10, 2004. In late September 2009, the single returned to the chart at number fifty-four. In September 2016, Keys appeared on ''The Voice'' as a coach, with a contestant singing the song, and it made a new entry into the R&B/Hip Hop singles charts, driving total sales up to 1.5 million units. By August 2020, the song had reached 4× Platinum certification.

Music video

The music video for "If I Ain't Got You", directed by

Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome) is an American music video director and choreographer. Awards Diane Martel was nominated for the Video of the Year for her work in "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. in 2013. Fil ...

, was filmed in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York City, and features a cameo by rapper and actor

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

as Keys' on-screen boyfriend.

Awards

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s **

* Billboard Music Awards **R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year **R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Single of the Year * MTV Video Music Awards **

Best R&B Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best R&B was first awarded in 1993 under the name of Best R&B Video, and it was given every year until 2006, as the following year MTV revamped the VMAs and eliminated all the genre categories. The following year, thou ...

* ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards **Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song of the Year *ASCAP Pop Awards **Most Performed Song *

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

** Outstanding Music Video ** Outstanding Song *

Soul Train Music Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of ''Soul Train'', the pro ...

s ** Best R&B/Soul Single, Female *Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards **Best R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year *

Vibe Awards ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in ...

**Best R&B Song

Track listings and formats

*European CD single # "If I Ain't Got You" (Album Version) – 3:54 # "

You Don't Know My Name "You Don't Know My Name" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her second studio album '' The Diary of Alicia Keys'' (2003). It was written by Keys, Kanye West and Harold Lilly, and produced by Keys and West. The song ...

/Will You Ever Know It" (Reggae Mix) – 5:06 *European CD Maxi-single # "If I Ain't Got You" (Album Version) – 3:48 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Piano/Vocal Version) – 3:54 # "You Don't Know My Name/Will You Ever Know It" (Reggae Mix) – 5:06 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Video) *European CD single (Remix) # "If I Ain't Got You" (featuring Usher) – 3:52 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Album Version) – 3:51 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Piano/Vocal Version) – 3:51 *Japanese CD single # "If I Ain't Got You" (Album Version) – 3:49 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Piano + Vocal Only Version) – 3:49 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Acappella Version) – 3:33 *US promotional CD single # "If I Ain't Got You" (Radio Edit) – 3:48 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Instrumental) – 3:48 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Call Out Hook) – 0:10 *US 7" single :A. "If I Ain't Got You" (Album Version) – 3:48 :B. "

Diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

" (Album Version) (featuring

Tony! Toni! Toné! Tony! Toni! Toné! was an American soul/ R&B band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s. During the band's heyday, it was composed of D'wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq ...

) – 3:43 *US 12" single :A1. "If I Ain't Got You" (Radio Mix) – 3:48 :A2. "If I Ain't Got You" (Instrumental) – 3:48 :B1. "If I Ain't Got You" (Radio Mix) – 3:48 :B2. "If I Ain't Got You" (Acappella) – 3:36 *US / European promotional 12" single :A1. "If I Ain't Got You" (Main) – 3:48 :A2. "If I Ain't Got You" (Instrumental) – 3:48 :B1. "If I Ain't Got You" (Main) – 3:48 :B2. "If I Ain't Got You" (Acappella) – 3:36 *Digital EP # "If I Ain't Got You" (featuring Usher) – 3:51 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Radio Edit) – 3:51 # "If I Ain't Got You" (featuring

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his f ...

) (Spanish Version) – 3:51 # "If I Ain't Got You" (

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

Radio Mix #1) – 3:47 # "If I Ain't Got You" (Piano & Vocal Version) – 3:51 # "If I Ain't Got You" (

The Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim Hi ...

Remix) – 3:14 *Digital download # "If I Ain't Got You" (The Black Eyed Peas Remix) – 3:14

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The Diary of Alicia Keys''. * Alicia Keys – piano, producer, background vocals, vocals * Katreese Barnes – background vocals * Tony Black – engineering * Kerry Brothers Jr. – digital programming * Fred Cash Jr. – bass * Darryl Dixon – horn * L. Green – background vocals * Steve Jordan – drums *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career ...

– mixing *

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally a ...

– guitar * Cindy Mizelle – background vocals * Herb Powers Jr. – mastering * Joe Romano – horn * Arcell Vickers – organ * David Watson – horn

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2000s ballads 2003 songs 2004 singles Alicia Keys songs Contemporary R&B ballads J Records singles Music videos directed by Diane Martel Songs written by Alicia Keys