"Almost Doesn't Count" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Brandy | ||||
from the album Never Say Never | ||||
Released | March 23, 1999 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:37 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Brandy singles chronology | ||||
|
"Almost Doesn't Count" is a song by American singer Brandy Norwood. It was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche and recorded by Norwood for her second studio album, Never Say Never (1998). Atlantic Records consulted Fred Jerkins III to recut the song to be more consistent with the overall sound of the album. He would subsequently share production credit along with Roche. A pop and R&B-ballad combining elements of country, it incorporates Latin flavored riffs. The song's lyrics are based on an on-again, off-again relationship that Peiken had experienced during her college years.
The song was released as the fourth overall single from Never Say Never on March 23, 1999. "Almost Doesn't Count" received a positive response from most music critics, who called it one of the album highlights, with major praise for Norwood's vocal performance. A commercial success, "Almost Doesn't Count" hit the top twenty in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and on the US Billboard Hot 100. It earned Norwood her third Best Female R&B Vocal Performance nomination at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards and was awarded a BMI Pop Award in 2000.
The accompanying music video for "Almost Doesn't Count," filmed by Kevin Bray in the Lancaster area, depicts Norwood as an unnoticed wedding guest in the backyard of an expressway hotel, following the breakdown of her car in the Mojave Desert. Norwood performed the song in the 1999 made-for-television musical drama film Double Platinum , directed by Robert Allan Ackerman, and starring Diana Ross and herself. She included the song in the set-list of various live shows and future tours, including the Never Say Never World Tour, the Human World Tour and the Slayana World Tour.
"Almost Doesn't Count" was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche. [1] Inspired by a powerful but unfruitful on-again, off-again relationship she had with a man in her college years, [2] Peiken recalled her emotions during a writing session with Roche decades later when she "dug up that laundry list of all the 'almosts' I felt we had, and we put it into the song." [2] In a 2020 interview, she further elaborated about the lyrics: "It was a relationship that was more in my head than in his, and I always felt like we almost got there, he almost said I love you, he almost broke up with the girlfriend he had the whole time. He almost faced his feelings but he never quite got there – maybe that was all in my head too. Maybe he never had any of those feelings, maybe it was all my imagination." [2] [3]
Written in the thirty-two-bar form structure, which the pair considered "very sort of country," Peiken and Roche put the song on the back burner since they were not sure how to finish it, feeling undecided about the genre that they were looking for in the song. [2] They resumed work on "Almost Doesn't Count" a few months later when, according to Peiken, "it was a lot clearer – not so much the genre, but that it was good enough that we couldn't leave it on the back burner – it was really good and we had to finish it. So we did, and then we sent it around." [2] Picked up by Atlantic Records, the demo, produced by Roche, was eventually polished by producer Fred Jerkins III for Norwood's second album Never Say Never (1998). [1] Recording took place at Banana Boat Studios in Burbank and at Pacifique Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California, with Peiken providing backing vocals. [1] In 2019, Roche ranked the song among his favorite productions. [4]
In his review of parent album Never Say Never, Shaheen Chughtai, editor for The Daily Star Lebanon , wrote that "Brandy does have a fine voice, drenched in sex-appeal, and in good form on tracks like 'Almost Doesn’t Count'." [5] San Francisco Chronicle 's Lee Hildebrand described the song as "haunting" and added: "Brandy takes her time with the ballad, wrapping her warm, melismatic alto pipes around their melodic contours with womanly nuance." [6] Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic cited the song one of the album's highlights along with "The Boy Is Mine" and "Have You Ever?." [7] Billboard editor Chuck Taylor wrote that "breezy, sensual, straightforward, and drenched with those gorgeous harmonies that are recognizable in an instant, Miss Norwood serves up a tasty slow jam about letting go of love. While the single is a certain bull's-eye at mainstream R&B radio – where it'll first be worked – top 40 will undoubtedly be waiting in the wings, licking its chops." [8]
Less impressed, Lorraine Ali from Rolling Stone declared "the Spanish guitar and chimes in "Almost Doesn't Count [...] the cheesiest moment" on Never Say Never. [9] Her colleague Rob Sheffield ranked the song 67th on his The 98 Best Songs of 1998 listing for Rolling Stone and called it a "a doleful weeper where Ms. Norwood comes close to true love – but alas, not close enough – over a flourish of Latin acoustic guitar." [10] Music Week labeled the song a "smoochy ballad" with "its typically Smooth production, Spanish guitars, Lazy groove and Brandy's breathy vocals." [11] The publication also felt that it could be commercial success like her previously released singles from the same album. [11] The Village Voice ranked "Almost Doesn't Count" 16th on its Pazz & Jop 1998 Singles listing. [12] In 2020, Lela Olds from Vibe , ranked the song eighth on his Brandy's 15 Best Songs listing. [13] One of the most-performed songs of the year, "Almost Doesn't Count" was honored with BMI Citations of Achievement at the BMI Pop Awards in 2000. [14] In addition, the song earned Norwood her third nomination in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, though she lost to Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right but It's Okay." [15]
A music video for "Almost Doesn't Count" was directed by Kevin Bray in April 1999. [16] It marked his second collaboration with Norwood following their work on the video for "Have You Ever?" (1998). Filmed in Lancaster, California and the surrounding Mojave Desert, [17] it depicts Norwood as a wedding guest and singer whose oldtimer suffers from a breakdown prior to the wedding ceremony in the evening. [16] After a walk of several miles, a pick up drives by and she climbs inside the back where a fellow passenger gives her his cowboy hat. At night, they drop her off at a gas station which Norwood finds closed, prompting her to check into a nearby hotel off the expressway. In the hotel room, she unpacks and changes her outfit when she, out from the window, watches a couple getting married in the courtyard across the street. [16] The video ends with Norwood crashing the celebration, unnoticed, before joining the band who play to an empty courtyard. [16]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Radio Remix) |
|
| 3:37 |
2. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Album Version) |
|
| 3:39 |
3. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Pull Club Radio Edit) |
|
| 4:15 |
4. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (DJ Premier Remix) |
|
| 3:47 |
5. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Pull Club Extended Mix) |
|
| 8:21 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Album Version) |
|
| 3:39 |
2. | "Have You Ever?" (Soul Skank Remix) | Diane Warren |
| 5:40 |
3. | "The Boy Is Mine" (duet with Monica) (Club Remix) |
| 7:42 | |
4. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (DJ Premier Remix) |
|
| 3:47 |
5. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Club Remix) |
|
| 4:37 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Radio Remix) |
|
| 3:37 |
2. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Album Version) |
|
| 3:39 |
3. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (DJ Premier Remix) |
|
| 3:47 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Pull Club Radio Edit) |
|
| 4:15 |
2. | "Almost Doesn't Count" (Club Remix) |
|
| 4:37 |
3. | "Have You Ever?" (Soul Skank Remix) | Warren |
| 5:40 |
Notes
Credits lifted from the album's liner notes. [1]
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | March 23, 1999 | Atlantic | [35] | |
April 13, 1999 | Contemporary hit radio | [36] | ||
United Kingdom | June 7, 1999 |
| [37] | |
Japan | June 9, 1999 | CD | [38] |
"Almost Doesn't Count" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Mark Wills | ||||
from the album Permanently | ||||
B-side | "Permanently" [39] | |||
Released | March 2000 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:37 | |||
Label | Mercury Nashville | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) | Carson Chamberlain | |||
Mark Wills singles chronology | ||||
|
In March 2000, American country music artist Mark Wills released a cover of the song as the second single from his third studio album, Permanently . Hisversion reached number 19 on Billboard's US Hot Country Songs chart. Wills's cover marked his second R&B cover following his late-1999 cover of Brian McKnight's "Back at One" (1998). An accompanying music video was directed by Michael Salomon and premiered in March 2000. It was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. There are two different videos, both with the same concept but with different scenes.
Chart (2000) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [40] | 19 |
Chart (2000) | Position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) [41] | 72 |
Brandy Rayana Norwood, better known mononymously as Brandy, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Her sound is characterized by heavy voice-layering and riffs. As of 2024, she has sold over 40 million records worldwide, with approximately 8.62 million albums sold in the United States. Her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award and an American Music Award.
Brandy is the debut studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on September 27, 1994, by Atlantic Records. Chiefly produced by Keith Crouch, the album contains a range of contemporary genres, including hip-hop, pop-soul, and R&B. Aside from Crouch, Norwood worked with a range of other writers and producers, including R&B group Somethin' for the People, Arvel McClinton, and Damon Thomas.
"Bitch" (also known by its censored title "Nothing in Between" and later as "Bitch (Nothing in Between)") is a song by American singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks and co-written with Shelly Peiken. It was released in March 1997 as the lead single from Brooks' second album, Blurring the Edges (1997). The song was produced by punk notable Geza X.
Full Moon is the third studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released by Atlantic Records on March 5, 2002 in the United States. The album was recorded primarily during the summer and fall of 2001 at the Hit Factory Criteria in Miami, amid a three-year musical hiatus following the success of her multi-platinum previous studio album Never Say Never (1998) and the finale of her highly successful television sitcom Moesha in May 2001. As with Never Say Never, Brandy collaborated with producer Rodney Jerkins and his Darkchild production and songwriting team on the majority of the album's composition, while Mike City, Warryn Campbell, and Keith Crouch contributed additional production.
Shelly Meg Peiken is an American songwriter who is best known for co-writing the US No. 1 hits "What a Girl Wants" and "Come On Over Baby" by Christina Aguilera the US No. 2 hit "Bitch" by Meredith Brooks, "Almost Doesn't Count" by Brandy, and "Who You Are" by Jessie J. She has also written for or with Britney Spears, The Pretenders, Natasha Bedingfield, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Cher, Reba McEntire, Jessie J, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, Aaliyah, Ashley Tisdale, Selena Gomez, Idina Menzel and Demi Lovato and has had hundreds of songs licensed for TV and film.
"The Boy Is Mine" is a duet by American singers Brandy and Monica. It was written by LaShawn Daniels, Japhe Tejeda, Fred Jerkins III, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and Brandy, while production was helmed by Jerkins, Brandy, and Dallas Austin. It was released as the lead single from both singers' second albums from 1998, Never Say Never by Brandy and the album of the same name by Monica. Inspired by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's 1982 duet "The Girl Is Mine", the lyrics of the mid-tempo R&B track revolve around two women fighting over a man.
"What About Us?" is a song by American singer Brandy from her third studio album, Full Moon (2002). It was written by LaShawn Daniels, Rodney Jerkins, Kenisha Pratt, Nora Payne and Norwood, featuring main production by Jerkins. An offbeat, aggressive high-tech track, the song's development was motivated by the fact that the singer wanted something different–an aggressive, sexier and edgier sound with a message which would empower women while also reflecting her own growth and maturity.
"Full Moon" is a song recorded by American singer Brandy for her third studio album of the same title (2002). A breakaway from Rodney Jerkins' dominating influence on the album, it was written and produced by Mike City, one of the few producers Norwood worked with on Full Moon apart from Jerkins and his production and songwriting crew. Described by Norwood as "ghetto", the track is an R&B and pop song with a simple, piano-led production. Lyrically, the song follows Norwood as she experiences love at first sight in a nightclub, whose circumstances she attributes to a full moon night.
"He Is" is a song recorded by American singer Brandy for her third studio album Full Moon (2002). It was written by Warryn Campbell, Harold Lilly and Brandy, with production handled by Campbell and the latter. Conceived during spiritual discussions with the singer, Campbell and Lilly conceptualized the pop and R&B-influenced ballad secretly as a gospel song, as they were keen to hear her sing a religious track, a genre which Brandy declined to record at the time. Lyrically speaking about God in third person, she was unaware "He Is" was not a relationship-themed song when she recorded it.
