["Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby","Well, neither would I, baby","We've been too strong for too long","","See this is real talk","Yes, we got real sh**","Put your hands up","(I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you)","I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you","Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby","And I can't be without you baby","No, this ain't for you","Do somethin' behind my back and then try to cover it up?","","But still I wanna ask you","And I'll be waiting up until you get home","Hands up","Well, let me see you put your hands up","I got a question for ya","I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you","Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it","I'll be waiting up until you get home","","","Would you lie?","Ladies let him know he's got you locked","Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby","Come on, come on, come on","See I already know the answer","","I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you","Yes, it's so true that","We've been too strong for too long","See baby we've been too strong for too long","‘Cuz I can't sleep without you baby","‘Cuz I can't sleep without you baby","","No","Anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel","Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it","Yes, I'm for real","And I can't be without you baby","Hands up","Fellas tell your lady she's the one","And if you got it deep in your heart","Yes, and with us you'll always know the deal","If anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel","I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you","Hey oh","","If anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel","My love is only your love","Hey oh","Right or wrong, all day every day","","Fellas tell your lady she's the one, oh","Now if you're down on love or don't believe","","And I'll be waiting up until you get home","Yes, I'll be faithful","I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you","People swore it off as a phase, said we can't see that","Now top to bottom, they see that we did that","This ain't for you","Good or bad, thick and thin","I wanna be with you, gotta be with you, need to be with you","I'ma always stay, no matter what","Chemistry was crazy from the get go, neither one of us knew why","‘Cuz I can't sleep without you baby","And deep down you know that it's true","","Make me cry?","","And I can't be without you baby","Yes, we've been through it","Look him right in his eyes and tell him","We didn't deal nothing overnight ‘cuz a love like this takes some time","","","Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it","No","","Yes"]
Performed by: Kidz Bop Kids; Mary J. Blige Written by: Johnta Austin; Mary J Blige; Bryan Michael Cox; Jason Lamont Perry
Credits: Austin, Johnta (Songwriter); Blige, Mary J (Songwriter); Cox, Bryan Michael (Songwriter); Perry, Jason Lamont (Songwriter); BABYBOY'S LITTLE PUBLISHING COMPANY (Publisher); JASONS LYRICS (Publisher); MARY J. BLIGE MUSIC (Publisher); NAKED UNDER MY CLOTHES (Publisher); NOONTIME SOUTH INC. (Publisher); UNIVERSAL MUSIC CORP. (Publisher); W B M MUSIC CORP (Publisher)
"Be Without You" is an R&B song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Blige's seventh studio album The Breakthrough. It was released as the album's lead single in late 2005. It was produced by Cox and released as the album's first official single. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year and won the Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance categories at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and was the most played song on radio in the year 2006. The single was certified double platinum by the RIAA in 2007. With 16 weeks on Billboard R&B single charts it became the biggest R&B song in the 50 year history of that chart.
Starring Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard in the role of Blige's boyfriend the video first aired on November 28, 2005. It peaked on AOL Videos Top 11 on the tenth spot on the January 21, 2006 entering the chart the first time and also the LAUNCH Music Videos Top 100 at the sixth position the same week. There's also a "Live At Launch Exclusive Performance" available for download from January 2006, which peaked seventieth on the same chart. It won the "Video of the Year" award at the 2006 BET Awards on June 27, 2006 and was nominated for "Best R&B Video" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.
Chart performance
The single debuted at number ninety-three on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number three in February 2006, Blige's third highest peak of her career after 2001's "Family Affair" and 1996's "Not Gon' Cry." Moreover, the song became the most successful release in the history of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart when it spent a record fifteen consecutive weeks at number one. "Be Without You" topped the U.S. BillboardHot 100 Airplay chart for nine weeks, and the dance remix has also topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. The song broke the record for the longest-running single in the existence of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, where it spent a grand total of 75 weeks on that chart. After its run on the main R&B chart it moved to the Recurrent R&B Airplay chart. It has now been on that chart for over a year and is still in the top 10 there.
In the UK the single only peaked at number 32 on the UK singles chart; however, with the Moto Blanco remix of the song becoming a large club hit in the UK, the song actually managed to hold (to that time) the record for the most weeks on the UK top 75 for a Mary J. Blige single (18 in total). Having proved very popular, the Moto Blanco remix was featured as a B-Side in the UK on subsequent singles "MJB Da MVP" and "Enough Cryin'." A cover of the Moto Blanco remix by Wi-Fi featuring Melanie M was due to be released in the UK in February 2007.
Remixes
The official remix was also produced by Bryan-Michael Cox and features former Shady Records rapper Stat Quo.
