"Bring It All to Me" is a song performed by American R&B girl group Blaque. It was written by Billy Lawrence, Linda Van Horssen, Violet Ruby, Nidra Sylvers, LeShan "L.E.S." Lewis, and Cory Rooney for the band's self-titled debut album (1999), while production was overseen by Lewis and Rooney. The song is built around a sample of "I Don't Wanna Be the Last to Know" (1982) by American R&B and soul music vocal group Shalamar. Due to the inclusion of the sample, William Shelby and Kevin Spencer are also credited as songwriters on the song.
The remix and album version of the song features JC Chasez of boy band *NSYNC but is credited to the group as a whole. It was released on October 11, 1999, as Blaque's third single in the United States. A successful single for the group, "Bring It All to Me" reached number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Rhythmic Airplay chart for six non-consecutive weeks. It also reached number seven on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and number 16 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. Billboard named the song number 54 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[3]
Background
The song was originally intended to feature singer Usher, but his mother and manager, Jonnetta Patton, who considered Blaque too unknown at the time, opposed the idea.[4] As Blaque shared a manager with boy band NSYNC and toured with the group,[5] there were initial plans to feature band member Justin Timberlake on the track instead.[4] As he was unavailable due to him filming the ABC television film Model Behavior (2000) at the time,[5] the decision was ultimately made to feature JC Chasez.[4] Although only Chasez’s voice appears on the song, the entire band is credited as a whole.[4] A remix featuring 50 Cent was featured on the soundtrack to the teen comedy film Bring It On (2000), in which the group star in.[4]
Composition
Musically, "Bring It All to Me" is a silky, slow-and-easy youth-leaning R&B track with a bouncing beat underneath "classy" piano keys.[2][3][6] The song was described by music journalist Chuck Taylor of Billboard as sounding "distinctive and like an old-school anthem" and "refreshing" in terms of the track's lyrical content amidst the "male-bashing" anthems from the time.[2] Sheet music for the song is originally published in the key of F major,[7] and moves at a tempo of 89 beats per minute.[8] It also contains a sample of Shalamar’s 1980s single “I Don’t Want to Be the Last to Know”.[9]
Music video
The music video, directed by Bille Woodruff, features a futuristic, sci-fi inspired feel.[10] It shows Blaque as alien girls with superpowers who descend on a Downtown Los Angeles street. Male onlookers find a mysterious box and are transported to a futuristic world where they interact with the women. In this second setting, each member of Blaque is shown in a room with a different color: pink for Natina, green for Brandi, and orange for Shamari.[11] The video is often noted for its influence and included as an example by fashion blogs and magazines for its Afro-futuristic, Y2K aesthetic.[12][13][14]
For the music video, an alternate version of the song was used in place of the album version featuring vocals from JC Chasez. This version replaced Chasez vocals with Brandi Williams and Shamari Fears. The alternate version also features additional ad-libs from Natina Reed. This version has never been released in single form and is a rare find in pure audio form outside of the video. "Bring It All to Me" premiered on music video stations during autumn of 1999, starting off with MTV the week ending October 10, 1999.[15]BET and The Box soon followed and began airing the week ending October 17, 1999.[16]
↑ Rendon, Cruz (December 6, 2018). "Into the Matrix: Y2K Influences". Cruz Rendon. Retrieved June 12, 2022. Another example '90s boy bands and girl groups ... that fed into the futuristic, y2k aesthetics. Blaque released the music video for "Bring It All to Me" in 1999...
↑ Bring It All to Me (European CD single liner notes). Blaque. Trackmasters, Columbia Records. 1999. COL 668852 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
↑ Bring It All to Me (European maxi-CD single liner notes). Blaque. Trackmasters, Columbia Records. 1999. COL 668852 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
↑ Bring It All to Me (European 12-inch single sleeve). Blaque. Trackmasters, Columbia Records. 1999. COL 668852 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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