"Maybe You're the Problem" is a song by American singer

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single " Sweet but Psycho" in ...

, released on April 28, 2022, through

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

as the

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 ...

from her second studio album '' Diamonds & Dancefloors'' (2023). The song was written by Max, Sean Maxwell, Marcus Lomax, and the producers Abraham Dertner,

Jonas Jeberg Jonas Jeberg (born January 28, 1975), is a Danish songwriter and music producer residing in Los Angeles. He has written and produced hit songs including Panic! at the Disco's " High Hopes", Selena Gomez's " Fetish" featuring Gucci Mane, Fifth Ha ...

, and

Cirkut Henry Russell Walter (born April 23, 1986), known professionally as Cirkut, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter. He has co-produced and co-written for Dr. Luke, Katy Perry, Becky G, Ava Max, Nicki Minaj, R. City, The Weeknd, Kesha, Cia ...

. "Maybe You're the Problem" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

song, with lyrics describing a breakup with a selfish partner. It peaked at number 83 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 ...

. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

was directed by Joseph Kahn and depicts Max traversing through a winter-themed arcade game.

Release and composition

"Maybe You're the Problem" was released as the

from Max's second studio album ''Diamonds & Dancefloors'' on April 28, 2022. The song was written by Max, Sean Maxwell, Marcus Lomax, and the producers Abraham Dertner,

, and

. The song's

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper (tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ...

consists of Max's cherry-red hair, which served as a "re-brand" for her second album. Musically, "Maybe You're the Problem" is a

and

song, with influences from

Eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. Thi ...

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

, and music in the 1980s. Writing for ''

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audienc ...

'', Caitlin White described the song as a " breakup anthem", while George Griffiths of the

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

opined that it contained elements of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

. The lyrics describe Max's initiation to depart from a relationship with a selfish partner.

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from critics. ''Mix1'' writers gave "Maybe You're the Problem" a 7 out of 8 rating, stating that Max displays an "extremely confident" attitude, although it contains a very "sobering" message. Writing for

Jenesaispop Jenesaispop, also known as JNSP, is an online Spanish independent news and reviews website focused on pop music, although it is also dedicated to films, TV series, books and comics. It was founded in 2006 by nine friends, including various jour ...

, Jordi Bardají compared the song to "

Blinding Lights "Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on November 29, 2019, through XO and Republic Records, as the second single from his fourth studio album, '' After Hours'' (2020). The song was written and produced by t ...

" by

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

Commercial performance

"Maybe You're the Problem" debuted at its peak, number 83, on the

dated May 6, 2022.

Music video

The

for "Maybe You're the Problem" was directed by Joseph Kahn and released on April 28, 2022. Max replaced her blonde hair with bright red locks. The winter-themed video depicts Max sunbathing in the snow, skiing, and being transported into an arcade game.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. * Amanda Ava Koci vocals, songwriting *

Henry Walter Henry Walter (1611–1678?) was a Welsh Anglican priest who became a Puritan. Life Walter was born in the parish of St. Arvans, Monmouthshire, south Wales in 1611 and studied at the University of Oxford, matriculating as a member of Jesus ...

songwriting, production, programming *

songwriting, production, programming * Abraham Dertner songwriting, production, programming * Sean Douglas songwriting *

Marcus Lomax The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcu ...

songwriting * Şerban Ghenea mixer * Bryan Bordone assistant mixer *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Ava Max 2022 singles 2022 songs Ava Max songs Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Cirkut Songs about parting Songs written by Ava Max Songs written by Cirkut Songs written by Jonas Jeberg Songs written by Sean Douglas (songwriter) Songs written by Marcus Lomax Eurodance songs Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn