Back & Forth (Aaliyah song)

"Back & Forth"
Single by Aaliyah
from the album Age Ain't Nothing
but a Number
Released April 8, 1994[1]
Format
Recorded 1993
Chicago Recording Company
(Chicago, Illinois)
Genre
Length 3:51
Label
Songwriter(s) R. Kelly
Producer(s) R. Kelly
Aaliyah singles chronology
"Back & Forth"
(1994)		 "At Your Best (You Are Love)"
(1994)

"Back & Forth"
(1994)		 "At Your Best (You Are Love)"
(1994)

"Back & Forth" is the debut single performed by singer Aaliyah for her debut studio album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The song was written and produced by R&B singer R. Kelly, and chronicles a teenage girl's excitement to celebrate the weekend by going to a party and having fun with her friends. The music video for the song was shot in her hometown of Detroit and features Aaliyah and Kelly performing in a gym with her real-life friends from high school. Kelly performs the rap in the song.

The song was released as the album's lead single in early 1994 (see 1994 in music). It sold 700,000 copies domestically, earning a gold certification from the RIAA on June 9, 1994.[5][6] It spent three weeks at number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, and peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first single to hit the top-ten. The single was ranked second on the year-end chart of Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs.[7]

Music video

The music video for "Back & Forth" was directed by Millicent Shelton and it was filmed on January 16, 1994, which was Aaliyah's 15th birthday and released in February 1994.[8] The video was filmed at Detroit's High School for the Fine and Performing Arts which was the school that Aaliyah attended.[9] Prior to filming the video both Aaliyah and R.Kelly worked on dance moves and the styling for the video.[8][10] On the day of the video many local teens were recruited to be in multiple scenes of the video.[9] When Aaliyah discussed her experience shooting her first music video she said "That was my first video, but Millicent made me comfortable Between takes, she listened to the music of Tupac, Wu-Tang, and Gang Starr, They all rap on an intellectual level.”[9]

Synopsis

The video opens with a male entering a (school) gym, bouncing a basketball. When the song kicks in, there are cuts of people entering the gym and people playing basketball. Aaliyah enters wearing baggy clothing, a bandana and shades. She sings the song by the gym's entrance. In other parts of the clip she is seen dancing in the middle of the gymnasium with a crowd moving around her, sitting with R. Kelly in the bleachers and performing on a stage to her fans. The original setting was chosen for the music video in Los Angeles, but was relocated to her hometown of Detroit because of an earthquake.

Critical reception

In his review of the song, Larry Flick from Billboard felt that this song was on the course to being a pop and urban smash and he praised Aaliyah's vocal styling by saying,"It is worth noting that this newcomer has the vocal charm and range to warm the hearts of punters on her own". He also complemented Aaliyah's approach to being perceived as hard and sexy in comparison to her peers who struggle to be seen as hard and sexy.[11] James Hunter from Vibe described Aaliyah as Lithe, substantial, confident and peaceful. He also felt that Back and Forth was a "leading candidate for the years best single" and that Aaliyah has "one of those who's that? voices".[12] Elena Bergeron from Complex felt that Back and Forth was the perfect example with why Aaliyah could play coy with the media regarding her age. Bergeron also praised Aaliyah voice saying "Instead of over-emoting like a child singer, Aaliyah's confident in singing about something basic—it's just a song about partying on a Friday night-and that takes an adult's restraint". [13]

Legacy

"Back and forth" was sampled by American singer Madonna.

