Synopsis
J. Holiday turns a routine stop at Ben's Chili Bowl into a flirtatious courtship. While working the counter, a waitress catches his attention, and he spends the video trying to win her over through playful exchanges and romantic performance scenes. Their chemistry develops around the restaurant, its booths, and the surrounding U Street neighborhood, with additional shots at nearby Washington, DC landmarks. The clip keeps the focus on Holiday's charm, the woman's guarded interest, and his insistence that they belong together.
Factoids & Trivia
- The video was filmed at Ben's Chili Bowl, the historic Washington, DC restaurant on U Street. Holiday also appears around the nearby Metro station and the Lincoln Theatre.
- The production used the restaurant's recognizable counter, booths, and neon storefront as a distinctly local backdrop rather than placing the romance in a generic studio setting.
- "Be With Me" was J. Holiday's debut single and was released in 2006 as the first track from his debut album, "Back of My Lac'."
- Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins produced the song and co-wrote it with J. Holiday and A. Shropshire.
- The single peaked at No. 83 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and did not reach the Billboard Hot 100.
- Promotion for the single was disrupted by the corporate merger of Capitol and Virgin Records. The album was subsequently delayed before arriving on October 2, 2007.
- The clip is an early example of Holiday's visual identity as a romantic R&B singer, preceding the much bigger success of "Bed."