"Back to Sleep", also known by the censored version title "Sex You Back to Sleep", is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown from his seventh studio albumRoyalty. The song was released as the album's third single and its first urban single on November 5, 2015. The song received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, some noted it as one of the album's highlights celebrating its production, and others criticized its lyrical content. Critics compared the song to Brown's previous singles "Take You Down" and "No Bullshit", and also to Marvin Gaye's 1982 song "Sexual Healing". The song became its most successful from the album, peaking at number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 5 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Background
The song was written by Chris Brown, Anderson Hernandez, Matthew Samuels, Allen Ritter, and August Rigo, and was produced by Vinylz, Boi-1da and Allen Ritter. Premiered and was sent to radio as the album's third single and its first urban single on November 5, 2015, receiving its commercial release for digital download on November 9, 2015.
Composition
"Back to Sleep" is an R&B, mid-temposlow jam that features beats and minor influences of funk and pop music, reminiscent of Marvin Gaye's 1982 song "Sexual Healing". The production of the song infuses elements of new school R&B with elements of '80s pop, and is a based on a roland TR-808.
Music video
On December 14, 2015 Brown uploaded the music video for "Back to Sleep" on his YouTube and Vevo account. The video begins after the conclusion of Brown's "Fine By Me" music video.
Synopsis
The music video for "Back to Sleep" was directed by Brown. The video begins, after the conclusion of Brown's "Fine by Me" music video, and starts with Brown making a call to his girlfriend, insisting that he come over even though it's late at night. After Brown and his girlfriend get intimate, showing them kissing and touching on display in the shower and bedroom. Intercut with performance clips where Brown sings the song in a club.
Chris Brown has released three remixes to the song. Part 1 features Usher and ZAYN, and was released as "Back to Sleep " on February 26, 2016; in addition to verses from Usher and ZAYN, the remix also features a new verse from Brown where he mentions his ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran and cancels out the rest of the song except the chorus and bridge. Part 2 features Miguel, August Alsina, and Trey Songz, and was released as "Back to Sleep " on April 8, while Part 3 was released on April 10 as "Back To Sleep ", and features Tank, R. Kelly and Anthony Hamilton. On August 29, 2016, R&B singer Brandy shared a version of the song with Brown.
Critical reception
"Back to Sleep" received mixed reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the song a "lullaby of sorts". Brad Wete of Billboard said that the song "excels as a quality addition to his catalog’s stellar collection of panty-dropping and baby-making songs", comparing the song to Brown's previous singles "Take You Down" and "No Bullshit", and also to Marvin Gaye's 1982 song "Sexual Healing". Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine said that the song is "an otherwise sultry slow jam that centers around an astoundingly ill-advised “f*ck you back to sleep” hook", comparing the song to the sounds of R. Kelly. Mikael Wood of The Courier-Journal described the song as "a coarser number in which Brown puts his needs ahead of an exhausted lover’s".
Chart performance
On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 64 on the week ending January 2, 2016, and reached number 48 on the week ending February 13, 2016. On the week ending March 12, 2016, it reached number 36 on the Hot 100, and number 2 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop chart. On the week ending March 19, 2016, it reached number 20 on the Hot 100 and became the top Digital Gainer of the week, debuting at number 13 on the Digital Songs chart, having sold 42,000 downloads that week, 32% of which stemmed from the Part 1 remix. The same week, it reached number 5 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, number 2 on the R&B Digital Songs chart, and number 3 on the Hot R&B Songs chart. By April 2, 2016, the single had sold 300,620 copies in the US.
