(At Your Best) You Are Love

"(At Your Best) You Are Love" is a song by The Isley Brothers, originally a radio hit in 1976. It was originally dedicated to their mother.

"(At Your Best) You Are Love"
Song by The Isley Brothers
from the album Harvest for the World
Released1976
Recorded1975
GenreR&B
Length5:23
Songwriter(s)
  • Ernie Isley
  • Marvin Isley
  • Chris Jasper
  • Rudolph Isley
  • O'Kelly Isley
  • Ronald Isley
  • Chris Jasper

Personnel

Aaliyah version
"At Your Best (You Are Love)"
Single by Aaliyah
from the album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number
ReleasedAugust 22, 1994
Recorded1993; Chicago Recording Company
(Chicago, Illinois)
Genre
Length4:52 (original version)
4:30 (remix version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)R. Kelly
Aaliyah singles chronology
"Back & Forth"
(1994)		 "At Your Best (You Are Love)"
(1994)		 "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number"
(1994)

Eighteen years later, the song was covered by American singer Aaliyah for her debut studio album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. Released as the album's second single, it peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the R&B singles chart, it also peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 4 on the Tokio Hot 100 chart in Japan.[1] The song was certified gold single by RIAA on October 25, 1994.[2] In 2010 Canadian rapper Drake sampled Aaliyah's version of the song in his song "Unforgettable"; four years later singer Tamar Braxton sampled this song for her single "Let Me Know" featuring Future. In 2017, Sevyn Streeter used an interpolation of the song for her hit, "Before I Do", the lead single from her album Girl Disrupted.

Critical reception

Damien Scott from Complex felt that the song was a nice departure from the hip hop and new jack swing inspired songs that comprised a large portion of Aaliyah's debut album. He also mentioned that the song "showed a young women [sic] on the cusp of adulthood".[3]

Remix

The song became a hit based on remix versions Aaliyah cut with R. Kelly featured on the song chanting "this is for the steppers" and earlier saying, "1-2, check up, baby, lemme know what's up" before Aaliyah began singing.

Music video

The music video was shot back to back with R. Kelly's "Summer Bunnies" and were both released in fall 1994. The music video was directed by Millicent Shelton.

The music video is for the remix not the original and R. Kelly, who produced the songs, is in the video.

Personnel
  • Aaliyah: lead and background vocals
  • R. Kelly: multi-instrumentation
  • Produced by R. Kelly

Charts
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] 76
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[5] 87
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[6] 40
Netherlands (Tipparade)[7] 10
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 38
Scotland (OCC)[9] 90
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 27
UK Dance (OCC)[11] 11
UK R&B (OCC)[12] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 6
US Hot Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[14] 6
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 2
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[16] 40
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[17] 2

Year-end charts
Chart (1994) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 70
US Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Chart[19] 23

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[20] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Other versions

In the Philippines, it was covered by two artists: MYMP on their album Versions and Nina from her love songs live album Nina Live!. Drake recently made a song with Young Jeezy called "Unforgettable" using the same beat. Swedish artist El Perro Del Mar covered the song in 2009 as a special Record Store Day release as well. Tamar Braxton sampled the song in her single with Future, "Let Me Know".

In 2015, Frank Ocean released a cover on his Tumblr account as a tribute to Aaliyah, one day after what would have been her 36th birthday. A slightly different version was also included on his visual album Endless.[21]

References
  1. "Tokio Hot 100". j-wave.co.jp. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  2. RIAA Searchable Database Archived 2007-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "The 25 Best Aaliyah Songs". Complex. May 19, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  4. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2655." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  5. "Euro Chart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. October 22, 1994. p. 22. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Aaliyah – At Your Best (You Are Love)" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  7. "week 45 (5 november 1994)" (in Dutch). top40.nl.
  8. "Charts.nz – Aaliyah – At Your Best (You Are Love)". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  9. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  10. "Aaliyah: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  11. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  12. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. "Aaliyah Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  14. "Aaliyah Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  15. "Aaliyah Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  16. "Aaliyah Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  17. "Aaliyah Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  18. "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  19. http://www.soulsystem.it/yend.asp?date=31/12/1994
  20. "American single certifications – Aaliyah – At Your Best". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 19, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  21. "frank ocean". Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
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