"
Like This" is a
R&BContemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
song by
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer
Kelly RowlandKelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...
. It features guest vocals by rapper Eve and was written by
Sean GarrettGarrett Hamler, better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard list of producers with the most number...
, Rowland, Eve,
Jamal JonesPolow-Freache Jamal Fincher Jones , better known by known by professional name Polow da Don or Awesome Jones, is an American record producer, songwriter, rapper, and singer. His cousin is Atlanta singer Monica. He has produced for a variety of artists including Usher, Nelly, Christina Aguilera, T.I...
, Elvis "BlacElvis" Williams, and
Jason PerryJason Perry is a record producer, song writer, and lead vocalist of the Suffolk based band ’A’. He has an identical twin brother, Adam, and a younger brother, Giles, both of whom are also members of the band...
and co-produced by
Polow da DonPolow-Freache Jamal Fincher Jones , better known by known by professional name Polow da Don or Awesome Jones, is an American record producer, songwriter, rapper, and singer. His cousin is Atlanta singer Monica. He has produced for a variety of artists including Usher, Nelly, Christina Aguilera, T.I...
, S-Dot, Garrett, Perry, and Williams for Rowland's second studio album
Ms. KellyMs. Kelly is the second solo studio album by American R&B singer Kelly Rowland. It was released by Columbia Records in collaboration with Music World Entertainment and Sony Music during the third quarter of 2007, beginning with most European territories on June 22...
(2007).
Recorded late into the production of the album, the track was released as the album's
leading singleA lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in March 2007 (see
2007 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...
) and by June 2007 worldwide. Upon its release, it became Rowland's highest-charting solo success since her 2002 single "
Stole"Stole" is a song by American singer Kelly Rowland. It was written and co-produced by Dane Deviller, Sean Hosein and Steve Kipner and recorded for Rowland's solo album Simply Deep...
", reaching the top ten in
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
,
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and the
United 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...
, as well as the top 20 in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and number 30 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart. In addition, it became Rowland's first single to peak at the top position on the
Billboard Hot Dance Club PlayThe Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart. An accompanying music video was directed by Mike Ruiz and filmed in the
Hollywood HillsThe Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
in mid-March 2007.
Writing and recording
"Like This" was one of the last songs on the album Rowland and co-producer
Sean GarrettGarrett Hamler, better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard list of producers with the most number...
started working on in mid-September 2006 after the cancellation of
My Story, the album's actual version. The singer has described the "
very sassy" song as a perfect example of what attitude she exactly had on her mind when creating the revamped version of the album, entitled
Ms. Kelly: "Polow already had this hot track", she said in an interview with her official website. "I loved the sound of the cowbell; it was so different! Sean and I started writing and he said 'Kelly this is your first single'." Happy about finally running "into that song that definitely sticks out" after many months recording, Rowland eventually took a break from recording tentatively titled "Wooo!" or "Bump like This" — not without returning with a flash of inspiration. "I just heard Eve on this song", she recalled. "I knew her energy belonged on the song and, just like that, it all came together. Then I knew: This was the single [...] and it turned out he [Sean] was right." "It's a great combination of her thoughts and her feel on the type of music that she likes to do", Garrett added in an interview with
MTV NewsMTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
. "It's a cross between something in a club and on
mainstreamMainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
radio. We're just trying to stay a step ahead of what's going on."
Although
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
intended to release album cut "
Work"Work" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland. It was written by Rowland, Scott Storch and "Work" is a song recorded by [[United States|American]] singer-songwriter [[Kelly Rowland]]. It was written by Rowland, [[Scott Storch]] and "Work" is a song recorded by [[United...
" as
Ms. Kelly’s lead single at a particular time, "Like This" eventually replaced the album's original lead single "Gotsta Go", a collaboration with rapper
Da BratShawntae Harris , better known as Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies, making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album.-Early life:...
. On February 13, 2007 a ninety-second clip of the song leaked onto the internet, and by February 16 a full low quality preview of the track had leaked. Since, the song was remixed by several producers and DJs, among spawning official versions with rappers Sean P of the
YoungBloodZYoungBloodZ are an American Southern rap duo from Atlanta, Georgia, comprising members J-Bo and Sean P YoungBloodZ are an American Southern rap duo from Atlanta, Georgia, comprising members J-Bo (born Jeffrey Ray Grigsby on October 4, 1977) and Sean P YoungBloodZ are an American Southern rap duo...
and
Lil WayneDwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
.
Music video
The
music videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song was directed by
Mike RuizMike Ruiz is a Canadian-born photographer, director, TV personality and former model and actor.- Early life :Ruiz, who is of French Canadian and Spanish ancestry, was born in Montreal in 1964, but raised in Repentigny, Quebec, Canada. After modeling for a decade he moved to Los Angeles to study...
and shot on-location at a
Hollywood HillsThe Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
house on March 12, 2007. Rowland premiered the clip on
Total Request LiveTotal Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
on March 26, 2007. The video debuted on
BETBlack Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
's music video countdown show
106 & Park106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
on May 24, 2007, where it peaked at number-three.
