Love Lies (song)
"Love Lies" is a song recorded by American singers Khalid and Normani for the film "Love, Simon". The song was released through RCA Records on February 14, 2018, as the second single from the film's soundtrack. It was written by Khalid, Normani, Jamil Chammas, Ryan Vojtesak and Tayla Parx, with production handled by Charlie Handsome and Digi. The song marked Normani's first single release outside of Fifth Harmony. "Love Lies" peaked at number 9 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100 and number one on US pop radio; while also reaching the top ten in six  additional countries. The song was certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling over five million units. It was also certified diamond in Brazil, 5× platinum in Australia, and platinum or higher in five additional countries. The song broke the record for the highest first-week position for a debut single by a girl group member. It was also the most Shazammed R&B song of 2018. "Love Lies" spent a record-tying 45 weeks on "Billboard"s Mainstream Top 40 radio airplay chart, this record has since been broken and is currently held by The Weeknd's  Blinding Lights. In 2019, "Billboard" named it the seventh biggest song of the 2010s decade on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. In 2021, the song was revealed to be the fifth most thumbed up duet on Pandora, of all time. Background. Normani first hinted at a possible collaboration between her and Khalid via an Instagram post in July 2017. Khalid also opened up about the collaboration during an interview with MTV News the next month. Later, Normani confirmed to "Billboard" that they were working together on collaboration ideas, calling him "an important artist and a great friend". She divulged to  Kode in an interview in October 2017, when asked to share information on the collaboration: Khalid and I have been wanting to work together for some time. We actually got into the studio and were excited about a record we wrote together along with Taylor Parks. It was all one huge vibe session. We wanted to create something that our peers would fall in love with. I remember him telling me "I want this to be my favorite record, if I were listening, I want it to be something I vibe with that's just dope," which is something I  relate to because I listen to our song every day. Issa vibe. But the greatest part of it all is that were genuinely two friends that created something special that were so proud of. We're in two different countries on tour but we still text each other sometimes like, "but that record though..." The duet was officially announced on January 16, 2018. On February 12, 2018, Normani posted a photograph of her and Khalid, captioning the photo: "2/14". Similarly, Khalid posted the single artwork with the same caption. The two artists also teased a few lyrics from the song , with Khalid replying Normani's announcement with "tell me where your love lies", to which Normani replied: "waste the day and spend the night". Normani spoke to Zane Lowe on his Beats 1 radio show about the song, saying that recording it was a "growing process" for her. "I feel like people are actually getting like a sense of who I actually am," she said. "Being in the studio and partnering with Khalid, it actually tells me more about myself that I didn't necessarily know was even there. This is definitely [a] growing process and I can't wait . I'm so excited for the journey." Composition. Musically, "Love Lies" is an R&B, song that contains elements of snap, as well as synths and vocal effects. The song's verses are resigned and have a quaint 1980s sound, laden with a simple finger-click beat and drums. Khalid and Normani's vocals are both in E minor. Critical reception. Nina Braca of "Billboard" wrote a positive review of the song, saying: "The romantically curious lyrics perfectly compliment Normani's smooth vocals over a simple guitar riff and slow pop beat." Hugh McIntyre of Fuse deemed the song "a laid -back R&B affair so mature it's difficult to believe the artists behind it are so young and still just getting started in their respective careers". He called the production "a natural progression" for Khalid and something "not far from Normani's comfort zone", and displaying herself as a ”sex symbol”. He also praised the guitar loop, calling it "a nice touch on a beat that is fairly sparse, and at times, nonexistent", writing that "it helps this song stand out among the hundreds of other similar tracks". Sam Damshenas of "Gay Times" described it as "incredibly catchy and addictive . Mike Wass of Idolator opined that the dreamy mid-tempo anthem showcases her voice and hints at the R&B/pop direction of her side-project". "Billboard"s critics' list placed it second on "Every Fifth Harmony Solo Single, Ranked" in March 2018, while "Love Lies" topped "Billboard"s critics' list on "Every Khalid collaboration, Ranked" in April 2019. Chart performance. In the United States, "Love Lies" debuted at number 43 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, opening with 22,000 downloads and 11.7 million streams in its first week. This entry tied Fifth Harmony with Destiny's Child, The Go-Go's and Labelle  for the most members (three) from an all-female group to chart solo on the Hot 100, with Normani being the third. It also scored the highest first-week position for a debut single by a girl group member; formerly, Diana Ross' first solo single "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" debuted at 49. After the pair performed on the "Billboard" Music Awards on May 20, "Love Lies" entered the top 40 on the Hot 100, moving from number 47 to 36. It reached a peak of number nine. Khalid earned his second Hot 100 top 10 and first  as a lead artist, following his featured turn on Logic's "1-800-273-8255," which reached the region in September 2017. Normani reached the top 10 in her first solo visit to the Hot 100; she previously reached the region once as a member of Fifth Harmony. "Love Lies" claimed the longest climb to the top 10 among duets after reaching the region in its 28th week, surpassing the 19-week trip set by Billy Preston and Syreeta's "With You I'm Born Again," in 1979–80. "Love Lies" is the 10th single to reach the region in 28  weeks or more, while Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats" holds the overall record: 38 weeks to the top 10 in 2006–2007. "Love Lies" topped the "Billboard" Mainstream Top 40 pop radio airplay chart, with Khalid earning his first number one and Normani earning their first solo number one. It claimed the longest climb to number one for a duet, doing it in its 24th week, and the third-longest among all songs. "Love Lies" became the first song released from a soundtrack to top the Mainstream Top 40 since Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling!" in June  2016. Fifth Harmony joined One Direction and Destiny's Child as the third group to spin off at least two chart-topping members on the mentioned chart. Revolt TV noted in its "Charting Black Excellence" column, that "Love Lies" was the first song with solely black artists to top the pop charts since Flo Rida’s "My House" in 2016. "Love Lies" spent 45 weeks on the chart and tied the record for the longest charting song on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. "Love Lies" also stayed in the Top 10 of the chart for twenty six weeks, making it  the first song by a female (Normani) or black artist to do so. Outside the United States it peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland and the top twenty of the charts in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Music video. The song's music video premiered on February 16, 2018. It was directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz and situated in Downtown Los Angeles. Khalid plays a valet worker at a local hotel while Normani acts as a superstar staying there. It started with the two texting , they plan to meet each other in their "favorite room". Normani later arrives at the scene in a fancy car, Khalid opens her door and she heads up to her room, in which she showed off her dance moves in front of a window, as Khalid enjoys the performance from a nearby rooftop. It ended with the two celebrating with love messages via text. As of January 2022, the music video has reached over 217 million views. Live performances. On April 10, 2018, the two artists performed "Love Lies" on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon". On May 20, they  performed the song at the 2018 "Billboard" Music Awards. Credits and personnel. Credits adapted from Tidal.