Let Me Love You (Mario song)

"Let Me Love You"
Single by Mario
from the album Turning Point
Released	November 16, 2004
Format	12" CD digital download
Recorded	2003
Genre	R&B
Length	4:09
Label	J Epic
Writer(s)	Shaffer Smith Scott Storch
Producer(s)	Scott Storch
Certification	2× Platinum (RIAA)[1] Platinum (ARIA)[2]
Mario singles chronology
"C'mon" (2003) "Let Me Love You" (2004) "How Could You" (2005)

"Let Me Love You" is a song by American singer Mario, from his second studio album, Turning Point (2004). It was written by Ne-Yo, and produced by Scott Storch. The remix of the song, also produced by Storch, contains rapped verses from Jadakiss and T.I.. The song was an instant hit, garnering Mario a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2006.

In 2008, it was ranked at number 45 on Billboard's All-Time Top 100 Hot 100 singles during the first 50 years of the chart.^[3] It was the eighth most successful single of the decade according to the Billboard Hot 100 Songs of the Decade chart released in December 2009.^[4] In 2013, it was ranked at number 53 on Billboard's All-Time Top 100 Hot 100 singles during the first 55 years of the chart.^[5]

Music and structure

"Let Me Love You" is a moderate R&B ballad in the Dorian mode, centered around the progression C minor / G minor / F major. It is written in common time.^[6] The song was written by Ne-Yo,^[7] and features him singing backing vocals in two-part harmony and unison.

Reception

Critical reception

Jon Parales from The New York Times commented that "Let Me Love You" "looks back to another 1980s blockbuster, lifting its keyboard sound from Tina Turner's 'What's Love Got to Do with It'."^[8]

Accolades and nominations

In 2004, "Let Me Love You" was nominated for a Vibe Award for Best R&B Song and two Teen Choice Awards, Choice Love Song and Choice R&B/Rap Track, but it failed to receive any awards. In 2005, it received nominations for Billboard Music Awards, including "Hot 100 Single of the Year", "Hot 100 Airplay Single of the Year", "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year", "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Single of the Year, winning in both the R&B categories. It was also nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B Single, a Viewer's Choice award at the BET Awards, Best Single at the MOBO Awards, and Best R&B/Soul Song at the Soul Train Music Awards. In 2006, Mario was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance with "Let Me Love You". He also received an MTV Australia Awards nomination for Best R&B music video for "Let Me Love You".^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]}

Commercial performance

"Let Me Love You" held the number-one position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for nine consecutive weeks from January to February 2005, and, as of 2016, is Mario's biggest single. It also reached number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Internationally, it reached the number-one position on the singles charts in Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. In the United Kingdom, the song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart (held off the top spot by "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo"), making it Mario's biggest hit to date in the UK. The single also holds the honor of being one of the highest-selling ringtones with 1.6 million downloads.^[17]

Music video

The music video was directed by Little X.

Covers

• Charlotte Church covered the song as a B-side to her "Call My Name" single.
• The cast of Glee covered the song in the season 3 episode "Heart".
• Zayn Malik from One Direction sang the song at his audition for The X Factor in 2010.
• Austin Mahone and Justin Bieber each covered the song at the start of their careers.
• Indonesian singer Dhika Moela covered the song in 2014.
• Mario and Zendaya performed the song on ABC's Greatest Hits in 2016 (season 1, episode 5).
• Country pop artist Chris Lane recorded a cover version of the song for his debut studio album, Girl Problems.
• The Voice Nigeria contestants Chike and Patrick from team Patoranking did a cover version of the song for their battle round in 2016.

Track listing

U.S. CD single

1. "Let Me Love You" (album version)
2. "Let Me Love You" (remix version)
3. "Let Me Love You" (Mauve Remix Extended)
4. "Let Me Love You" (video)

U.S. promo CD

1. "Let Me Love You" (album version)
2. "Let Me Love You" (Mauve Remix Edit)

Australian CD single

1. "Let Me Love You" (album version)
2. "Let Me Love You" (remix version)
3. "Whiz"
4. Multimedia track

12-inch maxi single

1. "Let Me Love You"
2. "Let Me Love You" (instrumental)
3. "Call Out Hook"

