Natalie Cole, Someone That I Used to Love | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 99th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Someone That I Used to Love” by Natalie Cole.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 99^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Someone That I Used to Love” performed by Natalie Cole.

“Though you’re always someone in this world / That I’ll always choose to love / From now on/ You’re only someone that I used to love.” Ouch, Natalie Cole (1950 – 2015)! He is an ex for a reason, I suppose. The vibes are similar for the legendary, late Grammy-winning singer in the second verse of “Someone I Used to Love”, the sixth track from her 1980 album, Don’ t Look Back. Working through being brokenhearted, Cole sings, sincerely, “When you must begin / To ease the pain of a broken heart / Tell me why should I even care / If I have to lose your love?” With its relatable and thoughtful lyrics and sentiment, Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin wrote “Someone I Used to Love.” Masser also produced it. A successful single on a less successful album, “Someone I Used To Love” peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Before unveiling a third verse regarding this ended love, Cole shares the bridge.  Reflecting on their relationship, she asserts, “I did my best to keep you satisfied / I guess you’ll never know how much I tried / I really tried.” Sometimes, it’s just not enough, Natalie, sigh. In the third and final verse, she is clear about how it’ll go down: “Well, you won’t find me being the one to get lost again.” In the outro, she still questions the union they once had, trying to recover.  Even though it’s arduous, she reminds herself that she used to love him.  Supported by a gorgeous, tender music backdrop, Natalie Cole eats on this ever-enduring, heartbroken ballad. She sings authentically and expressively, blessing the listeners with her once-in-a-lifetime voice throughout “Someone I Used To Love”, the best thing about the lackadaisical Don’t Look Back.