Songfacts®:

• James Bay was Ed Sheeran's opening act for the 2019 leg of his Divide Tour across Europe. Though he was having a fun time on the surface, inside he felt lost and alone. "I was feeling lonely and I felt like I couldn't connect with anybody," Bay told The Sun. "It's a difficult thing."
  
  That experience inspired this song.
• The feeling of being lost and alone came like a quiet tidal wave. "It really threw me around for a while," Bay said. "But thanks to the people closest to me in my life, I made it through that time. They know how to hold me up when I'm down."
• James Bay wrote "Everybody Needs Someone" with British songwriter Phil Plested (Little Mix's "Touch," Lewis Capaldi's "Before You Go") and Mojam. The production duo Mojam (Mustafa Omer and James Murray) have also contributed to hits by Naughty Boy ("La La La"), Aitch ("Buss Down") and Anne-Marie (her collaborations with KSI, "Don't Play" and Little Mix, "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)").
• James Bay recorded "Everybody Needs Someone" at RCA Studio A in Nashville with Dave Cobb in the producer's chair. Cobb is a noted producer in Music City who has worked with the likes of Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile and Slash.
• Cobb brought together a band to play on this song and other tracks for Bay's Leap album. Bay played guitar for "Everybody Needs Someone" and Cobb percussion. The other musicians are:
  
  Philip Towns: synth bass, piano, keyboards
  Brian Allen: bass guitar
  Nate Smith: tom-toms, drums
  
  Those of you familiar with the Nashville scene may recognize Nate Smith's name. He had success as a solo artist with his 2022 single, "Whiskey On You."
• "Everybody Needs Someone" is a song about togetherness in the face of loneliness. "We can all easily find ourselves on our own these days," Bay told The Sun. "Busy in our own heads and isolated."