The video starts with Rowland walking into her room after taking a shower. When she notices a
webcastA webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
of her, she quickly throws a towel over it. She is then next seen in front of her vanity table, getting ready for a party while singing the lyrics. The video then cuts to Rowland in a dark room with a chair. During the first, cuts are shown of the Rowland in front of the dresser and the Rowland in the dark room, performing what seems to be the same choreography — the latter with the chair in the room, the former with the chair in front of her dresser. By the second verse, the Rowland in the dark room is the only one with the chair. Cuts of her are shown throughout the song. During the bridge, the audience sees Rowland at the party in her living room. Eve enters, rapping her solo with cuts of Rowland performing more choreography. In the final scene the audience sees Rowland performing more choreography while sitting in the chair seductively as glitter is seen flying upwards from the floor.
The musicvideo is featured on the UK Single as an enhanced video element as well as on the 2007
Wal-MartWal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
exclusive DVD
BET Presents Kelly RowlandBET Presents Kelly Rowland is a DVD released by the American R&B singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland. The DVD consists of a candid interview with Rowland as she talks about the production of Ms. Kelly, her time as a member of Destiny's Child, and her perspective on her celebrity status and solo career...
.
Chart performance
First release stateside, "Like This" debuted at number ninety-six on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100The 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...
issue dated March 31, 2007. Although the song fell off the chart the following week, it re-entered at number ninety-eighth the following week. It eventually peaked at number thirty on the
Billboard Hot 100 and at number seven on the
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot 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,...
chart. Furthermore the single peaked on top of both the
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles SalesThe Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart is the sales component chart of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Singles Sales, but rather a separate panel of sales of commercial singles in the urban market...
chart and the Hot Singles Sales chart as well as the
Billboard Hot Dance Club PlayThe Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
. .
As previous single releases, "Like This" became a much larger success outside
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In the
United 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...
, it debuted at number eighteen on the
UK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
based on digital sales alone, the day before the song's physical release. Once the physical copies of "Like This" were released on 11 June 2007, the song climbed to number four on the
UK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
, and went on to spend four weeks inside the UK top ten, making it Rowland's second-highest-charting solo single in the U.K. (not counting her featured role on "
Dilemma"Dilemma" is a song by the American rapper Nelly, featuring R&B singer Kelly Rowland. The single was released in 2002 from the Nelly's album Nellyville, and Rowland's album Simply Deep...
"). In
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, “Like This” debuted at number thirty and reached number five in its fourth week on the chart, becoming her third top ten single in Ireland.
In
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
the song was released on
digital formatsA music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
only and failed to chart on any official singles chart.
Formats and track listings
UK Enhanced CD single
- "Like This" (Album Version) - 3:38
- "Like This" (DJ Speedy Remix Edit feat Sean P) - 3:29
- "Like This" (Redline Radio Remix) - 2:48
- "Like This" (DJ Escape & Tony Coluccio Radio Remix) - 3:33
- "Like This" (Musicvideo)
CD single
- "Like This" (Album Version) - 3:38
- "Like This" (Instrumental) - 3:35
UK CD single
- "Like This" (Album Version) - 3:38
- "Like This" (Redline Radio Remix) - 2:48
US Vinyl single
- "Like This" (Album Version) - 3:38
- "Like This" (Instrumental) - 3:35
- "Like This" feat. Sean P (DJ Speedy Remix Edit)
- "Like This" (Redline Club Remix)
Credits and personnel
- Vocals: Kelly Rowland, Eve
- Writers
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
: K. Rowland, Sean GarrettGarrett Hamler, better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard list of producers with the most number...
, Eve, Jamal JonesPolow-Freache Jamal Fincher Jones , better known by known by professional name Polow da Don or Awesome Jones, is an American record producer, songwriter, rapper, and singer. His cousin is Atlanta singer Monica. He has produced for a variety of artists including Usher, Nelly, Christina Aguilera, T.I...
, Elvis Williams, Jason PerryJason Perry is a record producer, song writer, and lead vocalist of the Suffolk based band ’A’. He has an identical twin brother, Adam, and a younger brother, Giles, both of whom are also members of the band...
- Producers: Polow da Don
Polow-Freache Jamal Fincher Jones , better known by known by professional name Polow da Don or Awesome Jones, is an American record producer, songwriter, rapper, and singer. His cousin is Atlanta singer Monica. He has produced for a variety of artists including Usher, Nelly, Christina Aguilera, T.I...
- Co-production: S. Garrett, J. Perry, S-Dot, E. Williams
- Vocal arrangement: S. Garrett, Max Gousse
- Engineering: Wayne Allison, Rommel Nino Villanueva, Vernon Mungo, Brian Sumner
- Assistants: David Montecelo, Kory Aaron, Nate Hertweck
- Mixing
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
: Jean Marie Horvat
- Mastering: Chris Gehringer
Charts
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Year-end charts
| Charts (2007) |
Position |
| Australian Singles Chart |
84 |
External links