"See You Again" is a song by American rapper and singer

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 20 ...

featuring fellow American singer

Charlie Puth Charles Otto Puth Jr. (; born December 2, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter. His initial exposure came through the viral success of his song videos uploaded to YouTube. Puth initially signed with the record label eleveneleven after p ...

. It was commissioned for the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

of the 2015 film ''

Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 American action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006), and ser ...

'' as a tribute to actor

Paul Walker Paul William Walker IV (September 12, 1973 – November 30, 2013) was an American actor. He was known for his role as Brian O'Conner in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Walker began his career as a child actor in the 1980s, gaining recogniti ...

, who died in a single-vehicle accident on November 30, 2013. The song was released on March 10, 2015, as the soundtrack's

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

in the United States. It was later included as a bonus track on the international release of Puth's debut album, ''

Nine Track Mind ''Nine Track Mind'' is the debut studio album by American singer Charlie Puth. It was released on January 29, 2016, by Artist Partner Group and Atlantic Records, after being scheduled to be released on November 6, 2015. The album's lead single, ...

''. "See You Again" became both Khalifa's and Puth's biggest single to date. It spent 12 non-consecutive weeks atop the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, tying Eminem's "

Lose Yourself "Lose Yourself" is a song by American rapper Eminem from the soundtrack to the 2002 motion picture '' 8 Mile''. The song was composed and produced by Eminem, longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the production duo Bass Brothers and Lui ...

" for the second longest-running rap number-one single in the country behind

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...

's "

Old Town Road "Old Town Road" is the debut single of American rapper Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. Lil Nas X also recorded a remix with America ...

", and topped 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 two consecutive weeks. It also reached number one in several other countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and Switzerland. The song held the record for the most-streamed track in a single day on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

in the United States, until it was surpassed by

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...

's "

Drag Me Down "Drag Me Down" is a song recorded by English-Irish boy band One Direction as the lead single for their fifth studio album, ''Made in the A.M.'' (2015). The song was released worldwide on 31 July 2015 and was the band's first single since Zayn M ...

". It set the record for most streams in a single week worldwide, and in the United Kingdom also in a single week. The music video was the most viewed video on YouTube from July 10 to August 4, 2017. "See You Again" received three nominations at the

58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 20 ...

: Song of the Year,

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this category ...

and Best Song Written for Visual Media. It was also shortlisted for the Song of the Year for the

BBC Music Awards The BBC Music Awards were the BBC's annual pop music awards, held every December, as a celebration of the musical achievements over the past twelve months. The event was coordinated by the BBC's music division, BBC Music. Held between 2014 and ...

and was nominated for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

73rd Golden Globe Awards The 73rd Golden Globe Awards honored the best in film and American television of 2015. It was broadcast live on January 10, 2016, from The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST by NBC. ...

. "See You Again" was the best selling-song of 2015 worldwide, with combined sales and track-equivalent streams of 20.9 million units according to

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

Writing and development

"See You Again" was written by

DJ Frank E Justin Franks, known professionally as DJ Frank E, is an American DJ and record producer from Denver, Colorado. Frank E started working closely with Adelio Lombardi, founder of Side 3 Entertainment and owner of Side 3 Studios in Denver, while ...

, and Andrew Cedar. It was produced by DJ Frank E, Charlie Puth, and Andrew Cedar, with mixing provided by

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 ...

. Frank E and Puth were approached by their publishing company, Artist Publishing Group, to develop a melody that could pay tribute to actor

for the film ''

'' (2015). His publishing company's president Ben Maddahi then set up a first-time studio session for Puth with DJ Frank E at a studio in Los Angeles. Puth became emotionally attached while writing the track, recalling Vail Cerullo, a friend of Puth's from his time at Berklee College of Music, who died in a motorcycle accident in 2012. He was at first reluctant that the film's soundtrack label, Atlantic Records, would choose his vocal for the song. In an interview with the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', Puth recalled, "It just seemed to occur from out of nowhere. And basically 10 minutes later Justin (Franks J Frank E and I wrote it, we sent it off, and I thought we'd never hear about it again". Puth and DJ Frank E's output from the session was well received by ''Furious 7'' filmmakers,

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, and Atlantic. As a result, the track was further commissioned to include rapped verses by Khalifa based on the subject of family, combined with Puth's vocals and a piano melody. The song then went through an extensive note-giving and production process. Puth opined that his vocal was chosen by Atlantic because of his emotional attachment to the subject matter. Puth revealed on '' The Talk'' that Universal originally wanted to get a more established singer to sing his part. He also revealed in one of his interviews that the song's hook was originally written for

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

. The song was chosen to be played at the end of the film, whereupon

Brian O'Conner Brian O'Conner is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. He is portrayed by Paul Walker and first appeared on film, alongside the other protagonist Dominic Toretto, in ''The Fast and the Fu ...

's retirement send-off to be with his wife and family, his character and

Dominic Toretto Dominic "Dom" Toretto is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists of the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. He is portrayed by Vin Diesel and first appeared on film, alongside the other protagonist Brian O'Conner, in ''The Fast and ...

drove on a mountain road and parted ways upon reaching a fork.

Composition

"See You Again" is a hip hop and

pop-rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes. This genre gained mainstrea ...

ballad. It was written in the key of B major with a

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

of and has a tempo of 80

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

(''andante''/''andantino'').

Commercial performance

North America

In the United States, "See You Again" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

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 ...

charts dated March 19, 2015, at number 100 and number 29 respectively, with first-week sales of 25,000 copies. On the chart issued for April 18, 2015, the song climbed from number 84 to number ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 168,000 copies as the chart's "Digital Gainer" that week. Its climb into the top ten was the chart's biggest since Katy Perry's " Roar" (2013). In its fifth week, "See You Again" sold 464,000 copies and rose from number ten to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song marked Khalifa's second number one on the chart, following "

Black and Yellow "Black and Yellow" is a song by American rapper Wiz Khalifa from his third studio album, ''Rolling Papers''. It was released on September 14, 2010, as the lead single from the album. The song was written by Khalifa, along with Stargate, who pro ...

" (2011), and Puth's first. It topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for 12 non-consecutive weeks. After its 12th week it was finally knocked off the top spot by Omis hit, " Cheerleader". It is one of 33 songs to reach number one for at least 10 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song also topped the Mainstream Top 40 and

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

charts for four weeks and three weeks respectively. The song also topped Hot Rap Songs and Hot R&B Hip Hip songs for 14 weeks each. As of July 7, 2016, "See You Again" has sold a total of 4,122,938 copies in the United States. The song fell out of the top ten on the chart dated August 29, 2015, spending a total of 19 weeks in the top ten. The song holds the record for the most-streamed track in a single day on

in the United States. It set the record for most streams in a single week worldwide during April 6 to April 12 (streamed 21.9 million times), and in the United Kingdom in a single week (streamed 3.72 million times from April 20 to April 26, 2015), which was broken by

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

s "

What Do You Mean? "What Do You Mean?" is a song recorded by Canadian singer Justin Bieber for his fourth studio album ''Purpose'' (2015). The song was released on August 28, 2015, as the album's lead single by Def Jam. The song was produced by MdL and co-produced ...

" (streamed 3.87 million times from September 17 to September 23, 2015).

Europe and Oceania

"See You Again" debuted at number 20 on the

issued for April 12, 2015, on streaming alone. It registered 1.8 million streams in the United Kingdom that week. Following its digital release, the song climbed to number one on the chart dated April 19, 2015. It sold 193,000 units that week, becoming the fastest-selling single in the United Kingdom of 2015. The song also broke the streaming record in the United Kingdom that week with a total of 3.68 million streams that week. It marked Khalifa's second number one on the chart—following his feature on Maroon 5's " Payphone" (2012)—and Puth's first. "See You Again" sold 142,000 units during its first week at number one, and broke its own streaming record with 3.72 million streams that week. Omi's " Cheerleader" replaced "See You Again" at number one the following week, selling approximately 1,000 units more than "See You Again" at number two. In New Zealand, "See You Again" debuted at number 34 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

dated March 30, 2015. It topped the chart in its third week, becoming Khalifa and Puth's first number one single in the country. In Australia, "See You Again" rose from number 59 to number one on the Australian Singles Chart issued for April 11, 2015, marking Khalifa and Puth's first number one hit on the chart. The song's climb to number one was the largest in Australian Singles Chart history.

Music video

The music video for "See You Again" was directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

. It was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

on April 6, 2015.

Background

The "See You Again" music video was the most viewed video on

from July 10 to August 4, 2017, and the most liked video on the site from August 27, 2016, to July 25, 2017. As of December 18, 2022, it has received over 5.7 billion views and over 39.8 million likes, making it the site's sixth most viewed and second most liked video. It was the second video ever to record two billion and three billion views, the third video ever to reach four billion views and the fourth video ever to reach five billion views.

