Don't Leave Me (Blackstreet song)


"Don't Leave Me" is a single by R&B group Blackstreet, produced by Teddy Riley. It contains a sample of the DeBarge song "A Dream". It features Eric Williams, Mark Middleton, and Chauncey Hannibal on lead vocals. Released in January 1997, "Don't Leave Me" topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for two weeks in May 1997 and reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom. In the United States it peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.

Critical reception

David Finlan from Experience commented that the song "is slightly depressing, because it is about a man trying to keep his girlfriend from breaking up with him. This song hits home because everybody has been through a breakup and as we all know, they are not fun." Music & Media wrote that "hot on the heels of the success of No Diggity, Riley & Co. switch to ballad mode with this well constructed song, which has aleady met with approval across Europe." Stephan Hampe, head of music at RSH, a CHR network covering northern Germany said, "I think this is going to break Blackstreet in a big way in Germany, because it is the kind of great song that really stands out". He added, "while No Diggity received a warm welcome too, it remained largely confined to the quarters traditionally inhabited by the R&B fraternity over here. This record however, has the potential to appeal to a much broader audience, so we put in powerplay rotation because we want to familiarize our audience quickly with this song." New Straits Times noted "the fantastic four-part harmony interplay" on "Don't Leave Me". People Magazine said in their review of Another Level, that Blackstreet "pours on the heartache and late-night yearning" on the song. James L. Brown from USC Today described it as "a slow bump and grind ballad".

Chart performance

The song did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 or the Hot R&B Singles chart due to Billboard rules at the time preventing songs not released as physical singles from charting. However, the song peaked on the Hot 100 Airplay and Hot R&B Airplay charts at No. 12 and No. 1, respectively. Internationally, it went to No. 1 in New Zealand and No. 6 in the United Kingdom. In the former country, it stayed at No. 1 for two weeks in May 1997 and earned a Gold sales certification from Recorded Music NZ, finishing the year as the 12th most-successful single.

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Michael Martin.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications