“The End” is the lead single to Ken Carson’s sophomore studio album, X. On the track, Carson discusses a one-sided relationship in which his love was not reciprocated by his partner.

The song was initially previewed by Carson through Instagram Live on November 9, 2021.

On May 7, 2022, Carson announced that the song would be released on May 9, 2022, however, it would not release on this date.

A fifty-second snippet of the song was unintentionally uploaded to TikTok on June 29, 2022.

The song was officially released on July 5, 2022, along with an accompanying music video.