Let Me Go

Album: single release only (2017)
Charted: 30 40
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Songfacts®:

  • This radio-ready pop ballad finds Hailee Steinfeld teaming up with DJ/producer Alesso, country duo Florida Georgia Line, and former California Breed guitarist Andrew Watt (aka Watt).

    Alessandro Lindblad (commonly known by his stage name Alesso), has worked with numerous artists, including OneRepublic ("If I Lose Myself"), Calvin Harris ("Under Control") and Sebastian Ingrosso ("Calling (Lose My Mind)"). He also had an international hit under his own name with the single "Heroes (We Could Be)" featuring Tove Lo.

    Country stars Florida Georgia Line have a history of working with artists from other genres. They scored a big hit with a remix of their song "Cruise" that featured rapper and R&B singer Nelly, teamed up with pop act the Backstreet Boys on "God, Your Mama, and Me" and collaborated with dance music duo The Chainsmokers on the track "Last Day Alive."

    Andrew Watt is a successful songwriter having contributed to hits by DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber ("Let Me Love You"), Kygo featuring Selina Gomez ("It Ain't Me") and Camila Cabello ("Havana").
  • Hailee Steinfeld and Florida Georgia Line tell the story of a love gone sour. "I've been hoping somebody loves you in the ways I couldn't," Steinfeld sings on the hook. "Somebody's taking care of all of the mess I've made, someone you don't have to change. I've been hoping, someone will love you, let me go."

    Alesso and Watt's happy, bouncy beat belie the regret in the song's lyrics.
  • Hailee Steinfeld, Alesso, Florida Georgia Line and Watt made a full-piece band for their performance of the song on November 19, 2017 at the AMAs. Alesso told Billboard magazine that their first rehearsal for the gig was the first time all the musicians had ever gathered together. In fact, he had never met Florida Georgia Line in the flesh before.
  • Though the lyrics are appear to be full of heartbreak, Hailee Steinfeld is adamant that this tune is, in fact, a love song.

    "More than ever in the last couple months in my life, I've experienced what it's like to try and maintain a relationship while working," she explained to Teen Vogue. "You realise that when you love someone so much and you can't give them the time, and the energy that they deserve, it's heartbreaking."

    Hailee continued: "People have said Let Me Go feels like a break-up song but it really is a love song and it's about loving that person so much that all you want to do is see them happy and see them with somebody that makes them happy."
  • The origins of the song lie in a track that Andrew Watt wrote with songwriter Ali Tamposi. He then emailed the demo to Alesso. "I loved it right away," the Swedish DJ/Producer told Billboard. "I started working on it, I sent it back two, three days later, [Watt] literally called me right away and showed up to my doorstep, was freaking out how much he loved the new version I made."

    Alesso and Watt then began discussing which vocal artists would feature on the track. Watt suggested Florida Georgia Line, after which the pair decided to recruit their mutual friend Steinfeld. "It's kind of an unexpected collaboration – Andrew, me, Florida Georgia Line and Hailee," said Alesso. "It doesn't really make any sense, but the song turned out to be great so it made sense, I guess, and people seem to really like it and that makes us really happy."

Comments: 1

  • Melmel from WindsorLove this song so much and listen to it all the time. Great work!
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