"Meet Me Halfway" is the third single from
the Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American musical group formed in Los Angeles in 1995, composed of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo (rapper), Taboo. Fergie (singer), Fergie was a member during the height of their popularity in the 2000s, and ...
' fifth studio album, ''
The E.N.D.'' (2009). Released in September 2009, the song peaked at number seven on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the charts of Australia, Germany, Romania, Mexico, and the United Kingdom where "Meet Me Halfway" became the 10th-biggest-selling single of 2009.
Background
The song was released as a promotional single, as part of the "Countdown to ''The E.N.D.''" where 3 album tracks were released once each week until the release of the album. This song was the final promotional single in the series, the first two, in order of release, were "Imma Be" and "Alive". The song got early airplay on
Today Network
The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations.
Histor ...
s' Hot30 Countdown in Australia, and on radio stations across
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
Promotion
Meet Me Halfway was performed live on the week 5 results show of the British TV singing competition ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' on November 8, 2009. The single was released the previous week in the UK. They performed the song on the
American Music Awards of 2009, along with "
Boom Boom Pow
"Boom Boom Pow" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fifth studio album '' The E.N.D.'' (2009). It was written by group members will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie, being produced by will.i.am. The song featur ...
". The Black Eyed Peas performed the mix of the song at the 2009
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is an annual promotional event sponsored by and featuring Victoria's Secret, a brand of lingerie. From 1995 to 2018, Victoria's Secret used the show to market its goods in high-profile settings. Models under ...
.
Critical reception
The song received generally positive reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
. ''
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of languages, a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the word to which it is affixed.
Prefixes, like other affixes, can b ...
'' magazine stated, "''Meet Me Halfway'' is notable mostly for being better than a 'new-wavey' ballad by The Black Eyed Peas has any right to be."
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' wrote "Fergie elongates each note for a sensual vocal and offers a nice complement to co-producer Will.i.am, who handles the majority of the rhymes over funk guitar, hand claps and distorted pulses. With this track already climbing the Hot 100, the Peas are proving that their hit parade is far from over."
Bill Lamb of ''
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
'' stated that: "Fergie has the clear lead vocal here. She will never blow someone away with a bombastic voice or an otherworldly vocal range. However, she has an almost tearful edge to her voice that makes nearly any of her performances sound soaked with emotion. "Meet Me Halfway" is no exception. With the focus clearly on Fergie, this could in some ways be seen as a solo effort. However, the style of the song fits better in the context of The Black Eyed Peas album ''The E.N.D.'' instead of Fergie's ''The Dutchess''."
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' also gave a positive review: "When the group's glitchy future-funk beats sync up with Fergie's unabashedly feminine melodies, as on the sweetly insidious ''Meet Me Halfway,'' they find pure Top 40 nirvana."
Chart performance
The song debuted on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number 75 for the week ending October 3, 2009, and peaked at number seven during its sixth week (November 7), becoming the third consecutive top ten hit from the album. It makes ''The E.N.D.'' the band's first album to contain three Hot 100 top ten hits. The three songs successively overlapped in the Top 10, giving the group 30 consecutive weeks with a Top 10 hit. It topped the ARIA charts, becoming their third consecutive number 1 single from ''The E.N.D''.
In the United Kingdom, "Meet Me Halfway" entered the
UK Singles Chart on October 11, 2009, at number 67. In its fifth week on the chart (November 8, 2009) it climbed to number three, being the highest non-''
X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' related song on the chart, and one of only two songs in the top five non-related to ''The X Factor'', along with
Jay Sean's "
Down", although The Black Eyed Peas performed "Meet Me Halfway" on the ''X Factor'' results show on the same night, leading to significant exposure. On November 13, it was announced that "Meet Me Halfway" was outselling its nearest competition, "
Happy
Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...
" by
Leona Lewis
Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...
, and was on course to reach number one. It became ''The E.N.D.''s third consecutive number one single in Britain, and the band's fourth overall, on November 15, 2009, achieving the same success as in Australia. As of Sunday December 27, "Meet Me Halfway" has sold 517,178 copies in Britain, making it the 13th best selling single of 2009. On December 20, "Meet Me Halfway" fell to number 10 after eight consecutive weeks but rose to number six the following week. As on January 3, 2010, it rose again to number three.
On the New Zealand Top 40, the song peaked at number three, making it their third consecutive top three hit from the album. It was certified Gold after 10 weeks on the chart, selling over 7,500 copies. The song entered the
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
on October 15, 2009, at number 27, it has so far peaked at number 2 for five consecutive weeks, fended off by
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Tweedy (born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and television personality. She rose to fame as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: The R ...
