a River". Online commentators speculated the song and music video are about Halsey's ex-boyfriend, G-Eazy, as they had split not long before the release of the music video. Halsey disputed these rumors after posting the reasoning behind the song on Instagram, explaining that the song is about several different relationships that she has either experienced or observed, and that the song is a reminder that "you shouldn't allow others to take advantage of you". However, in a January 2019 interview with Glamour, Halsey confirmed that the song is partially about him. It is played in the tempo of 136 BPM and key signature E minor. Chart performance "Without Me" debuted at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, on the issue dated October 20, 2018. With the debut of the music video, the song rose to number 12 on the issue dated November 3. The following week the song hit number 9, and on November 17, it reached number six. The following week, "Without Me" peaked at number 4, giving Halsey her first top-five single since "Bad at Love" reached number five in January 2018. On the issue dated January 12, 2019, "Without Me" reached number one, becoming Halsey's first number-one song on the Hot 100 as a lead artist, and her second overall, after her feature on "Closer" with The Chainsmokers in 2016. It fell to the runner up spot the following week but regained the top spot on January 26, 2019. It again slipped to number two on February 2, 2019, as Ariana Grande's "7 Rings" entered at the top of the chart. Additionally, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland scored their sixth and eighth Hot 100 chart-topper as songwriters, respectively. The song spent 29 weeks in the top ten of the Hot 100 and logged its 52nd week, one full year, on the chart on the issue dated October 12, 2019. It was also the number-one selling song in the US for six weeks on the Digital Songs chart. In the UK the song peaked at number three, making it her third top five hit. Due to "Without Me" becoming number one, Halsey became the eighth woman to achieve multiple number ones on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 2010s. Billboards Jason Lipshutz stated, "there's no cheat code that 'Without Me' used to get to the top of the Hot 100 — it's just a really polished, successful pop