"Lost Without U" is a song by American singer
Robin Thicke. It was released in 2006 as the second single from his second album, ''
The Evolution of Robin Thicke'' (2006). ''
People
The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine voted the ballad as 2007's Sexiest Song of the Year. It was also named the 10th best song of 2007 by ''
Vibe'' magazine.
Writing and inspiration
"Lost Without U" was written after the release of Robin Thicke's first album, while he was on tour and troubled by his lack of commercial success. Thicke said the following to ''
MTV News
MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...
'' about the inspiration for the song: "I was going through an insecure period and wanted my lady to tell me how fabulous and how sexy and how wonderful I am."
Music video
Thicke appears in the song's
music video
A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
alongside his then-wife, actress
Paula Patton. As his previous releases had underperformed, Thicke was concerned about the song's success. Thinking that its music video could be his last if it failed to chart, he cast his wife as his love interest.
Throughout the video, scenes are intercut of Thicke sitting on a chair playing his acoustic guitar and on a wall with a light flashing on him. The video begins with Thicke entering his apartment; he seems to be angry as he throws his keys to the floor. He is then seen on a bed, caressing his wife and kissing her shoulder. After, he is in a bathroom, where he imagines his wife taking off his clothes, though he is taking them off himself. After, his wife is shown in the shower, and he is shown singing. He is then shown sitting on a couch, and his wife walks up to him and sits on the couch suggestively, but then gets up and leaves. They are then shown in a bedroom, with Thicke's wife dancing and Thicke watching while holding a pair of socks (presumably hers). They are then shown on top of a building, enjoying each other's presence. Thicke is shown back in his apartment angry, when all of a sudden his wife walks in, and she lets her jacket fall off her, exposing a revealing outfit. They begin kissing passionately, and Thicke lifts her up, but is then shown alone, confused (he had dreamed the kissing session).
Chart performance
"Lost Without U" has been known as Thicke's breakthrough single on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 14 on the chart and became his biggest hit until 2013's "
Blurred Lines". The song is his first single to chart on the Hot 100 from the album ''The Evolution of Robin Thicke''.
It also remains Thicke's most successful single on the ''Billboard''
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, peaking at number one the week of February 24, 2007, becoming his first R&B chart topper. He also became the first white male artist to top the R&B table since
George Michael
George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...
and his song "
One More Try" in 1988. A week later, on the March 3 issue of ''Billboard'', the single also hit number one on two other charts;
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Adult R&B Airplay, simultaneously topping all three charts that week. The single eventually spent 11 consecutive weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (the biggest hit of the year in that chart) and Adult R&B Airplay charts, and ten consecutive weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The single was also popular in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 11 in the
UK Singles Chart in July 2007.
The single has been credited to have caused the significant spike in the sales of ''The Evolution of Robin Thicke'', helping the album to be certified platinum by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. As of July 12, 2013, the song has sold 954,000 copies in the United States.
The single was certified Platinum in digital sales by the RIAA on May 9, 2013.
Remix
The official remix of the song features rapper
Busta Rhymes
Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...
.
Covers
In 2008, bassist
Marcus Miller recorded a version entitled "Lost Without U (Spoken Words)" with vocals by actress
Taraji P. Henson and recording artist
Lalah Hathaway for his album ''Marcus''.
Adam Levine and
Chris Jamison performed the song together on the season finale of The Voice (Season 7). Their duet peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
On February, 23, 2024 American singer
Ambré recorded her version of the song with the exact same lyrics
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
See also
*
List of number-one R&B singles of 2007 (U.S.)
References
External links
Watch "Lost Without U"courtesy of
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
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2006 singles
2006 songs
Robin Thicke songs
Music videos directed by Benny Boom
Songs written by Robin Thicke
Interscope Records singles
Star Trak Entertainment singles
2000s ballads
Contemporary R&B ballads
Soul ballads