Under You

Album: Last Year Was Complicated (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This emotional ballad, credited in part to hitmaker Max Martin, is about a breakup. It finds Nick Jonas singing about how he can't stop thinking about his ex. In the middle of making Last Year Was Complicated, the singer split from his longtime girlfriend Olivia Culpo. He said the parting provided a lot of inspiration for this song.

    Nick Jonas from Reddit: "Last year was complicated, because no matter who you are or what you go through in your life, we all deal with the same human issues. I started writing the record and then had a breakup that became kind of the main thing that the songwriting was about."
  • The song's lusty video finds Jonas and Pretty Little Liars actress Shay Mitchell playing a troubled couple.
  • Bebe Rexha originally wrote this song for Rihanna in the early 2010s. She explained to OfficialCharts.com how it ended up being recorded five years later by Nick Jonas.

    "I remember pitching this song called Under You for Rihanna, but they decided it was too low in the key, so I passed it on to Usher to cut it," she said. "A year later Usher hadn't cut the track because he'd decided he didn't want to put new music out, so I sent it to Nick Jonas, who ended up putting it out on his album."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The Remasters

Brian Kehew: The Man Behind The RemastersSong Writing

Brian has unearthed outtakes by Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello and hundreds of other artists for reissues. Here's how he does it.

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet SprocketSongwriter Interviews

The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.

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?

Steve Morse of Deep Purple

Steve Morse of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple's guitarist since 1994, Steve talks about writing songs with the band and how he puts his own spin on "Smoke On The Water."

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?