Don't Let Go (Love)
Encyclopedia
"Don't Let Go" is a 1996 Grammy-nominated single by En Vogue
from the Set It Off soundtrack
, also appearing on the group's third album, EV3
. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 1,000,000 units. The song was the last single by En Vogue to feature former band member Dawn Robinson
(as of April 2008, she has returned to the group). The song became En Vogue's biggest international single, peaking in the top ten of many countries. It hit #5 in the UK in early 1997 and spent thirteen weeks in the UK top forty, eight of those weeks in the top ten. It reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (becoming their third #2 hit on the chart). The song was a #1 R&B song for 1 week becoming En Vogue's sixth and final #1 R&B Hit to date. In October 2011, NME
placed it at number 127 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The song was notable in the 1996 movie Set It Off
.
This song compelled Elektra mogul Sylvia Rhone
to place En Vogue
back in the studio to record their EV3
for release in 1997. However, Dawn felt her solo career and membership in En Vogue
were feasible while other members, producers, and executives focused on the new album. Forced to choose, Dawn decided to leave En Vogue for a solo career with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. The turn of events following the success of Don't Let Go (Love) was the beginning of a long and tumultuous era for En Vogue
as member changes became quite frequent. On November 19, 2011, girl group contestants Little Mix performed the song on the eight season of British television talent contest The X Factor
making the single re enter the UK chart at Number 23.
plays a man who has been secretly dating all four members of En Vogue. The four women find out about each other and confront Phifer's character at a party.
In 1997 Don't Let Go (Love) went to number one on the Norwegian top 20 singles chart (VG-Lista Topp 20) and stayed at the top spot for six consecutive weeks. In total it stayed in the top 20 for 16 weeks.
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
from the Set It Off soundtrack
Set It Off (soundtrack)
Set It Off: Music From the New Line Cinema Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 1996 crime film, Set It Off. It was released on September 24, 1996 by Eastwest Records and featured production from several of hip hop and R&B's top producers such as Organized Noize, DJ U-Neek and DJ Rectangle...
, also appearing on the group's third album, EV3
EV3
EV3 is the third studio album by En Vogue. Originally called "Friendship" It was their first project that wasn't fully produced by Thomas McElroy & Denzil Foster, the then quartet called on hitmakers Babyface, David Foster, Diane Warren, and Ivan Matias among others to provide the group with a new...
. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 1,000,000 units. The song was the last single by En Vogue to feature former band member Dawn Robinson
Dawn Robinson
Dawn Robinson is an American R&B/soul/Dance-pop singer best known for her work as a member of hit Urban/Dance-pop group, En Vogue....
(as of April 2008, she has returned to the group). The song became En Vogue's biggest international single, peaking in the top ten of many countries. It hit #5 in the UK in early 1997 and spent thirteen weeks in the UK top forty, eight of those weeks in the top ten. It reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (becoming their third #2 hit on the chart). The song was a #1 R&B song for 1 week becoming En Vogue's sixth and final #1 R&B Hit to date. In October 2011, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed it at number 127 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". The song was notable in the 1996 movie Set It Off
Set It Off
Set It Off is a 1996 action and crime film directed by F. Gary Gray, and stars Jada Pinkett, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox and Kimberly Elise , as four close friends in Los Angeles, California who decide to plan and execute a bank robbery...
.
This song compelled Elektra mogul Sylvia Rhone
Sylvia Rhone
Sylvia Rhone is an American music industry executive who served as president of Universal Motown Records until 2011.She has overseen a roster of artists in the Universal Motown lineup including Lil Wayne and the Cash Money artists Nicki Minaj, Drake, Kid Cudi, Nelly, Melanie Fiona, Akon, Erykah...
to place En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
back in the studio to record their EV3
EV3
EV3 is the third studio album by En Vogue. Originally called "Friendship" It was their first project that wasn't fully produced by Thomas McElroy & Denzil Foster, the then quartet called on hitmakers Babyface, David Foster, Diane Warren, and Ivan Matias among others to provide the group with a new...
for release in 1997. However, Dawn felt her solo career and membership in En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
were feasible while other members, producers, and executives focused on the new album. Forced to choose, Dawn decided to leave En Vogue for a solo career with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. The turn of events following the success of Don't Let Go (Love) was the beginning of a long and tumultuous era for En Vogue
En Vogue
En Vogue is an American female R&B vocal group from Oakland, California assembled by music producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy.The group has won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other female group in MTV history, a total of seven, along with four Soul Train Awards, six American Music...
as member changes became quite frequent. On November 19, 2011, girl group contestants Little Mix performed the song on the eight season of British television talent contest The X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
making the single re enter the UK chart at Number 23.