Synopsis

The video begins with a shot of a cliff top at sunset, followed by Khalifa walking down a highway road. Puth is then shown singing the chorus whilst sitting at, and playing, a piano located between two cars. Khalifa's rap verses and Puth singing the second chorus and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

are interspersed with footage from ''Furious 7''. After the bridge, the final movie scene shows

(

Vin Diesel Mark Sinclair (born July 18, 1967), known professionally as Vin Diesel, is an American actor. One of the world's highest-grossing actors, he is best known for playing Dominic Toretto in the ''Fast & Furious'' franchise. Diesel began auditio ...

) and

( Cody Walker, filling in for his brother, Paul) driving together, pulled over in their cars and smiling at each other one last time before driving away on separate roads into the sunset. After the camera pans up into the sky, the screen turns white, the words "For Paul" appear on screen and the video ends.

Reception

The video was the most viewed video on YouTube from July 10, 2017, when it surpassed " Gangnam Style" by

Psy Park Jae-sang (, ; born December 31, 1977), known professionally as Psy (stylized in all caps as PSY) (; ; ), is a South Korean singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Psy is known domestically for his humorous videos and stage per ...

, to August 4 of that year, when it was surpassed by "

Despacito "Despacito" (; "Slowly") is a song by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi featuring Puerto Rican rapper and singer Daddy Yankee as the lead single from Fonsi's 2019 studio album '' Vida''. Released on January 12, 2017, the song was written by Fonsi ...

" by

Luis Fonsi Luis Alfonso Rodríguez López-Cepero (born April 15, 1978), known by his stage name Luis Fonsi (), is a Puerto Rican singer. He is known for multiple songs, one of them being " Despacito" featuring rapper Daddy Yankee. Fonsi received his first ...

featuring

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

. The video was nominated for Best Hip-Hop Video and Best Collaboration at the

2015 MTV Video Music Awards The 2015 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2015. The 32nd installment of the event was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, and hosted by Miley Cyrus. Taylor Swift led the nominations with a total of ten, follo ...

, but lost both. On August 27, 2016, the music video surpassed "Gangnam Style" as YouTube's most liked video of all time, after "Gangnam Style" held the record for almost 4 years. Also, on February 19, 2017, the music video succeeded "Gangnam Style" as the most rated YouTube video of all time with over 13.8 million total ratings. It has since been surpassed by "Despacito" as the most viewed, liked and rated video on YouTube.

Live performances

Khalifa and Puth performed "See You Again" live on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' in March 2015 and on an episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'' in May 2015. Diesel also performed the song live as a tribute to Paul Walker during the 2015 MTV Movie Awards. Khalifa and Puth reprised the song in a performance on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

'' in April 2015. Khalifa has performed the song, without Puth, as part of the Boys of Zummer Tour, in which Khalifa co-headlined with

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurle ...

. Puth performed the song at the Capital Jingle Bell Ball in 2015. Khalifa also performed the song on season 8 of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', with season 7 finalist Chris Jamison performing Puth's vocals. Wiz Khalifa also performed the song at the

2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. The ceremony was the seventh consecutive Mnet Asian Music Awards to be hosted outside of South Korea ...

. The intentions were for the song to be performed as a collaboration between Wiz Khalifa and

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and on ...

, the leader of K-pop girl group Girls' Generation, but the performance was later cancelled for unknown reasons. Khalifa and Puth also performed the song at the 2016 Kids' Choice Awards. On January 31, 2020, Khalifa and Puth performed "See You Again" live during halftime of a Portland Trail Blazers-Los Angeles Lakers game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as a tribute to Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other victims of the Calabasas helicopter crash.

Awards and nominations

Track listing

Credits and personnel

*Andrew Cedar – songwriter, producer *

(Justin Franks) – songwriter, producer *

– songwriter,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, producer *

Brian Tyler Brian Theodore Tyler (born May 8, 1972) is an American composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer, best known for his film, television, and video game scores. In his 24-year career, Tyler has scored '' Transformers: Prime'', ''Eagle ...

– string arranger, conductor *

(Cameron Thomaz) – songwriter, vocals *Annie & Chloe – edited version, vocals, producers Credits adapted from Soundtrack.Net and

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links