Nobody but You (Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani song)
"Nobody but You" is a song recorded by American singers Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani for the former's fifth compilation album, Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019). It was produced by Scott Hendricks and written by Ross Copperman, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, and Tommy Lee James. Following "Go Ahead and Break My Heart" (2016) and "You Make It Feel Like Christmas" (2017), "Nobody but You" marks Shelton and Stefani's third collaboration. The song was first revealed in October 2019, although Stefani's contributions remained a secret until a week prior to its release in December of the same year. It was sent to United States country music radio outlets by Warner on January 21, 2020, becoming the third single from the parent album. Promotional acoustic and live versions of the song were released to the public in March and June 2020, respectively.
"Nobody but You"
January 21, 2020
2019
3:15
"Nobody but You" is a country and pop power ballad duet. A love song, Shelton described the song as honest and related it to his relationship with Stefani. Music reviewers gave positive feedback to the song, calling it romantic and heartfelt. Particular praise was aimed at Shelton and Stefani's chemistry, and the song itself received a nomination for the American Music Award for Favorite Country Song at the 2020 ceremony. In the US, the song peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the top spot on the Digital Songs chart, becoming the second and third number one entry for Shelton and Stefani, respectively. The song also charted in Canada and on the ARIA digital component chart in Australia. It has sold more than 288,000 copies in the US in 2020 alone and was the 8th best-selling digital single of the year. It was certified Platinum in both the US and Canada.
Sophie Muller directed the song's accompanying music video, her second joint collaboration with Shelton and Stefani. It serves as a glimpse of the couple's day-to-day life, featuring scenes of them cuddling, eating food at a diner, and visiting the construction site of Shelton's ranch in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. The video was described as romantic and adorable by critics, and received the Collaborative Video of the Year accolade at the 2020 CMT Music Awards. Other promotional music videos for the acoustic and live versions of the song were created, with filming limited to Shelton's ranch due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shelton and Stefani have performed "Nobody but You" during multiple televised appearances, including at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards and on the Academy of Country Music's TV special ACM Presents: Our Country (2020). It was also performed at Shelton's Encore Drive-In Nights show in July 2020 and as a surprise during the final leg of Stefani's Just a Girl concert residency in Las Vegas.
Composition and lyrics[edit]
Musically, "Nobody but You" is a country and pop power ballad duet, a blend between the singers' two signature styles.[19][20][21] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic described the single as a power ballad and felt the song displayed Shelton's sweeter side, in contrast to the album's first two singles.[20] Rolling Stone's Jon Freeman agreed, calling it a power ballad and comparing the chorus to Aerosmith's 1998 single "I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing".[22] Shelton described the track as a love song and explained: "The song is not a fairytale, but at the same time it’s the most epic, earth-rattling love song I’ve heard in a long time, because the lyrics are so honest and just say it how it is."[23]
According to the official sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, "Nobody but You" is set in common time and has a moderately slow tempo with 144 beats per minute.[24] The key of the song is in C major, with the pair's vocal range spanning an entire octave, from C4 to G5 in scientific pitch notation.[24] The song begins with an instrumental intro, followed by two verses, each succeeded by a chorus. The first verse begins using the chord progressions of C–G–Am–F, which are replicated during the other verses; during the chorus, the progressions transition to a structure of C-Am-F.[24] The song contains various forms of instrumentation; in the song, Sam Bergeson plays electric guitar and keyboards, Jimmie Lee Sloas performs on bass guitar, and Nir Z plays percussion. Additionally, Ilya Toshinkiy contributes to the track with acoustic guitar and dulcimer.[25]
Lyrically, the song describes a couple with mutual admiration and love for each other.[22] The song references to God, long-term relationships, and "deep affection".[19] Freeman from Rolling Stone summarized the meaning as "two people declaring their love for each other and the gratitude for the journey that brought them together".[22] Tyler McCarthy from WDBD said "the lyrics don’t hold back in showcasing their passionate love for one another".[23] Several of the verses' lyrics feature Shelton's vocals overlapping with Stefani's, although she sings an octave above him, including in the line "Want to say it now, want to make it clear / For only you and God to hear".[22] They also sing the chorus as a joint effort, with lyrics such as "I don't want to live without you / I don't want to even breathe / I don't want to dream about you / I want to wake up with you next to me".[26]
Critical reception[edit]
"Nobody but You" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, many of whom described the song as romantic and loving. Joseph Hudak from Rolling Stone felt that the couple managed to reach "a sweet spot" with the song, while The Tennessean's Matthew Leimkuehler called it touching.[27][28] Kelli Boyle, a journalist from E! News, called the duet gorgeous and predicted that it will "be played at many a wedding".[29] Annie Reuter of Billboard also enjoyed the song, calling it heartfelt, while Lake Schatz from Consequence of Sound labeled it as sweet.[30][31] Matt Bjorke, from the online country music publication Roughstock, was pleasantly surprised by the duet and wrote in his review of the song that "Blake and Gwen is something that shouldn't work on many levels yet, particularly here, it does. And it works spectacularly well".[32] Plugged In's Kristin Smith applauded the single and appreciated its positive portrayals of love and commitment; she wrote that it "reminds listeners that a life without the one you love isn’t much of a life at all."[19]
Critics also commented on the acoustic version of "Nobody but You", and many of them called it romantic and special. A contributor to KUPL provided a positive review of the new version, writing: "Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani prove that the couple who sings together, stay together."[33] Tierney McAfee from Good Housekeeping was impressed as well, stating that the new version will "give you goosebumps".[34] Katie Colley from Entertainment Tonight Canada described the song as romantic and "something special".[16]
On October 26, 2020, the nominations for the American Music Awards were announced.[35] "Nobody but You" was nominated for Favorite Country Song at the 48th annual ceremony, which took place on November 22 of the same year at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.[36][37] The song lost to "10,000 Hours", a 2019 collaborative single by Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber.[38] In February 2021, "Nobody but You" received a nomination for Music Event of the Year at the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards.[39] It serves as Stefani's first nomination at the ceremony.[40]