Baby (Brandy song)

"Baby" is a song by American R&B recording artist Brandy, taken from her debut studio album Brandy (1994). It was penned by Keith Crouch, Kipper Jones, and Rahsaan Patterson and produced by the former. Released as the album's second single on December 24, 1994, in the United States, it reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. It also reached number 4 in New Zealand, number 16 in Australia, and number 68 in Canada. The single sold 1,000,000 copies in 1995 in the United States.[2]

"Baby"
Standard artwork for worldwide release (US commercial CD maxi-single pictured)
Single by Brandy
from the album Brandy
ReleasedDecember 24, 1994 (1994-12-24)
Recorded1993[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:13 (album version)
  • 4:19 (radio edit)
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Keith Crouch
Brandy singles chronology
"I Wanna Be Down"
(1994)		 "Baby"
(1994)		 "Best Friend"
(1995)

A music video was accompanied and directed by Hype Williams. It was photographed in the middle of Times Square in New York City in December 1994 and portrays Norwood and her company dancing in skiing outfits. Met with generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, "Baby" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1996 ceremony.

Background

"Baby" was written by Keith Crouch, Kipper Jones and Rahsaan Patterson in 1993, while production was handled by the former.[3][1] Conceived within a few days only, the song was created during additional songwriting sessions with Patterson, with whom Crouch had worked on several songs for the Brandy album.[4] On the production process, Patterson commented in 2011: "I remember going over to his [Crouch's] house for two nights in a row and from the first night that he wanted to play the track for me, I heard what I heard, but I kept it to myself because I was pretty much intimidated thinking he would think it was horrible. Then by the third day, he was like “We’ve got to turn this song in by Friday, so whatever you think of, just sing it!” So I sang to him what I had heard instantly when he played it and he was like “Man you’ve been sitting there holding that!”.[4] Most of the background vocals and instruments were recorded in one of Crouch's bedrooms.[4] Upon hearing the demo track, Norwood applauded the song for its "flavor and soul".[5] During recording, she was reportedly inspired by idol Whitney Houston vocally, "I wanted to be exactly like her musically!".[5]

Music video
The video for "Baby" was partially filmed in Times Square.

An accompanying music video for "Baby" was directed by Hype Williams and filmed in the middle of Times Square in New York City in December 1994.[6][5] Choreography was handled by Fatima Robinson.[7] A performance video, it portrays Norwood and her company dancing at "The Great White Way" in Midtown Manhattan, wearing skiing outfits.[8] Norwood wears a big white jacket and thin, white leggings complete with a white hat and black shades. The back up dancers are dressed in white too. The next cuts show Norwood wearing pink in a pink room, while singing into a microphone in a dull coloured room. She is later seen dancing with people in the same room, with the rest of the video containing similar cuts.[9]

Norwood commented on filming, "all these people were passing by and were like ‘Who’s this girl on stage in the middle of Times Square?’ I had a great time shooting the video. I could just feel myself really starting to open up, really come out of my shell and find myself as a young artist."[9] At the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, Fatima Robinson was nominated for Best Choreography but lost to LaVelle Smith Jnr, Tina Landon, Travis Payne and Sean Cheesman fo their work on the video for the Michael and Janet Jackson duet "Scream" (1995).[7]

Track listing
CD single[3]
No.TitleLength
1."Baby" (Radio Edit)4:19
2."Baby" (All Star Party Mix)5:37
3."Baby" (LP Version)5:12
4."I Wanna Be Down" (The Human Rhythm Hip Hop Remix; featuring MC Lyte, Queen Latifah & Yo-Yo)4:15

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Brandy.[3]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[22] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=3vFuAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT47&lpg=PT47&dq=brandy+crouch+1993&source=bl&ots=w9CI_Leatn&sig=ACfU3U1Viie2wAsKYxx_IoQBqJ7Gh4JAUA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjv1ov-tPngAhUIUa0KHRGEAEYQ6AEwEHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=brandy%20crouch%201993&f=false
  2. "Best-Selling Records of 1995". Billboard. BPI Communications. 108 (3): 56. January 20, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  3. Brandy (Media notes). Brandy. Atlantic Records. 1994.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. "Interview: Rahsaan Patterson on Extending the Life of "Bleuphoria"". YouKnowIGotSoul.com. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  5. Nathan, David; Rizik, Chris. "Brandy Biography". SoulTracks. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
  6. "The Best R&B Videos of the '90s". Complex. November 9, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  7. "Baby: Awards". IMDb. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
  8. Porter, Nina (January 25, 2000). The Brandy Star Profile. Master Dance Tones.
  9. Josephs, Brian (August 21, 2012). "Brandy Tells All: The Stories Behind Her Classic Records". Complex. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  10. "Australian-charts.com – Brandy – Baby". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  11. "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 9236." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  12. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9092." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  13. "Charts.nz – Brandy – Baby". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  14. "Brandy Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  15. "Brandy Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  16. "Brandy Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  17. "Brandy Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  18. "Brandy Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  19. "RPM Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1995". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  20. "Billboard Top 100 – 1995". Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  21. "1995 Year End Chart: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  22. "American single certifications – Brandy – Baby". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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