's "
Fight For This Love", the ''X Factor'' finalists' cover of "
You Are Not Alone
"You Are Not Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, ''HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'' (1995). It was released on August 15, 1995, by Epic Records, Epic and Sony Music, Sony, as the second s ...
" and finally
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
's "
Bad Romance". The song also reached number one on the German Single Charts, making it their third chart topper since almost 5 years (last two were "
Where Is the Love?
"Where Is the Love?" is a song by American hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas. It was released on May 12, 2003, as the lead single from their third album, ''Elephunk'' (2003). The song was written by will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo, Justin Timberla ...
" and "
Shut Up" – both in 2003).
Music video
The music video was confirmed by
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...
to be directed by Ben Mor (director of "I Gotta Feeling"). "This is a very different type of video ... 'Boom Boom Pow' was very futuristic and 'I Gotta Feeling' had a party vibe, but this is more artistic video. It's very arty." The video premiered on October 12, 2009. It was released onto the iTunes Music store on October 13, 2009.
The video features the members in different parts of the
Solar System
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...
. The video opens on a road in the middle of a desert panning up to the cosmic sky which shifts to scenes of each of the members singing in different locations of space:
Fergie lies in the middle of a lush, green jungle,
apl.de.ap
Allan Pineda Lindo (born November 28, 1974), known professionally as apl.de.ap ( ), is a Filipino-American rapper, singer and record producer. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Black Eyed Peas (BEP). With the BEP, he has been nomin ...
levitates on a desert planet in nomadic clothing,
will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...
rides an
elephant
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
on a moon of
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
and
Taboo
A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
glides around the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
in a spacesuit. Apl takes out a map and will.i.am uses a compass to search for a path to the other members. After a while, will.i.am finds a dial that reveals gateways for each of the members to go through. All the members use a stargate and turn into
shooting stars, and land on the planet (presumably Earth because it is a mix of all the different places were the singers are and is a halfway of all the locations in the video), with the road in the middle of the desert. This is the first video of the album that does not end with the phrase "The E.N.D."
Covers
In May 2010, two members of the British hip-hop trio,
N-Dubz
N-Dubz are an English hip-hop trio from Camden Town, London, England, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and their friend Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed with Polydor Records before j ...
performed an acoustic mash-up of the song with "
Down" by
Jay Sean at
Live Lounge
The Live Lounge is a segment on the British radio stations BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. It was originally hosted by Simon Mayo, and later by Jo Whiley on her weekday mid-morning, and later weekend lunchtime radio shows, then by Fearne Cott ...
with singer Ny, as the third member Tulisa was ill, the full trio later performed the acoustic mash-up at
Isle of Wight Festival
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
Th ...
and later on their
Love.Live.Life Tour. In June 2010,
metalcore
Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...
band
Haste the Day released a cover of the song on the special edition of their final studio album, ''
Attack of the Wolf King''. In 2012, a cover of "Meet Me Halfway" featured on
The Futureheads a capella album ''
Rant''.
Track listing
UK CD Single
(2721563)
Digital Download E.P.
Credits and personnel
Source adapted from Discogs.
*Bass
ynth Bass- Printz Board
*Guitar
uitars By- George Pajon, Tim "Izo" Orindgreff
*Keyboards
eys Synthesizer
ynths Bass Guitar, Drum Programming - Keith Harris
*Written-By - William Adams, Allan Pineda, Jaime Gomez, Stacy Ferguson,
Jean Baptiste, Keith Harris, Sylvia Gordon
*Vocals - will.i.am, Fergie, Taboo, apl.de.ap
*Recorded at: Metropolis Studios in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
UK
*Management: David Sonenberg and William Derella for DAS Communications, Ltd. and Polo Molina for Grass Roots Productions, Inc
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
*
List of number-one singles in Australia in 2009
*
List of number-one singles from the 2000s (UK)
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
List of number-one R&B hits of 2009 (UK)
*
List of European number-one hits of 2009
*
List of number-one hits of 2009 (Germany)
*
List of Romanian Top 100 number ones of the 2000s
*
List of Ultratop 40 number-one hits of 2009
*
List of Ultratop 50 number-one hits of 2009
References
{{Authority control
2000s ballads
2009 singles
Black Eyed Peas songs
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Number-one singles in Australia
Number-one singles in Germany
Number-one singles in Israel
Number-one singles in Romania
Number-one singles in Scotland
UK singles chart number-one singles
Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles
Song recordings produced by will.i.am
Interscope Records singles
Songs written by Keith Harris (record producer)
Song recordings produced by Keith Harris (record producer)
2009 songs