Love Hangover
by Jennie (featuring Dominic Fike)

Album: Ruby (2025)
Charted: 64 96
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Love Hangover" is a song about falling for someone who's both toxic and intoxicating. Jennie, in breathy, melancholic tones, likens the experience to getting spectacularly drunk, only to wake up the next morning groggy, regretful, and wondering how on earth she let it happen. Again.

    Dominic Fike pops in for a guest verse where he too falls for the wrong person.
  • The track, according to a press release, is about "the struggle of breaking free from a connection that won't let go." And indeed, the outro drives this point home with its hypnotic, looping refrain: "back, back, ba-ba-back" - a frustrating echo for a relationship that simply refuses to end, no matter how much one half of it wishes it would.
  • Now, one might assume that "Love Hangover" was at least somewhat inspired by Diana Ross's song of the same name. But while Ross's 1976 disco hit treats love as a lingering, intoxicating pleasure, Jennie's 2025 version takes a decidedly darker turn, closer to the sensation of waking up with a pounding headache.
  • The music video, shot in Mexico City, leans even further into this ominous territory. Directed by Bradley & Pablo (the duo behind visuals for Harry Styles and Lil Nas X), the clip sees Jennie going on a series of dates with May December and Riverdale actor Charles Melton. Unfortunately for her, every single date ends in disaster, with Jennie meeting a variety of untimely ends.

    In an interview on the YouTube show Hyell's Club, she explained, "Each time I go out on a date, I keep dying when I fall in love. The lyrics are somewhat like that, knowing that I'll get hurt and that it will be tough, but why do I fall in love again and get drunk with that love?"
  • As for the songwriting, "Love Hangover" was a group effort, with Jennie, Fike, Ido Zmishlany, Bulow, Blaise Railey, Carly Gibert, and Devin Workman all credited. It's likely the song's emotional weight isn't tied to just one person's experience but is a collection of heartbreaks, regrets, and bad decisions pooled together for maximum lyrical devastation.
  • Jennie also co-produced the track with Ido Zmishlany. A former frontman of a band called Lion Of Ido, Zmishlany has since specialized in pop production for the likes of Shawn Mendes, Jonas Brothers, and Bebe Rexha. His influence helps nudge Jennie's usual pop aesthetic toward the hazy, slightly off-kilter rhythms and conversational delivery that define Dominic Fike's sound.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)

Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica)Songwriter Interviews

The former Metallica bassist talks about his first time writing a song with James Hetfield, and how a hand-me-down iPad has changed his songwriting.

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Brandi Carlile

Brandi CarlileSongwriter Interviews

As a 5-year-old, Brandi was writing lyrics to instrumental versions lullabies. She still puts her heart into her songs, including the one Elton John sings on.