Madonna sampled "Back & Forth" on her song "Inside of Me" from her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories (1994), which was released a few months after "Back & Forth".[14] [15] [16] British publication NME ranked the song at number 10 on their 50 Incredible Debut Singles That Kick-Started Massive Careers list ,[17], while huffpost ranked the song at number 16 on their Ranking Of The 33 Greatest Pop Divas’ Debut Singles list, saying "Aaliyah blended hip-hop and dance-pop to foster a sound that many of her peers would ape" [18] . Billboard included back and forth on their Summer Songs 1958-2016: The Top 10 Tunes of Each Summer article .[19] The song was ranked at number 13 on Idolator's The 50 Best Pop Singles Of 1994 list.[20] Rapper Kid Ink mentioned back and forth on his verse on Sevyn Streeter's 2014 song nEXt [21] .In 2015 at pop singer Rihanna's 2nd annual diamond ball charity event the Dj included Back & Forth on the setlist of songs that he played[22] .In 2014 Beyonce shared her memorial day playlist of songs via her website and back and forth was included on the list.[23] In November 2017 Reality star Kim Kardashian included the song on her Spotify "glam session" playlist.[24]

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[40] Gold 700,000[41]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Young At Heart". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  2. ↑ "A Parent's Guide to Pop Music". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "The top 10 best Aaliyah songs". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Parris, Amanda (July 14, 2017). "From Simply Red to Aaliyah: a look back at R&B songs of summer". CBC Music. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1994". Billboard. BPI Communications. 107 (3): 57. January 21, 1995. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ "American certifications – Aaliyah – Forth". Recording Industry Association of America.
  7. ↑ "Rock On The Net: Billboard Year-End Chart-Toppers: 1994". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  8. 1 2 "A look back 20 years to the debut album of Aaliyah, the R. Kelly scandal, and her Timbaland-produced follow-up that set the R&B format on fire". Wax Poetics. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  9. 1 2 3 "A look back 20 years to the debut album of Aaliyah, the R. Kelly scandal, and her Timbaland-produced follow-up that set the R&B format on fire". Wax Poetics. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  10. ↑ http://mvdbase.com/video.php?id=427
  11. ↑ "Single Reviews". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  12. ↑ "Single File". Vibe. August 1994. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  13. ↑ "The 25 Best Aaliyah Songs". Complex. May 19, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Bedtime Stories". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  15. ↑ "Fortune Favors the Brave: Madonna and Kylie Minogue Pick Up Donna Summer's Torch and Run With It". PopMatters. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  16. ↑ "Madonna's "Bedtime Stories" Turns 20: Backtracking". Idolator. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  17. ↑ "50 incredible debut singles that kick-started massive careers". NME. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  18. ↑ "A Ranking Of The 33 Greatest Pop Divas' Debut Singles". huffpost. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  19. ↑ "Summer Songs 1958-2016: The Top 10 Tunes of Each Summer". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  20. ↑ "The 50 Best Pop Singles Of 1994 (Featuring New Interviews With Ace Of Base, TLC, Lisa Loeb, Real McCoy & Haddaway)". Idolator. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  21. ↑ "NEW SONG: Sevyn Streeter Feat. Kid Ink – 'nEXt (Remix)'". RatedR&B. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  22. ↑ "This Is What It's Like to Attend Rihanna's Diamond Ball". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  23. ↑ "Beyonce's Memorial Day Playlist Is Full of Classic Summer Soul". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  24. ↑ "Kim Kardashian West's Spotify Playlist Is an Ode to the Sex-Positive Anthem". Vogue. Retrieved 2018-01-07.
  25. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart - Week Ending 16 Oct 1994". ARIA. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  26. ↑ Top Singles peak
  27. ↑ "Euro Chart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. 1994-07-09. p. 17. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  28. 1 2 "DOCOMO OSAKAN HOT 100｜CHART［YEARLY CHART］". Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  29. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Aaliyah – Back & Forth" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
  30. ↑ "Charts.nz – Aaliyah – Back & Forth". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Aaliyah: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Aaliyah Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Aaliyah Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Aaliyah Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Aaliyah Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Archived from the original on 2009-03-01. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  39. ↑ "1994 Year End Chart: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  40. ↑ "American single certifications – Aaliyah – Back & Forth". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 10, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  41. ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1994". Billboard. BPI Communications. 107 (3): 57. January 21, 1995. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
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