I Got You (Leona Lewis song)


"I Got You" is a song performed by British singer and songwriter Leona Lewis. It was released as the second single from her second studio album, Echo. It was written by Arnthor Birgisson, Max Martin and Savan Kotecha, with production helmed by Birgisson. It was recorded by Birgisson at Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California and The Vault, Stockholm, Sweden, who was assisted by Lewis on the song's vocal production. It was released to United States contemporary hit radio on 8 December 2009, and throughout Europe to download digitally on 19 February 2010. "I Got You" is a pop and R&B ballad, and instrumentation consists of guitars and synthesizers.
The song garnered mixed reviews from music critics. Peter Robinson for The Guardian wrote that "'I Got You' is an impressive distant relative of 'Bleeding Love'". Other critics praised Lewis' vocal performance and likened it to the structure of her cover of Snow Patrol's "Run". Despite this, some critics criticised the song for not being memorable. "I Got You" was a mediocre success. It achieved a peak position of number three on the UK R&B Chart, number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, and peaked inside the top 50 singles Austria, Belgium, Germany and New Zealand.
As part of promotion for the song's release as a single, an accompanying music video was shot at Venice Beach, California, and directed by Dave Meyers. The content of the video revolves around couples who try to resolve their differences and arguments. In the video, scenes of Lewis performing in front of a heart engulfed in flames and sitting on an apartment floor barefoot are intercut. In the United States, Lewis performed the song live on the Late Show with David Letterman, whilst in the United Kingdom, she performed on multiple television shows, including So You Think You Can Dance, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and The National Lottery Draws. It was included on the set list of her debut tour, The Labyrinth.

Recording, production and release

"I Got You" was written by Arnthor Birgisson, Max Martin and Savan Kotecha for Lewis' second studio album, Echo. Production of the song was helmed by Birgisson. It was recorded by Birgisson at Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California and The Vault, Stockholm, Sweden. Birgisson and Lewis both handled the vocal production. It was mixed by Phil Tan at Soapbox Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, and Damien Lewis served as the assistant engineer. Background vocals were sung by Vicky Sandström and guitar was provided by Esbjörn Öhrwall. "Heartbeat" was co-written by Lewis, Birgisson and Ina Wroldsen, with production of the song once again helmed by Birgisson. It was recorded by Chris Kasych at Chalice Studios, Los Angeles, California, and The Vault in Stockholm, Sweden. It was mixed by Manny Marroquin, Christian Plata and Erik Madrid at Larrabee Studios, Universal City, California. Strings were provided by Janson & Janson and the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, which were recorded by Marcus Bergqvist. Guitar was provided by Esbjörn Öhrwall.
In the United States, "I Got You" was released to contemporary hit radio on 8 December 2009. In Europe, "I Got You" was released as an A-side and B-side, with "I Got You" as the A-side single, and "Heartbeat", a song which does not appear on any edition of Echo, as the B-side. It was released in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom, for digital download on 19 February 2010.

Composition

"I Got You" is a pop and R&B ballad, which lasts for a duration of 3 minutes, 49 seconds. The song was composed in the key of G major using common time with a tempo at 104 beats per minute. Lewis' vocal range spans over two octaves, from the low note of G3 to the high note of A5, on the song. It incorporates elements of adult contemporary music and contemporary R&B genres. Instrumentation consists of guitars and synthesizers. Fraser McAlpine for the BBC compared "I Got Yous structure to her cover of Snow Patrol's "Run". McAlpine noted that it follows the same four chord progression as "Run", and also is instrumentally complete with guitars. He also noted that Lewis performs the verses of "I Got You" quietly, and belts the chorus, like on "Run".

Critical reception

"I Got You" garnered mixed reviews from music critics. Peter Robinson for The Guardian wrote that "I Got You" "is an impressive distant relative of Bleeding Love". Leah Greenblatt for Entertainment Weekly praised "I Got You", along with "Happy", as they allowed Echo to redeem itself from the "soppy balladry and standard-issue dancery" present on the rest of the album. Greenblatt's only criticism was that "it can be difficult to connect with the woman who wields it." Mayer Nissim for Digital Spy awarded the song three stars out of a possible five; Nissim was complimentary of Lewis' vocal performance, which he described as "effortless" in the verses and that she belts out the chorus with "gusto." However, Nissim was critical of the song's production, writing that although Lewis sings with conviction, it is not as memorable as other ballads. He continued to write that her voice will allow the song to chart fairly well, and that she should collaborate with other producers to make more memorable songs. Fraser McAline for the BBC awarded the song three stars out of a possible five; McAlpine noted that although Lewis is able to provide "some kind of musical movement, by wandering off the path set down by the song," he was critical of the song's structure, and labeled it "lazy."

