On & On (Erykah Badu song)

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"On & On"
Erykah Badu On and On.jpg
Single by Erykah Badu
from the album Baduizm
ReleasedJanuary 7, 1997 (1997-01-07)
RecordedJanuary 1996[1]
GenreSoul
Length3:45
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Erykah Badu
  • JaBorn Jamal
Producer(s)
  • Madukwu Chinwah
  • Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu singles chronology
"On & On"
(1997) 		"Next Lifetime"
(1997)

"On & On" is the debut single of American neo-soul singer Erykah Badu, from her 1997 debut album, Baduizm. Released in January 1997, the song won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1998 Grammy Awards. It spent two weeks at number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and went to number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It reached the same position on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception[]

Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "While everyone else is trying to mimic Faith Evans and Mary J. Blige, newcomer Badu is going one step further. She is taking the jeep-soul concept and expanding it with her own new ideas. With the aid of producers Bob Power and Jamal Cantero, she infuses elements of African culture with a touch of Middle-Eastern vocal flavor. The result is a refreshing and adventurous single that could easily lure hard-core hip-hop kids—and their parents, too. This bodes extremely well for the creative depth and commercial reach of the forthcoming album "Baduizm"."[2]

Music video[]

Erykah Badu is depicted as a maid in a black family household in the music video for the single, showing her doing her chores. Scenes of her chasing a dog that bit the laundry that she put to dry, tying a little girl's hair into a ponytail and falling into mud could be seen throughout the video. The video ends with Badu dressed fully in green with several people in a farm, singing and dancing. The video is loosely based upon the 1985 film adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. The video was also nominated at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Female Video and Best R&B Video.

Impact and legacy[]

Slant Magazine listed the song at number 46 in their ranking of "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s" in 2011, writing, "Boasting the roundest bassline since Digable Planets got cool like dat, "On & On" is Erykah Badu's mission statement from a higher plane. Her money might be gone, she might be all alone, but she's feeling high and mighty, and the siren song pours forth from her honeyed lips like a fount of alien wisdom. Backed by a languorously snapping, swinging backbeat and expansive, half-heard piano chords that repeatedly collapse back on themselves, "On & On" is as sonically introspective as its creator, a woman who can believably claim to have walked the entire cipher of Earth, clear her throat, utter "Goddammit, I'ma sing my song," and still seem like she's hiding more than she's revealing."[3]

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000[13]

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States January 7, 1997 (1997-01-07)
  • CD
  • cassette
[14][15]
January 21, 1997 (1997-01-21) Rhythmic contemporary radio [16]
United Kingdom April 7, 1997 (1997-04-07)
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 [17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Flick, Larry, ed. (January 11, 1997). "Reviews & Previews: Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 109 no. 2. p. 85. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  3. ^ "The 100 Best Singles of the 1990s". Slant Magazine. January 9, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14 no. 17. April 26, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Charts.nz – Erykah Badu – On & On". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  6. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Erykah Badu Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Erykah Badu Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  9. ^ "Erykah Badu Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  10. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1997". Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  11. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  12. ^ "British single certifications – Erykah Badu – On & On". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "Best-Selling Records of 1997". Billboard. Vol. 110 no. 5. January 31, 1998. p. 76. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b "American single certifications – Erykah Badu – On & On". Recording Industry Association of America.
  15. ^ Nelson, Havelock (January 18, 1997). "Profile Builds for Erykah Badu" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 109 no. 3. p. 20. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1180. January 17, 1997. p. 50. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. April 5, 1997. p. 31. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
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