"Because of You" | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Single by Ne-Yo | ||||||||||||||||||||
from the album Because of You | ||||||||||||||||||||
Released | March 27, 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||
Format | CD single, 12" single | |||||||||||||||||||
Recorded | 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||
Genre | R&B | |||||||||||||||||||
Length | 3:46 (radio), 4:26 (album) | |||||||||||||||||||
Label | Def Jam | |||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | M. Eriksen, T. Hermansen & Shaffer Chimere Smith | |||||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Stargate | |||||||||||||||||||
Ne-Yo singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||
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"Because of You" is a 2007 song by singer and songwriter Ne-Yo. It is the first single from his second album of the same name. The single started radio play the week of March 27, 2007.
Five other versions of the song have surfaced, one with an extended ending, one featuring rapper AC, S-One, Michael Jackson as well as Joe Budden; a second one features Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The official remix, however, features Kanye West. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 84 in March; it reached the top ten in May when it climbed from number 39 to number 5 in one week. The song has become his second-most successful song in the U.S., after his 2006 number-one hit "So Sick". By May the single had reached a peak at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, behind only Maroon 5's "Makes Me Wonder". It also peaked at number 4 in the UK, becoming Ne-Yo's only lead single to date to not reach the top spot.
The beat used is somehow unique in the R&B style. The main melodic instruments include muted harpsichord and guitar, whilst the groove uses a bass/clap beat combined together. The groove is heavily influenced by the disco style guitar with delay. The bass/clap beat, mixed with harpsichord, gave listeners an initial impression of the song being a remix, with which the effect is typically associated. This type of beat would later appear in Ne-Yo's 2008 hit "Closer", which uses guitar with a bass/clap beat mixed with keyboard and chorus matching the vocals.
The song was featured in the 2007 film Are We Done Yet?. It also appears in Grand Theft Auto IV's fictional Soul/R&B radio station The Vibe 98.8.
The song was performed during the second intermission of the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta. Ne-Yo was joined on the ice rink of Philips Arena by the Halftime Live marching band.