Remix

1. "Let Me Love You" (featuring Jadakiss and T.I.)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2004–05) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[18] 3 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[19] 6 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[20] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[21] 12 Denmark (Tracklisten)[22] 2 Europe (European Hot 100)[23] 1 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] 16 France (SNEP)[25] 7 Germany (Official German Charts)[26] 1 Ireland (IRMA)[27] 5 Italy (FIMI)[28] 2 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 1 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[30] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[31] 5 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[32] 4 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[33] 18 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 18 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 2 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[36] 2 UK Download (Official Charts Company)[37] 6 UK R&B (Official Charts Company)[38] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[39] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[40] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[41] 1 US Pop 100 (Billboard)[42] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[43] 18 US Billboard Hot 100[44] 3 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[45] 1 Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009) Position US Billboard Hot 100[46] 8 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales Australia (ARIA)[47] Platinum 70,000^^ France (SNEP)[48] Silver 100,000^* New Zealand (RMNZ)[49] Platinum 10,000^* United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Gold 400,000 United States (RIAA)[51] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^^ Ringtone United States (RIAA)[51] Platinum 1,000,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

See also

• List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 2005
• List of European number-one hits of 2005
• List of number-one hits of 2005 (Germany)
• List of number-one singles from the 2000s (New Zealand)
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2005
• List of Billboard Mainstream Top 40 number-one songs of 2005
• List of number-one R&B singles of 2005 (U.S.)

References

1. RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - "Let Me Love You" by Mario. RIAA.com. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
2. "Mario - Platinum CD single". Archived from the original on May 15, 2011.
3. The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (50-41)
4. "Charts".
5. "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs".
6. "Download Sheet Music Software - Musicnotes.com".
7. Jasmine Dotiwala (2010-10-28). "Ne-Yo's one night stand". Voice Online. Archived from the original on 2010-11-30. Let Me Love You at the time that I wrote it I wasn’t trying to be an artist, I was completely content with just being a song writer but I think back on that song and I look back and think had I been trying to be an artist at the time that’s definitely one I would have held on to.
8. Pareles, Jon (December 20, 2004). "CRITIC'S CHOICE New CD's". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
9. "Mario 2005 BET Awards,Teen Choice Awards & Billboard Music Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
10. "Billboard Music Award Nominations 2005". Retrieved 2009-01-25.
11. "Usher, 50 Cent Lead Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Winners". Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
12. "Mario grammy nominations". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
13. "Mobo awards 2005: The winners". BBC. September 22, 2005. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
14. "The Darkness And The Veronicas Set To Perform At The 2006 MTV Australia Video Music Awards". Archived from the original on February 22, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
15. "Usher gets five Soul Train nominations". USA Today. February 2, 2005. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
16. "VIBE Announces 2005 VIBE Award Nominees". Retrieved 2009-01-18.
17. "Mario - Top selling ringtones".
18. "Australian-charts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Mario – Let Me Love You" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
20. "Ultratop.be – Mario – Let Me Love You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
21. "Ultratop.be – Mario – Let Me Love You" (in French). Ultratop 50.
22. "Danishcharts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You". Tracklisten.
24. "Mario: Let Me Love You" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
25. "Lescharts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You" (in French). Les classement single.
26. "Musicline.de – Mario Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
27. "Chart Track: Week 3, 2005". Irish Singles Chart.
28. "Italiancharts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You". Top Digital Download.
29. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mario search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
30. "Charts.org.nz – Mario – Let Me Love You". Top 40 Singles.
31. "Norwegiancharts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You". VG-lista.
32. "Archive Chart: 2005-04-02". Scottish Singles Top 40.
33. "Spanishcharts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You" Canciones Top 50.
34. "Swedishcharts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You". Singles Top 100.
35. "Swisscharts.com – Mario – Let Me Love You". Swiss Singles Chart.
36. "Archive Chart: 2005-04-02" UK Singles Chart.
37. "Archive Chart: 2005-02-27" UK Download Chart.
38. "Archive Chart: 2005-02-27" UK R&B Chart.
39. "Mario – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Mario. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
40. "Mario – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Mario. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
41. "Mario – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Mario. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
42. Mario > Awards at AllMusic. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
43. "2005 Year-end UK Singles Chart" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
44. "Year-End Charts: The Hot 100." Billboard 2005 Year In Music. Billboard. 2005.
45. "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs - 2005". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
46. "The Billboard Hot 100 Singles & Tracks - Decade Year End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 10, 2011.
47. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2005 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
48. "French single certifications – Mario – Let Me Love You" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
49. "New Zealand single certifications – Mario – Let Me Love You". Recorded Music NZ.
50. "British single certifications – Mario – Let Me Love You". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Let Me Love You in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
51. "American single certifications – Mario – Let Me Love You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 22, 2014. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

• Music video at MTV.com (Windows Media format)
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics