Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
"Send My Love " is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her third studio album, 25. It was written by Adele, Max Martin and Shellback, with the latter two also handling its production. The song was first sent to mainstream radio on 13 May 2016 and then released to digital formats on 16 May 2016 by XL Recordings as the third single from the album. "Send My Love" is a pop and R&B song with an uptempo, rhythmic sound, which the singer describes as a "happy you're gone" song dedicated to an ex-boyfriend.
"Send My Love" received critical acclaim and appeared on various international charts after the release of 25. It peaked at number one in Iceland, number five in the UK, number eight in the US and number 10 in Canada. An accompanying music video directed by Patrick Daughters premiered on 22 May 2016 at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. It features Adele singing the song against a black backdrop with many shots of her overlapping one another. The video received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.
Adele first performed the song live at Joe's Pub during an iHeartRadio special to promote 25. "Send My Love " was also part of the set list during Adele's third concert tour, Adele Live 2016, which visited countries across Europe and North America; it was also performed at Glastonbury 2016.
Background and release
After Adele's unproductive recording sessions with Ryan Tedder, they ended up feeling inspired, and during a session, wrote a track called "Remedy". Later, the pair went to lunch, where they heard American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's 2012 single "I Knew You Were Trouble"; Adele liked it instantly. Tedder informed Adele that Max Martin produced the song, and sent her clips of his work. Shortly after this, Adele expressed interest in working with Martin, whom she had never heard of before, and the two later met for a session. Adele began work on the track, reworking a skeleton of a song she had written when she was thirteen years old after being inspired by the release of Frank by Amy Winehouse. Martin came to London, Adele showed him the guitar riff she had, and the duo finished the track on the guitar. Adele commented on the collaboration: "Max Martin, I just could hang out with him forever. He's so beautiful and lovely and funny and generous and warm and caring. He's a really amazing man." She also said the track was "a bit of fun," quipping: "You ain't got to be dark all the time.""Send My Love " was written by Adele, with Martin and Shellback who also handled the production. Adele played the guitar and provided backing vocals, along with Martin, while Shellback played the percussion and was responsible for programming. It was engineered by Michael Ilbert and mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach. The track was recorded at two studios; MXM Studios in Stockholm and Eastcote Studios in London. At the last minute, Adele changed the title of the song from "We Ain't Kids No More" to "Send My Love," explaining: "Otherwise, you might as well just call the fucking album 'Old.'"
Originally, the song was rumoured to be the album's lead-single, however "Hello" was chosen instead since "Send My Love " did not "truly embody Adele’s intended ambition with '25'". After "Hello"s success, Billboard wrote an article, on 26 November 2015, wondering what the next single from 25 would be, suggesting either "When We Were Young" or "Send My Love ", with the former eventually being released. Ultimately, "Send My Love " was confirmed as the album's third single by iHeartRadio, and it was released on 16 May 2016 through digital services such as iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Prime, and others. On the same day, the song was serviced to hot adult contemporary radio and a day later to contemporary hit radio.
Composition and lyrics
"Send My Love " is a pop and R&B song, with a "subdued, spliced electronic pulse". It was considered one of the few up-tempo tracks on the album, along with "Water Under the Bridge". It has "a bit of a calypso vibe," and is "built around an almost African-sounding guitar lick". It was noted that its sound has a different rhythm "to distinguish the track from the rest of the record". The "upbeat, poppy, rhythmic" sound of "Send My Love " has been compared to Taylor Swift's work, most prominently from her album 1989. It starts with "a stray studio comment from Adele — 'Just the guitar. O.K., cool' — before about a minute of acoustic guitar" and "hand-played percussion". Later, "the thickly layered harmony vocals and fuller arrangement arrive," while the "swooping refrain" has Adele in a "cheerful taunt". Amanda Petrusich of Pitchfork noted that Martin "relies on some enigmatic internal cadence, clipping syllables like a hiccuping poet, taking a tiny scalpel to his melodies," with Adele singing: "'Send-my-love/ To-your-new/ Luh-uh-ver.'" According to the music sheet published by MXM Music AB on Musicnotes.com, "Send My Love " was composed using common time in the key of D major with a moderate tempo of 82 beats per minute. The chords in the verses alternate between D and Bm. Adele's vocals span from the lower note of A3 to the higher note of D5.Lyrically, the song is a kiss-off track that discusses being righteous towards a former lover in order to forgive and find closure. At the beginning, Adele grieves for the end of a past relationship and relates the things her ex-lover did that wronged her during it. However, as the song progresses, she forgives her ex-partner, acknowledges that she will move on past him, heard in the lines "I'm giving you up / I've forgiven it all / You set me free, oh." During the song's chorus, she sends him good wishes and blessings for his new relationship, "Send my love to your new lover / Treat her better / We gotta let go of all our ghosts / We both know we ain't kids no more." Petrusich added that "here's unrequited love, but then there’s love that changes shape; This is the love that Adele sings of, the kind where there’s nothing left to do but resign." During an interview with The Guardian, Adele referred to the track as a "fuck-you song" to an ex-boyfriend, whom she dated between the guy who inspired her 21 album, and husband Simon Konecki. Adele describes it as a "happy you're gone" song, and commented that the opening line where she sings, "This was all you/ none of it me", "it's fucking sick." A writer for The Guardian deemed it to be a belligerent "revenge song," similar to Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable".
Critical reception
' Mark Savage called "Send My Love " a "nimble pop/R&B song" and wrote that it "shows a fresh, playful side to the star". Rob Garratt of The National described the song as a "bouncy pop nugget" and opined that it "falls into that classic pop tradition of transforming a turn-down into a lover's rebuke". In a positive review, a writer for The Hindu described the track as a "spritely song" and called it "an I'm-so-glad-you're-gone number". Los Angeles Times Mikael Wood dubbed the song "a welcome flash of sass". Consequence of Sound writer Steven Arroyo called it a more joyful "sentimental cousin" of "Someone like You". In an in-depth review of the song, Bustle writer Alex Kritselis called it one of the album's "major highlights" with its "über-catchy pop chorus". He further elaborated how its lyrics showcased the singer's "emotional growth" because of their maturity and compassion compared to the work on past albums. Kadeen Griffiths of the same magazine opined that the song is "the audio equivalent of Adele throwing a middle finger at whatever poor dude made the mistake of wronging a songwriter".Maeve McDermott and Patrick Ryan of USA Today included "Send My Love " in their list of 2015's 50 best songs. McDermott wrote "this song is among the most interesting of her career" and likened it to the works of Elizabeth Fraser. Complexs Michael Arceneaux thought that the track was the least sad song on 25, and added: "It’s a little melancholy, but it comes with some shimmy-inducing production." Business Insiders Tony Manfred noted that the song strays from Adele's earlier work, writing "she wades into the waters of contemporary pop music like never before". Nick Messitte of Forbes gave the song a positive review, writing: "It’s got the grace of damning individuals without sinking to their level; it boasts nostalgia—not the least of which for a sound popularized in 2013," and felt that Adele did not let Max Martin overpower her sensibilities. Vanity Fairs Josh Duboff called "Send My Love " "the poppiest song Adele has ever recorded" and named it his "pick for the breakout track on 25".
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic picked it as an album highlight, but remarked that the song "wither when compared to the wallop of 'Rolling in the Deep'". Spin T. Cole Rachel described it as "a cheeky pop side-eye that provides one of the records few resoundingly upbeat moments," do we catch a glimpse of Adele's sense of humor." Lewis Corner of Digital Spy perceived that "his is the most pop Adele has ever sounded. It's remarkably sprightly for an Adele album, but the 27-year-old's affecting tone keeps it packed with purpose". Chris Gerard of PopMatters called it "an upbeat pop tune with electronic beats and a strong vocal from Adele that rises and falls with the rhythm. Adele is clearly trying to experiment more in the glistening pop realm of the top 40, and it’s certainly a worthy idea to try something different. Some purists may complain about that, but let 'em. There is nothing wrong with great pop music, and 'Send My Love ' has undeniable attitude and is an earworm that will surely be chosen as a single."
Billboard ranked "Send My Love " at number 26 on their 100 Best Pop Songs of 2016 list: "There are very few people who can record a pregame sing-a-long about bittersweet forgiveness, but 'Send My Love ' is just one of many such conflicted turn-ups for the 28-year-old, 10-time Grammy winner. With a jauntiness that feels all too raw, Adele nails the balance between passive aggression towards an undeserving ex and unapologetic truth-telling yet again."