"Top of the World" is a song by American singer Brandy Norwood, from her second studio album, Never Say Never (1998). The song was written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Isaac Phillips, Nycolia "Tye-V" Turman, and Mason Betha, with Darkchild and Norwood producing and Mase having featured vocals. Released as the album's second international single in 1998, the track peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 20 in Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand.
"Have You Ever?" is a song by American recording artist Brandy for her second studio album, Never Say Never (1998). The song was written by Diane Warren, while production was handled by David Foster. It was released as the album's third single by Atlantic Records in October 1998. The song became Norwood's second song to reach the top position on the US Billboard Hot 100, following the worldwide chart-topping of "The Boy Is Mine". The former further reached number one in New Zealand, number two in Iceland, number eight in Australia, and the top 30 in Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
"Angel in Disguise" is a song recorded by American singer Brandy for her second studio album Never Say Never (1998). It was written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Traci Hale, and Tye-V Turman, and was produced by Jerkins along with Brandy. The song was recorded and mixed by audio engineer Dave Way at the Pacifique Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California and features prominent backing vocals by singer Joe.
"U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)" is a song by American recording artist Brandy Norwood. It was written by Isaac Phillips, Paris Davis, Sean Bryant, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, and Norwood for her second studio album Never Say Never (1998). Production was handled by Jerkins, with additional production from Norwood.
American singer Brandy Norwood entered the music business as a backing vocalist for R&B boy bands such as Immature, prior to launching her own career in 1994. Her discography, as a solo artist, includes eight studio albums, one compilation album, one extended play, 42 singles, 46 album appearances and 26 soundtrack appearances. Norwood has sold over 8.6 million albums in the United States, and more than 40 million records worldwide. Additionally, she has won over 100 awards as a recording artist. In 1999, Billboard ranked Norwood among the top 20 of the Top Pop Artists of the 1990s.
"I Wanna Be Down" is the debut single of American recording artist Brandy from her self-titled debut album (1994). It was written by musicians Keith Crouch and Kipper Jones, with production helmed by the former, it was released on September 5, 1994, by the Atlantic Recording Corporation. The song is a mid-tempo track that features a thunderous beat and light synth riffs. Lyrically, "I Wanna Be Down" describes a flirt with a boy, who Norwood tries to convince of her loveliness.
Human is the fifth studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on December 5, 2008 by Epic Records, Knockout Entertainment and Koch Records. The album was Norwood's debut Epic Records release, following her split with Atlantic Records in 2005, and her reunion with longtime collaborator and mentor Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who executively produced and wrote most of the album with his songwriting collective.
"Rain" is a 1998 single released by the group SWV. The musical backing track is based on Jaco Pastorius's "Portrait of Tracy". Released as the fourth and final single from the group's third album Release Some Tension (1997), the song peaked at number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number 7 on the US Hot R&B Singles chart. Singer and actor Tyrese Gibson appeared in the song's 1998 music video, directed by Darren Grant, and would later sing the hook on rapper Chingy's 2006 hit song "Pullin' Me Back", which samples "Rain".
Never Say Never is the second studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on June 9, 1998, by Atlantic Records. Atlantic consulted David Foster, as well as producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and his team to work with Norwood on the record; Jerkins went on to craft the majority of the album and would evolve as Norwood's mentor and head producer on her succeeding projects.
"Love Again" is a song by American recording artist Brandy and Canadian recording artist Daniel Caesar from Caesar's second album Case Study 01 and Brandy's seventh album B7. It was released to streaming and digital outlets as a single on July 5, 2019.
B7 is the seventh studio album by American singer Brandy. It was released on July 31, 2020, through her own label Brand Nu, Inc. and eOne Music. Her first studio album since Two Eleven (2012), the album features production from Darhyl Camper, Jr. and LaShawn Daniels, among others. B7 is an R&B album exploring themes such as self-love, tumultuous romantic relationships, mental health and single motherhood.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite book}}
: |website=
ignored (help){{cite book}}
: |work=
ignored (help)