Lost Without U
Encyclopedia
"Lost Without U" is the second official single
released from Robin Thicke
's second album
The Evolution of Robin Thicke
(2006).
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."
of the song alongside his wife, actress Paula Patton
. Fearful that the video for this single would be the last one he would ever make, Thicke chose to cast his wife as the leading lady in the music video as a way to tell the truth and represent how the last few years of his life have been. However, with the success of "Lost Without U" Thicke went on to film a new video for the follow-up single, "Can U Believe".
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. However, 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).
, peaking at number fourteen on the chart and becoming his biggest hit to date. "Lost Without U" is his first single to chart on the Hot 100 from the album The Evolution of Robin Thicke, and in his entire career as well.
"Lost Without U" also remains Thicke's most successful single on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
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
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 eleven 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, peaking at number eleven in the UK Singles Chart
.
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
.
recorded a version with vocals by Taraji P. Henson
for his album Marcus.
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
released from Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke
Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...
's second album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
The Evolution of Robin Thicke
The Evolution of Robin Thicke
The Evolution of Robin Thicke is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Robin Thicke, released by Star Trak/Interscope Records on October 3, 2006 . Guest appearances from Faith Evans, Lil Wayne and Pharrell where included. The album was re-released as a Deluxe Edition on February...
(2006).
Writing and inspiration
The single was written after the release of his first album and while he was on tour. It was at a time he was feeling insecure and wasn't having much commercial success with his music. Thicke said the following to MTV NewsMTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
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 music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of the song alongside his wife, actress Paula Patton
Paula Patton
Paula Maxine Patton is an American actress. She is mostly known for her appearances in the films Idlewild , Déjà Vu , Mirrors , Swing Vote , Precious , Just Wright , and Jumping the Broom .-Early life and career:Patton was born in Los Angeles, to Joyce , a European-American...
. Fearful that the video for this single would be the last one he would ever make, Thicke chose to cast his wife as the leading lady in the music video as a way to tell the truth and represent how the last few years of his life have been. However, with the success of "Lost Without U" Thicke went on to film a new video for the follow-up single, "Can U Believe".
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. However, 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 US Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, peaking at number fourteen on the chart and becoming his biggest hit to date. "Lost Without U" is his first single to chart on the Hot 100 from the album The Evolution of Robin Thicke, and in his entire career as well.
"Lost Without U" also remains Thicke's most successful single on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
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
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
and his song "One More Try
One More Try (George Michael song)
"One More Try" is a U.S. number-one hit song written and performed by George Michael and released by Epic Records in 1988 as the fourth single from Faith.-History:...
" 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
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart...
and Adult R&B Airplay, simultaneously topping all three charts that week. The single eventually spent eleven 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, peaking at number eleven in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
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
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
54 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
37 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
11 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
14 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
1 |
| US Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
28 |
Renditions
In 2008, bassist Marcus MillerMarcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
recorded a version with vocals by Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Yvette in Baby Boy , Shug in Hustle and Flow and Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2009...
for his album Marcus.
External links
- Chart Data: Robin Thicke
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKNA42bj-doWatch "Lost Without U" courtesy of Universal Music GroupUniversal Music GroupUniversal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
] on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....