B-side "Miss You Love You" Label A&M/Octone | Recorded 2006 | |
Released November 19, 2007 (2007-11-19) Format CD single
digital download Length 3:51 (album version)
3:45 (radio edit)
4:11 (video version) | ||
"Won't Go Home Without You" is a ballad and the third single released from Maroon 5's second album, It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007).
Contents
Music video
On August 16, 2007, Maroon 5 posted a notice on their official website asking for fans to send in homemade videos to help the band make the video for this song; however, in October 2007, another video was released in Europe and Australia. The official video has premiered on VH1 Top 20 Countdown on December 1, 2007. It is also now playing on their official website.
The song's music video starts with flashbacks where Adam Levine (Maroon 5's lead singer) and a female character (portrayed by Tania Raymonde) appear to have an argument upon which Levine decides to leave. The video then cuts to Levine sitting in a chair thinking it over with the rest of the band performing in the background. Adam realizes that he 'will not go home without you', referring to the female he had walked out on. Levine appears to know where the woman is at the moment and decides to look for her. After having meandered through the city for a few hours - including bumping into a Chinese lion puppet - Levine eventually gets to a restaurant where he finds the woman, but to his disappointment, she is with another man. The music video was directed by Sophie Muller.
This video features Jesse Carmichael playing both piano and guitar.
Musical content
The guitar undertone in the song is based on The Police single, "Every Breath You Take", which makes the moment at the end of the music video where Levine is watching the female character somewhat coincidental.
During their 2007 It Won't Be Soon Before Long tour, Levine used an audience call and response of the lead guitar part of the chorus as an introduction to the song.
Critical reception
Reviews for "Won't Go Home Without You" have been generally positive, although some were mixed. Robert Christgau gave a positive review on the album as well as the song, saying "The devilishly memorable "Won't Go Home Without You" combines confidence with affection rather than macho." Channel 4 called the song "[the] musical equivalent of a dog's fart at the dinner table" and gave it just one star out of a possible ten. Digital Spy gave the song two stars out of five, calling the song's lyrics "as cold, functional and ruthlessly effective as a state-of-the-art refrigerator".
Awards and nominations
The song was nominated for Best Pop Performance from a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 51st Grammy Awards, though this award went to Coldplay for their song "Viva la Vida".
Chart performance
"Won't Go Home Without You" peaked at No. 48 in the Billboard Hot 100. As of June 2014, the song has sold 1,647,000 copies in the US.
The song became the first Maroon 5 single to fail to chart in the UK Top 40, only peaking at #44 in the UK Singles Chart.