"Tell Me You Love Me" is a song by American singer and songwriter Demi Lovato. It was written by Kirby Lauryen, Stint and John Hill, with production handled by the latter two. It was initially released through Hollywood, Island and Safehouse Records on August 23, 2017, as the first promotional single from Lovato's sixth studio album of the same name (2017). It was released as the second single from the album on November 14, 2017.
Video Tell Me You Love Me (song)
Background and production
"Tell Me You Love Me" was written by Kirby Lauryen, Stint and John Hill for Lovato's sixth studio album of the same name. It was produced by Stint and Hill. Both producers performed the instruments for the track, including bass, drums, guitar, horn, and piano. Mitch Allan also served as the song's vocal producer, with Scott Robinson contributed as the additional vocal producer. The track features backing vocals by Lauryen. The track was recorded and edited with guidance by Rob Cohen at Rodeo Recordings, located in Santa Monica, California and Venice Way Studios in North Vancouver, Canada. Lovato recorded the vocals for the song with guidance by Zeke Mishanec at Jungle City Studios in New York City. The track was engineered for mix by John Hanes, and eventually mixed by Serban Ghenea. The track was finally mastered by Chris Gehringer and Will Quinnell.
During the album pop-up exhibition in New York City, Lovato revealed that the track was "really stuck" with her when she heard it for the first time. She explained, "At the time I was going through a breakup. It's about the vulnerability of coming out of a very serious relationship and having a tough time with it. It also at the same time calls out a big misconception with the line, 'You ain't nobody 'til you got somebody,' which again comes from that vulnerability with mixed emotions." Lovato told the BBC the track was her favorite of the album, she later explained, "It said exactly what I was wanting to tell that person. I wanted to hear them tell me that they loved me."
Maps Tell Me You Love Me (song)
Release
Lovato published a black-and-white teaser on August 23, 2017, on social media, announcing the new album, with "Tell Me You Love Me" playing in the background. The clip shows Lovato singing the song in a studio, as it fades into the album artwork. It was released to radio as the album's second single on November 14, 2017. An official remix of the song by NOTD was released on December 15, 2017.
Composition
"Tell Me You Love Me" is written in the key of E? minor with a tempo of 72 beats per minute in common time. The song follows a chord progression of E?m-D?-C?, and Lovato's vocals span from A?3 to G?5.
Critical reception
Elias Leight of Rolling Stone called the song "a swelling ballad full of horns and handclaps". Mike Wass of Idolator described the song as "a fiery mid-tempo anthem". Jeff Benjamin of Fuse called the song a "booming ballad". Deepa Lakshmin of MTV News described Lovato's vocals as "sweeping". Raisa Bruner of Time described the song as a "lush and dramatic love song" that had "powerful hand-clap chorus and big horns". While reviewing the album, Jamieson Cox of Pitchfork described the song as "a desperate plea for affection that gradually morphs into a declaration of self-love".
Music video
Background and synopsis
The music video for "Tell Me You Love Me" was directed by Mark Pellington, who also directed Lovato's previous work "Skyscraper". The video co-starred Grey's Anatomy actor Jesse Williams. About filming the music video, Lovato commented, "[Shooting the music video] was really fun too! We had a full on wedding and my best friends were even my bridesmaids and groomsmen."
The music video was six minutes and forty seven seconds long. The first two minutes of the video are dedicated to the couple's engagement as well as the jealousies that threaten to tear them apart before they even make it to the altar. The track eventually kicks on during the extravagant wedding sequence where, after a few suspenseful moments, Williams' groom tells Lovato's bride he's not ready and leaves her at the altar to the shock of their family and friends.
Release and reception
On November 22, 2017, Lovato posted a photo of her in a wedding dress on her social media with no description. Rumors of the possibility of the photo being a sneak peak from the music video were made on social media. On November 27, 2017, Lovato announced that the official music video for the song will be released on December 1, 2017, by posting a wedding invitation from Lovato and Williams. According to Island Records' president David Massey, the music video reached 10 million views on its first day.
Megan Armstrong of Billboard praised Lovato's and Williams' acting performances and called them "make it hard to believe they aren't actually a couple in real life." Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal called the music video was "superb from start to finish" and called it as one of Lovato's "most compelling videos". Sara M Moniuszko of USA Today praised the music video as "perfectly matches the emotional and longing lyrics of the track." Kaitlyn Tiffany of The Verge described the video as "a Lifetime movie you can watch at your desk".
Live performances
On October 5, 2017, the singer performed the song for the first time in television on The Today Show, where she also performed "Sorry Not Sorry". On November 10, 2017, Lovato performed the song at BBC's Sounds Like Friday Night. On November 12, 2017, Lovato performed a medley of "Sorry Not Sorry" and "Tell Me You Love Me" at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards. The song was on Lovato's set list for the 2017 Jingle Ball Tour. On December 19, 2017, Lovato performed the song on the live finale of The Voice.
Track listings
- Digital download
- "Tell Me You Love Me" - 3:56
- Digital download - NOTD Remix
- "Tell Me You Love Me" (NOTD Remix) - 3:00
Credits and personnel
Recording and management
- Recorded at Rodeo Recordings (Santa Monica, California) and Venice Way Studios (North Vancouver, BC, Canada)
- Vocals recorded at Jungle City Studios (New York City)
- Mixed at MixStar Studios (Virginia Beach, Virginia)
- Mastered at Sterling Sound Studios (New York City)
- Published by Rodeoman Music (GMR), EMI April Music, WB Music Corp. (ASCAP), Roc Nation Music (ASCAP), A Song A Day (ASCAP), Stint Music Publishing (SOCAN)
Personnel
- Demi Lovato - lead vocals
- John Hill - production, bass, drums, guitar, horn, piano, programming
- Stint - production, bass, drums, guitar, horn, piano, programming
- Mitch Allan - vocal production
- Scott Robinson - additional vocal production
- Rob Cohen - recording, editing
- Zeke Mishanec - vocals recording
- Serban Ghenea - mixing
- John Hanes - mixing engineering
- Dave Palmer - keyboards
- Kirby Lauryen - background vocals
- Chris Gehringer - mastering
- Will Quinnell - mastering
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Tell Me You Love Me.
Charts
Release history
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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