Music video
A music video was released to promote the single in which they sang in front of an audience in black outfits while some clips of the "Set it Off" movie were inserted. A second video was released using the same footage of En Vogue singing in front of an audience, but the scenes from Set it Off were replaced with images that followed a new storyline. In this version, Mekhi PhiferMekhi Phifer
Mekhi Thira Phifer is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his multi-year role as Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama ER and his co-starring role opposite Eminem in the feature film 8 Mile...
plays a man who has been secretly dating all four members of En Vogue. The four women find out about each other and confront Phifer's character at a party.
Versions
During promotion of the single, several versions surfaced. The main album version was essentially used for the music video, but with a slightly different ending where Terry Ellis ad libs as the final chorus fades. An edit version which cut out several seconds in the beginning, as well as the instrumental following Cindy's ad libbing towards the end, was mainly spun at radio stations.In 1997 Don't Let Go (Love) went to number one on the Norwegian top 20 singles chart (VG-Lista Topp 20) and stayed at the top spot for six consecutive weeks. In total it stayed in the top 20 for 16 weeks.
Peak positions
| Chart (1996–1997) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
1 |
| U.S. Billboard Mainstream Top 40 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
16 |
| U.S. | 2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 2 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 6 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
3 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
5 |
| Australian ARIA Chart | 3 |
| Chart (2011) | Peak Position |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
23 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 7 |
End of decade charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 83 |
Cover versions
- American Rock band Deepfield covered this song on their debut album, Archetypes and Repetition.
- In 2008, on their Change TourChange TourThe Change Tour is the fourth Sugababes concert tour. The tour began with 2 nights in Brentwood on 12 March and 13 March 2008, with the final show on 1 May 2008 in Derby. The 30-date tour is their longest yet. Harvey B-Brown, director of the Denial video, directed the tour...
, the BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
girl group SugababesSugababesThe Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
performed the song.
- Australian Pop Singer Ricki-Lee Coulter used this song as her audition song when she auditioned for the second season of Australian Idol. Other Australian Idol contestants that have used this song include Season 3's Laura Gissara, who used it for her Top 30 Semi-Final performance song, and Season 3's James Kannis, who used it in the Top 100 Theatre Rounds.
- The song was sampled in the 2009 recording, also titled "Don't Let Go", by British Hip Hop artist Professor Green.
- In 2011, Korean Girlgroup Bella released a Korean-language version of the song as their debut single.
- On November 19, 2011, girl group contestants Little Mix performed the song on the eight season of British television talent contest The X FactorThe X Factor (UK)The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
making the single re enter the UK chart at Number 23.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 1997 | Nominated for a Grammy Award Grammy Award A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry... for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Don't Let Go (Love)"). |
| 1997 | Won Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B, Rap or Soul Single by Group, Band or Duo ("Don't Let Go (Love)"). |
| 1997 | Billboard Music Award Billboard Music Award The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011... nomination for Top Soundtrack Single for "Don't Let Go (Love)" |
Sources
- Chartpositions: http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=En+Vogue&titel=Don%27t+Let+Go+%28Love%29&cat=s
- Norwegian chart position VG-lista Topp 20: http://lista.vg.no/album_info.php?AlbumOp=show&albumId=1887&albumtype=song&albumtype_id=
See also
- R&B number-one hits of 1997 (USA)R&B number-one hits of 1997 (USA)These are the Billboard magazine R&B singles chart number one hits of 1997:-Chart history:-Chart comparisons:*Three songs reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100/pop and the Hot Rap Singles charts: "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down," "Hypnotize" and "I'll Be Missing You."*Three songs reached...
- List of number-one hits in Norway