"What Lovers Do" is a song by the American band Maroon 5 featuring the American R&B singer SZA. It was released on August 30, 2017, as the third single from the band's sixth studio album Red Pill Blues. The song contains an interpolation of the 2016 song "Sexual" by Neiked featuring Dyo, therefore Victor Rådström, Dyo and Elina Stridh are credited as songwriters.
Background and release
After extensive touring in support of their fifth studio album, V, Maroon 5 began the writing and recording sessions for their sixth studio album. On October 12, 2016, the band released the tropical house single "Don't Wanna Know", featuring the American rapper Kendrick Lamar. Another single, entitled "Cold", featuring the American rapper Future, was released on February 14, 2017. Both songs later appeared in the deluxe edition of Red Pill Blues. In August 2017, videos and Snapchats from the lead singer Adam Levine revealed that the group was recording the music video for "What Lovers Do", with the recording artist SZA. On August 26, 2017, the name "What Lovers Do" and cover art for the track were revealed, with a release date of August 30.
Composition
"What Lovers Do" runs for approximately three minutes and 20 seconds. It was written by Adam Levine, Starrah, Jason Evigan and Solána Imani Rowe and was produced by Evigan, Ben Billions, Sam Farrar and Noah Passovoy. Victor Radstrom, Dyo, and Elina Stridh are also credited songwriters on the record, as songwriters of "Sexual" by Neiked. The song is performed in the key of B major with a tempo of 110 beats per minute. The song follows a chord progression of E–Gm–F–B–E, and the vocals in the song span from F3 to D5 in common time.
Commercial performance
In the United States, "What Lovers Do" reached number nine on the BillboardHot 100, becoming Maroon 5's 13th and SZA's first top 10. By September 2017, it had sold 116,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan. The track reached number seven on the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming the band's tenth single in Australia to reach the top 10.
Music video
The music video for "What Lovers Do" was released on Vevo on September 28, 2017, and was directed by Joseph Kahn. The video was shot in mid August 2017 at Los Angeles. It follows the young Adam Levine and SZA chasing each other through a meddow. Now, as adults, they keep chasing each other through an arctic, a stadium, on the surface of water, and underwater. At the end of the video, Levine becomes a 50 foot version of himself and grabs SZA, as he attacks the city of Las Vegas and ended up in the hospital injured himself with SZA as the hospital's nurse.
Lyric video
A lyric video was released on September 15, 2017. This video using as found footage, which features a red and white lollipop when it melts into slime.
