Next to You (Chris Brown song)

Updated on Nov 06, 2023

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Released June 24, 2011 Length 4:25		Genre Pop R&B Label Jive
Format CD single digital download Recorded 2010; Westlake Recording Studios (West Hollywood, California)

"Next to You" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown, included as a track on his fourth studio album, F.A.M.E., released on March 18, 2011. The song features Canadian singer Justin Bieber. Brown co-wrote the song with its producers, The Messengers, with additional writing from Amber "Sevyn" Streeter of RichGirl. Brown first revealed plans to collaborate with Bieber in December 2010, and the track is the first of two tracks they worked together on, the second being a remix of Bieber's "Up."

Musically, "Next to You" is a R&B and pop number, with lyrics pertaining to the love between two in a relationship. Most music critics positively reviewed the song, complimenting the blending of Brown and Bieber's vocals. However a common criticism of the track was how it stood out in comparison into the more lyrically explicit music on F.A.M.E.. After the release of the album, the song appeared on the charts in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It was released for digital download on June 24, 2011, as the album's fifth single.

Background

The song was written by Brown and Amber Streeter (of American R&B girl group RichGirl) with Nasri Atweh and Adam Messinger of production team The Messengers. The latter duo receive production credits on the track. In December 2010, Brown tweeted that he would be collaborating with Bieber. The song first appeared online on March 8, 2011. The song was one of two collaborations between Bieber and Brown in 2011, the other being a remix of "Up" from Bieber's My World 2.0 album, which was included as a track on his Never Say Never – The Remixes set. In an interview with MTV News, Brown revealed that the duo recorded the "Up" remix first, and Brown wanted Bieber on his album after their first collaboration.

Composition

"Next to You" is a R&B and pop song. The song has lyrics about a relationship, but Eliot Glazer of MTV Buzzworthy said that the song also contained inspirational lyrics. It features "digitized" violins. According to the sheet music at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, the song is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 116 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of E♭ major with Bieber and Brown's vocal ranges spanning from the low-note of G₃ to the high-note of C₆. The song features the chord progression of E♭–B♭–Cm–A♭. Nadia Noir of WNOW-FM said the song was a hybrid of a "dance-jam" and "love-song." Furthermore, AOL Music's Charley Rogulewski called the song a "dreamy pop love song." The song sees Brown and Bieber trading verses and the chorus in lyrics like "I'll be there when you're insecure/ Let you know that you're always lovely/ Girl, because you are the only thing that I got right now."

Critical reception

Brad Wete of Entertainment Weekly coined the song as "thumping" and said that "Brown and guest Justin Bieber trade verses assuring their ladies of their dedication." Joanne Dorken of MTV News UK said "It seems that everything Justin Bieber touches turns to gold at the moment and this cutesy ballad is no exception." Dorken complimented how well the song showed the blending of the pair's voices, and she commented, as "the most 'pop' song on the LP, we are hoping Chris decides to make this a single ... a sure fire hit." Nadia Noir of WNOW-FM wrote, "What do you get when you combine two of pop's best-looking/greatest dancers, the sexy rasp of Justin Bieber, and a dance-jam/love-song? A combination of all the best elements of music!" Nick Levine of BBC Music said the track was part of Brown's identity crisis on the album, as "Next to You" was just two tracks after the "grisly sex jam" of "Wet the Bed" featuring Ludacris. Levine called the collaboration a "wholesome-as-homemade-chutney hook-up." While complementing that the album had "something for everyone", Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone called "Next to You" a "puppy-love declaration." Bri LaPelusa called the song a "dreamy ballad" and said it melted Brown and Bieber's "angelic" voices. She went on to add that "Next to You" "might be affirmation that Chris Brown is once again an accepted celebrity."

Concerning the lyrics, Eliot Glazer of MTV Buzzworthy said "It ain't new, but it's still cute." Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine said Brown was unable to capture the "majesty of 'Forever'" with the song, noting it was "rendered limp by the undercurrent of sincerity." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that the song does not compliment Brown's already weak voice, and called it "geniunely awful." Caramanica also commented that Bieber was "apparently not worried about the stain this collaboration might leave."

Chart performance

Due to digital sales after the release of F.A.M.E., "Next to You" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100 charts of the week ending April 9, 2011. The song debuted at number ten on the Hot Digital Songs chart in the US, and therefore consecutively appeared at number twenty-six on the Hot 100. The following week, the song fell to number ninety before falling off the chart the next week. On the Canadian Hot 100, it debuted at number thirty-six, and spent one week on the chart. In the United Kingdom, after the release of F.A.M.E., "Next to You" appeared at number forty-nine. It spent one week on the chart. After being released as a single, it appeared on the chart again and eventually peaked at number fourteen.

Music video

The music video for "Next to You" was directed by Colin Tilley and filmed at the Universal Studios in Los Angeles, and upper Manhattan. On May 10, 2011, Bieber's manager confirmed plans for a music video via Twitter. In an interview with MTV News, Tilley spoke briefly about the video, saying "Tomorrow, I'm shooting New Boyz and Chris Brown ... then Justin Bieber and Chris Brown, together ... I can't tell you anything about that yet, but it's going to happen. It's gonna be big. It's gonna be big. I can't say anything else." On May 21, 2011, Brown posted two photos from the shoot via Twitter, showing him and Bieber standing among overturned cars in a path of destruction. However, the unfinished version of the music video leaked onto the internet on June 6, and the final cut was premiered on June 17, 2011.

The video begins with Brown and Bieber interacting with their girlfriends while the song "All Back" by Chris Brown is playing. Bieber's love interest is removed by her father, who reprimands, "You will never see him again. You understand that?" Brown is thinking of his girlfriend (played by Shannon Elizabeth) before the apocalypse occurs, which is characterized by land fissures, buildings toppling down and fiery scenery. Brown searches for his love interest who is then hit by the car that Bieber's girlfriend is in. Brown saves her by leaping over the fissure. Near the end of the video, Bieber's girlfriend finds him on top of the roof of a building and it ends with them reuniting and kissing. Interspersed are scenes of Brown and Bieber dancing amongst the destruction. Jamie Peck of MTV wrote of the video, "The whole thing is delightfully ridiculous in its cinematic drama". The video is currently nominated for International Artist Video of the Year at the 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards.