Songfacts®:

• This mid tempo R&B song was released as the first single from Fantasia's The Side Effects of You album. "Have you ever needed someone so bad? But he ain't willing to make it last. Sometimes you gotta lose to win again," she croons about moving on. The lyrics may reference Fantasia's split from the father of her son, Antwaun Cook.
• The song samples the Commodores' 1985 single, "Nightshift." Fantasia told CBS Local that when she first heard the tune, she "was blown away with the feel." "When I heard the track, I was done," she continued. "When I heard the lyrics of the song, it wasn't just about a relationship it was about my whole career. There have been ups and downs."
• This song was inspired by the overwhelming public ridicule arising from Fantasia's relationship with a married man that drove her to attempt suicide in 2010. The singer penned the tune with composer Andrea Martin. "We sat down and put our feelings into the song," Fantasia told The Drop.FM. "It was the last song we recorded, so it was so special. It was special to her. We both have been through some things."
  
  Fantasia added that she turned her negative experiences into a positive outlook on life. "I've lost a lot, but I'm winning now. When I say winning, I am not talking about money, cars or material things. I am finally at peace," she said. "'Lose to Win' had to be my first single because it is my testimony. I want to acknowledge the small things in life that we forget. I am not just talking about relationships. We lose jobs, homes, look at the people in Boston [the interview was done just after the Boston Marathon's terrorist bombings]."