“Without You” by The Kid Laroi

According to The Kid Laroi, “Without You” was inspired by “a girl or two or three” that he had relations with in the past. 

And perhaps the fact that it is based on more than one romance explains why the lyrics can be a bit challenging to decipher at some points. 

Or maybe it’s because The Kid would have been around 16 years old at the time he wrote it and relied heavily on youth jargon. Either way, we will make our best attempt to decipher the narrative at hand.

Verse

In the track’s singular verse, Laroi is mad that his sweetheart ‘up and left him’. Or put another way, she just packed her things one day and bounced. 

And whereas he is initially stricken with disbelief and can’t really ascertain the reason(s) why, he seems to be under the impression that it has something to do with a recent spazzing on his behalf. So now it’s like the relationship has reached the point where they can never get back together.

The implication, taking the beginning of the pre-chorus into consideration, is that what actually transpired to bring it to that point was his girlfriend, most likely after leaving him, having slept with someone else. 

And even though that action has gotten him angry, he’s still sorry for his behavior which caused the dissolution of the relationship in the first place.

Pre Chorus

Almost outta nowhere Laroi then concludes the pre-chorus by stating he’s “scared to be alone”. Perhaps this statement is indicative of the dual-nature of this song which some analysts have noticed. 

That is to say that the vocalist comes off really sensitive in some bars and kinda insensitively in others. Or perhaps more accurately it is an illustration of the depth of his heartbreak, coming to the realization that now he has to face one of his biggest fears.

Chorus

And as revealed in the chorus such is actually the theses sentiment of this track. Or concerning his aforementioned fear of being alone, it is compounded by being “without” his lady, i.e. the woman whom he loves. 

Indeed just imagining “what life could possibly be like without” her around causes significant emotional anguish. So it’s like now, succinctly put, he never wishes that they had parted ways in the first place.

Facts about “Without You”

This track is from the deluxe edition of “F–k Love (aka F–k Love (Savage))”, The Kid Laroi’s First official mixtape. It is also the fifth single from that project overall, coming out as such on 6 November 2020. 

And its labels are Columbia Records and Grade A Productions.

“Without You” was a major success, reaching number one in more than a handful of countries, including on the UK R&B Chart. 

And generally speaking it had an outstanding showing, charting in over 30 different nations and notably reaching second place on the UK Singles Chart. 

Additionally, it has been certified double-platinum in Australia, which happens to be The Kid Laroi’s homeland. And part of its massive success would logically have something to do with the fact that the track, or at least a snippet of it went viral on TikTok.

This song’s music video was directed by regular Laroi collaborator Steve Cannon.

The Kid Laroi wrote this song primarily with Omer Fedi, with Billy Walsh and Blake Slatkin likewise being credited. And it was also Omer and Blake who produced the track.

The Kid Laroi has stated that he and Omer Fedi knew the song was a hit when they first wrote it. And after recording it, everyone involved in the making of “F–k Love” thought it was the project’s best track. 

It was in fact The Kid’s breakthrough single, even though he scored a few lesser hits prior, including two collabs with Juice WRLD, “Go” and “Reminds Me of You”, in 2020. In fact the late Juice WRLD (1998-2019) mentored and supported Kid Laroi.  And he released both of the aforementioned tracks after Juice’s passing.

Prior to “F–k Love”, The Kid Laroi dropped an EP entitled “14 With a Dream” in mid-2018.