"Cut You Off" is the debut solo single by American singer and songwriter Lauren Jauregui, released on January 5, 2018. It is a R&B and pop song written by Jauregui and produced by Jack Antonoff. The track was first performed at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, which took place on January 28. The song's music video, described as "sexy" and "ethereal", was released on January 26 and was directed by Dave Meyers.
Background
"Cut You Off" was written prior to Jauregui's departure from Fifth Harmony in late 2017, and was the first song she had written solely by herself. Jauregui posted a 13-second snippet of the track on December 13, 2017, when she first began teasing it. The song was made available for pre-save on December 15. She continued to tease the song throughout the year and shared a snippet of the music video on January 4, 2018. The song was released to digital and streaming outlets at midnight EST on January 5.
Composition
"Cut You Off" is a R&B track with elements of pop. Lyrically, the song finds Jauregui lambasting her ex-boyfriend, who isn't deserving of her attention and appreciation. Jauregui said that the record is about "knowing your self-worth and loving yourself". The song was written solely by Jauregui during the summer of 2017 and was recorded later that year. The track was produced by Jack Antonoff.
Music video
The song's official music video was released on January 26, 2018. The video features Jauregui as she lounges in a hotel room, the same environment seen in the song's cover artwork. Directed by Dave Meyers, the video was praised for being "simple yet effective". Billboard described the music video is an "visual feast". As of December 2018, the music video has received over 150 million views on YouTube.
Commercial performance
The track debuted at number 90 on the US Billboard Hot 100, with 18,000 digital downloads, 4.7 million streams and 8 million radio audience. The song also debuted on several other Billboard charts, including the Mainstream Top 40 chart at number 32, the Adult Top 40 chart at number 27 and the Digital Songs chart at number 20. The song exited the following week. However, it re-entered on the chart dated February 3, 2018 at number 98 with 13,000 digital downloads, 5.5 million streams and 6 million radio audience.