Back To You

## Music video

"**Back to You**" is Louis Tomlinson's second solo single, featuring American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha and English DJ and producer Digital Farm Animals. It was written by Tomlinson, Digital Farm Animals, Pablo Bowman, Richard Boardman, and Sarah Blanchard, while the production was handled by Digital Farm Animals and Tommy Danvers. The single was released on 21 July 2017; its accompanying music video premiered the same date.

On December 8, 2023 a re-recording of "Back To You" dubbed "Studio Version" was released through the exclusive *All of Those Voices* DVD. This version was heavily inspired by the style "Back To You" has been performed in during Tomlinson's live shows, specifically during the Faith In The Future World Tour. It is currently unavailable for streaming.

Lyrically, the song discusses returning to an on-again, off-again relationship. Tomlinson declared about its composition: "This song stood out to me across everything I've written. It’s quite minimal in the production; it's something that, even melodically, is quite different to something I would normally do."

## Background and release

"Back to You" is the second solo single released by Louis Tomlinson after the announced hiatus of One Direction. The song was released via his own label, 78 Productions. It was later confirmed Tomlinson signed a solo recording deal with Epic Records.

On 26 June, it was announced via two consecutive tweets from Tomlinson's Twitter that the song would be released at the end of July. The release date was later confirmed as 21 July.

## Critical reception

Mike Wass of Idolator wrote in his review, "As far as 1D solo offerings go, this is fairly solid." Mark Savage of BBC Music described the track as "a brooding pop concoction." In *Entertainment Weekly*, Ariana Bacle called it "[an] infectious jam."

## Music video

A music video for the song was filmed in Tomlinson's hometown of Doncaster, England in May 2017, subsequently being released alongside the single on 21 July 2017. In the video Tomlinson and Rexha appear in various Doncaster locations, including Doncaster Rovers Football Club's Keepmoat Stadium. As of June 2019, the music video has received more than 358 million views on YouTube.

## Lyrics

**[Verse 1: Bebe Rexha]**

I know you say you know me, know me well

But these days I don't even know myself, no

I always thought I'd be with someone else

I thought I would own the way I felt, yeah

**[Pre-Chorus 1: Bebe Rexha]**

I call you but you never even answer

I tell myself I'm done with wicked games

But then I get so numb with all the laughter

That I forget about the pain

**[Chorus: Bebe Rexha]**

Whoa, you stress me out, you kill me

You drag me down, you fuck me up

We're on the ground, we're screaming

I don't know how to make it stop

I love it, I hate it, and I can't take it

But I keep on coming back to you

**[Verse 2: Louis Tomlinson]**

I know my friends, they give me bad advice

Like move on, get you out my mind

But don't you think I haven't even tried?

You got me cornered and my hands are tied

**[Pre-Chorus 2: Louis Tomlinson & Bebe Rexha]**

You got me so addicted to the drama

I tell myself I'm done with wicked games

But then I get so numb with all the laughter

That I forget about the pain

**[Chorus: Louis Tomlinson]**

Whoa, you stress me out, you kill me

You drag me down, you fuck me up

We're on the ground, we're screaming

I don't know how to make it stop

I love him, I hate it, and I can't take it

But I keep on coming back to you (Back to you)

Oh, no, no, I just keep on coming back to you (Back to you)

Oh, no, no, I just keep on coming back to you

**[Bridge: Louis Tomlinson & Bebe Rexha]**

And I guess you'll never know

All the bullshit that you put me through

And I guess you'll never know, no

Yeah, so you can cut me up and kiss me harder

You can be the pill to ease the pain

'Cause I know I'm addicted to your drama

Baby, here we go again

**[Chorus: Bebe Rexha & Louis Tomlinson]**

Whoa, you stress me out, you kill me

You drag me down, you fuck me up

We're on the ground, we're screaming

I don't know how to make it stop

I love him, I hate it, and I can't take it

But I keep on coming back to you (Back to you)

Oh, no, no, I just keep on coming back to you (Back to you)

Oh, no, no, I just keep on coming back to you (Back to you)

I just keep on coming back to you

## References

1. ↑ Louis Tomlinson confirms release date for 'Back to You', his new single with Bebe Rexha
2. ↑ Louis Tomlinson - All Of Those Voices (2023, DVD) - Discogs
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Louis Tomlinson & Bebe Rexha's "Back To You" Is Surprisingly Mellow
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Louis Tomlinson: Arctic Monkeys inspired my lyrics
5. ↑ 6 times Louis Tomlinson made us love him even more
6. ↑ Louis Tomlinson: 'Niall is lovely, Zayn has the voice, Harry is cool, Liam gets the crowd going... then there's me'
7. ↑ One Direction's Louis Tomlinson Signs With Epic Records
8. ↑ All the support has been amazing thank you ! Can't wait for you all to hear Back To You !
9. ↑ End of July
10. ↑ July 21st ... #BackToYou pic.twitter.com/zXdvviqq4x
11. ↑ Louis Tomlinson drops music video for Bebe Rexha duet, 'Back to You'
12. ↑ People's Choice
13. ↑ MTV Europe Music Awards
14. ↑ VIDEO: "What the f\*\*\*?" Doncaster pop star Louis Tomlinson filmed sitting on garage roof in Cantley - WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
15. ↑ Louis Tomlinson on love, loss and chips