"Like You'll Never See Me Again" 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 third studio album '' As I Am'' (2007). Written and produced by Keys and

Kerry Brothers Jr. Kerry Brothers Jr. (born October 1, 1970), also known as "Krucial", is an American record producer, songwriter and hip hop artist. Brothers and singer-songwriter Alicia Keys began a musical partnership in the mid-1990s, co-writing and co-producin ...

, it was first heard on October 25, 2007, on Atlanta's V103

WVEE WVEE (103.3 FM, "V-103") is a commercial radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs an urban contemporary radio format. WVEE is one of the highest-rated stations of the Atlanta radio market according to Nielsen Au ...

radio station. Subsequently, it was released as the second single from ''As I Am'' on January 22, 2008, by J Records. "Like You'll Never See Me Again" peaked at number 12 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became Keys' second consecutive R&B chart-topper, remaining atop 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 seven weeks and dislodging Keys' previous single " No One" from the top position. In 2008, the song won two NAACP Image Awards, for Outstanding Music Video and Outstanding Song, and an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Award for Top R&B/Hip-Hop Song.

Composition

"Like You'll Never See Me Again" was written and produced by Keys and

Keys explained to

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

that the song is "about living every moment as if it's your last. Because if it's our last time to say, 'I love you,' then let it be that we didn't forget that."

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim. Nate Chinem from ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the song is "a distant cousin to

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

’s ' Purple Rain'."Chinen, Nate
Review: ''As I Am''
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved on 2012-03-13. J. Freedom du Lac from ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' agreed, writing that "the sexy, Prince-ly track is by far the album's best track.Lac, J. Freedom du
Review: ''As I Am''
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. Retrieved on 2012-03-13. Rodney Dugue from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' wrote that the song is a "dreamy lullaby, where she ponders whether she'll be appreciated after a lover stops calling her name."Dugue, Rodney.
Review: ''As I Am''
. ''

'': 120. December 2007.

Edna Gundersen Edna Gundersen is an American journalist who was a longtime music writer and critic for '' USA Today''. Gundersen grew up in El Paso, Texas. She attained a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso The University of Tex ...

from ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' praised the track, referring to it as an "instant and enchanting classic, where Keys simply dazzles, demonstrating her lock on the future regardless of the industry's fate."Gundersen, Edna
Review: ''As I Am''
''

''. Retrieved on 2012-03-13. Stephanie Merrit from ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' called it a "sweet, caramel-smooth track."Merritt, Stephanie
Review: ''As I Am''
''

''. Retrieved on 2012-03-13. Nick Levine wrote for

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

a very positive review, writing that it is "a smoochy, seductive soul ballad, built around a delicate, Oriental-sounding piano riff, it gives Keys plenty of chance to show off her breathy, Mariah-esque upper register. Best of all, like all Keys' most impressive moments, its melody has a timeless quality that allows it to transcend its modish R&B production."

Commercial performance

"Like You'll Never See Me Again" debuted at number 37 on the ''Billboard''

as the Hot Shot debut of the week, jumping to number 22 in its second week, number 15 in its third week, and to then number nine in its fourth. After climbing to number three in its fifth week, the song reached number two in its sixth week, and then rose to number one in its ninth week, beating off Keys' own song " No One"; this made Keys the second artist since the R&B chart began using

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

data in 1992 to succeed herself at number one, as "Like You'll Never See Me Again" jumped from number two to number one and traded places with "No One", which had topped the chart for 10 weeks. Rapper

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

accomplished this feat in 2002 with "

Hot in Herre "Hot in Herre" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the first single from his second studio album ''Nellyville'' (2002). It was released on May 7, 2002, by Universal Records. It was written by Nelly, Charles Brown, and the producers ...

" and "

Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dis ...

". The song spent seven weeks atop the chart, after which it remained at number two for six weeks thereafter. As of the charting week of September 13, 2008, "Like You'll Never See Me Again" has remained on the chart for 45 consecutive weeks, all of them inside the top 50. Additionally, the song topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs year-end chart of 2008. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, it debuted at number 93, jumped to number 45 in its second week, and subsequently peaked at number 12. "Like You'll Never See Me Again" was released on February 25, 2008, in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 53 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 ...

. In Australia, it debuted and peaked at number 77 on the

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, number 44 on the Physical Singles Chart, and number 19 on the Urban Singles Chart the week of April 14, 2008.

Music video

The music video for "Like You'll Never See Me Again", directed by Diane Martel, features cameos by

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

(with whom Keys had previously worked with in the 2007 motion picture ''

Smokin' Aces ''Smokin' Aces'' is a 2006 American action comedy film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The film centers on the chase for Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant Robert 'Buddy Aces' Israel ( Jeremy Piven), on whom a one-million-dollar boun ...

'') as Keys' love interest who is critically injured in a motorcycle accident and Keys' mother Terri Augello as a hospital medic. It tells the story backwards, and the viewer learns that the couple had been arguing. The video premiered on November 13, 2007, on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (known commonly as ''TRL'') was an American television program broadcast on MTV that premiered on September 14, 1998. TRL featured popular music videos played during its countdown, and was also used as a promotion tool by ...

'' and

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's '' 106 & Park''. It debuted at number two on VH1's ''

VSpot Top 20 Countdown ''The 20'' (previously known as the ''VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown'') is a weekly television show that aired on the VH1 cable television network in the United States. The long-running series began in 1995 as the ''VH1 Top 10 Countdown'', part of VH1 ...

'' on February 23, 2008. Keys described the video as "heart-wrenching. If your heart doesn't feel me, then you are dead!".

Track listings

*European / Australian CD single # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Album Version) – 5:15 # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Seiji Club Mix) – 6:56 *European promotional CD Maxi-single # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Radio Edit) – 4:07 # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Seiji Remix) – 3:43 # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Jony Rockstar Remix) – 3:50 # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Video) *US / European promotional CD single # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Radio Edit) – 4:07 # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Instrumental) – 5:14 # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Call Out Hook) – 0:10 *Japanese promotional CD single # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Main) # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Jony Rockstar Remix) # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Seiji Remix) # " No One" (Main) *Digital download # "Like You'll Never See Me Again" (Remix) (featuring Ludacris) – 3:57

Credits and personnel

Production *Alicia Keys – producer, string programming * Kerry "Krucial" Brothers – co-producer, drum programming *Ann Mincieli –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

*Zach Hancock – assistant engineer *Seth Waldmann – assistant engineer *

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 M ...

– mixing *Jared Robbins – mix assistant Musicians *Alicia Keys – vocals, piano, lead Moog, virtual

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s *Steve Mostyn – bass guitar *John "Jubu" Smith – lead guitar, rhythm guitar

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2000s ballads 2006 songs 2007 singles Alicia Keys songs Contemporary R&B ballads Music videos directed by Diane Martel Songs written by Alicia Keys Songs written by Kerry Brothers Jr. Song recordings produced by Alicia Keys