Chart performance

"I Got You" failed to achieve commercial success, and managed to peak inside the top 50 singles charts in most regions. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 127 on the UK Singles Chart on 6 February 2010, two weeks before its release as single. It debuted inside the official top 40 at number 40 on 27 February 2010, and leaped to its peak position of number 14 the following week. It managed to attain more success on the UK R&B Chart; it debuted inside to top 40 R&B singles at number 40 on 6 February 2010, and reached its peak of number three on 6 March 2010. In Ireland, "I Got You" debuted at number 47 on 25 February 2010, and reached a peak of number 43 the following week. Elsewhere, "I Got You" peaked at number 30 in Austria, number 20 in the Flanders region of Belgium, number 13 on the singles chart and number 30 on the airplay chart in the Wallonia region of Belgium, number 43 in Germany, number 29 in New Zealand, and number 57 in Switzerland.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video was directed by Dave Meyers, and shot at Venice Beach, California on 21 December 2009. The content of the video revolves around "several couples as they deal with the ups and downs of relationships." Prior to the release of the video, Lewis tweeted "It's a strong, cool performance, lots of actors with a movie feel to it. I'm so proud of it and hope you love it – enjoy!" The video was released on 12 February 2010. In the video, scenes of Lewis performing in front of a heart engulfed in flames, as well as sitting on an apartment floor barefoot, are intercut throughout the video amongst the narrative of the video. The video shows several couples ending their relationships, showing many of them are who angry and cannot cope with the heartbreak, but progresses to show how they manage to rebuild their relationships with one another, ending with images suggesting healing, happiness and new relationships.

Live performances

Lewis performed "I Got You" for the first time at a one-off private concert at the Hackney Empire in London, United Kingdom, on 2 November 2009, which served as a taster show to Lewis' The Labyrinth. On 2 December 2009, the singer performed the song on The National Lottery Draws. The following day on 3 December 2009, Lewis on the BBC Radio 2 show Live Sessions with Ken Bruce, as part of a set list which included "Bleeding Love", "Better in Time", "Happy" and her own cover of Oasis's "Stop Crying Your Heart Out". On 15 December 2009, to coincide with the song's radio release in the United States, Lewis performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman. On 21 January 2010, Lewis appeared on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge where she performed "I Got You" as well as covering Oasis' "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" for a second time, and also gave an interview as to why she decided to cover that song. On 6 February 2010, Lewis performed "I Got You" on the semi-final of So You Think You Can Dance on 6 February 2010. Lewis also performed the song to coincide with the official release in the UK on GMTV on 22 February 2010, Promotion of the song ended with a performance and interview The Alan Titchmarsh Show on 26 February 2010. In late May 2010, the song was included in the setlist for Lewis' first concert tour, The Labyrinth.

Track listing

;Digital Download
  1. "I Got You" – 3:46
  2. "Heartbeat" – 3:51

    Credits and personnel

"I Got You"

;Recording
;Personnel
;Recording
;Personnel
"Heartbeat" credits adapted from "I Got You" CD single, and "I Got You" credits adapted from the liner notes of Echo, Syco Music, J Records, Sony Music.

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Austria 30
Belgium 20
Belgium 13
Belgium Airplay 30
scope="row" -
Germany 43
Ireland 43
scope="row" -
New Zealand 29
scope="row" -
Switzerland 57
UK R&B 3
UK Singles 14

Chart Peak
position
UK R&B 29

Release history

Radio adds

Purchasable release

RegionDateFormatLabel
Belgium19 February 2010Digital downloadSony Music Entertainment
France19 February 2010Digital downloadSony Music Entertainment
Italy19 February 2010Digital downloadSony Music Entertainment
Germany19 February 2010Digital downloadSony Music Entertainment
The Netherlands19 February 2010Digital downloadSony Music Entertainment
Spain19 February 2010Digital downloadSony Music Entertainment
United Kingdom19 February 2010Digital downloadSyco Music