Too Close (Next song)

"Too Close" is a song by American R&B group Next, featuring uncredited vocals from Vee of Koffee Brown. It was released in September 1997 as the second single from their debut album Rated Next (1997).

"Too Close"
Artwork for US single release; non-US releases use same artwork but with different titling layout
Single by Next
from the album Rated Next
ReleasedSeptember 30, 1997
FormatCD single
Recorded1997
GenreR&B
Length4:20
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)Kay Gee, Terry Brown, Robert Huggar, Raphael Brown
Producer(s)Kay Gee
Next singles chronology
"Butta Love"
(1997)		 "Too Close"
(1997)		 "I Still Love You"
(1998)
Music video
"Too Close" on YouTube

The song reached number one on the US Hot 100 and R&B charts and has gone Platinum making it their biggest and best known hit. It contains a sample of "Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow. "Too Close" received wide airplay on Urban Contemporary radio stations.

Composition

According to Billboard, on the song "R.L, Terry and Raphael moan and groan about their female dance partner's grindin' and shakin' -- and their respective bulges as a result -- atop a Chicago-style step dance production."[1]

Charts and certifications

Blue version
"Too Close"
Single by Blue
from the album All Rise
Released27 August 2001
FormatCD single, cassette
Recorded2001
GenreR&B
Length3:47
LabelVirgin, Innocent
Songwriter(s)Kier Gist, Darren Lighty, Robert Huggar, Raphael Brown, Robert Ford Jr., Denzil Miller, James B. Moore, Kurtis Walker, Larry Smith
Producer(s)Ray Ruffin, Cutfather & Joe[a]
Blue singles chronology
"All Rise"
(2001)		 "Too Close"
(2001)		 "If You Come Back"
(2001)

In 2001, English boy band Blue released a cover version of the song as the second single from their debut studio album All Rise (2001). The track was released on 24 August 2001 and became their first number one UK single produced by multi-platinum producer Ray Ruffin. It also reached number five in Australia and number 17 in Ireland, and number one in New Zealand, where the Next version had also been a number-one hit. The song has received a silver sales status certification for sales of over 200,000 copies in the UK.

Music video

The band traveled to New York City to film the music video, and whilst there, they witnessed the attacks on the World Trade Center. The following month, Blue were being interviewed by British newspaper The Sun and Ryan commented that "This New York thing is being blown out of proportion" and asked "What about whales? They are ignoring animals that are more important. Animals need saving and that's more important." The other members of the band tried to silence Ryan, but he went on.[27] After The Sun quoted Ryan as saying "Who gives a fuck about New York when elephants are being killed?", this caused a huge media backlash that resulted in Blue losing their U.S. record deal and campaigns to sack Ryan from the group.[28]

Track listing

UK CD single

  1. "Too Close" (Radio Edit) – 3:45
  2. "Too Close" (Blacksmith R&B Club Rub) – 5:41
  3. "Too Close" (Instrumental) – 3:45
  4. "Too Close" (Video) – 4:11

UK cassette

  1. "Too Close" (Radio Edit) – 3:45
  2. "Too Close" (Blacksmith R&B Club Rub) – 5:41

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[29] 5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 72
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[31] 6
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[32] 11
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[33] 10
Germany (Official German Charts)[34] 66
Ireland (IRMA)[35] 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[36] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[37] 19
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[38] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[39] 41
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[40] 1

Year-end charts
Chart (2001) Position
Australia (ARIA)[41] 65
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[42] 59
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[43] 47

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[44] Platinum 70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[45] Silver 200,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Parody

In 2015, the song regained attention through the popularity of the internet meme, "Why You Always Lying" by Nicholas Fraser. The parody gained fame within social media (most notably Vine and Twitter) because of the comically poor production quality and relatable theme. Replacing the line "Baby when we're grinding" with "Why the fuck you lying," and similarly for following phrases, the song initially referenced an untrustworthy girl who failed to keep her promise of hooking him up with her cute friend. Currently, the original Vine has been viewed over 76.1 million times,[46] and has been extended into a full music video for YouTube, which has gained over 16 million views as of March 2016.[47] Fraser also performed the parody along with the former Next member RL on the MTV2 show Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne.[48][49]

References
  1. M. Tye Comer; Mariel Concepcion; Monica Herrera; Jessica Letkemann; Evie Nagy & David J. Prince (February 11, 2010). "The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  2. "Australian-charts.com – Next – Too Close". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  3. "Ultratop.be – Next – Too Close" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  4. "Ultratop.be – Next – Too Close" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  5. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  6. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  7. "Musicline.de – Next Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Next" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Next – Too Close" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  10. "Charts.nz – Next – Too Close". Top 40 Singles.
  11. "Swedishcharts.com – Next – Too Close". Singles Top 100.
  12. "Swisscharts.com – Next – Too Close". Swiss Singles Chart.
  13. "Next: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  14. "Next > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Billboard. Allmusic. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  15. "ARIA End of Year Singles Chart 1998". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  16. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1998". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  17. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1998". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  18. "End of Year Charts 1998". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  19. "Billboard Top 100 – 1998". Retrieved August 28, 2010.
  20. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 1998". Billboard. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  21. Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). "1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s". Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  22. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  23. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  24. "New Zealand single certifications – Next – Too Close". Recorded Music NZ.
  25. "American single certifications – Next – Too Close". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  26. "Best-Selling Records of 1998". Billboard. BPI Communications Inc. 111 (5): 75. January 30, 1999. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  27. Vanroxx, Robert (October 26, 2001). "Who give a f*** about New York when whales and elephants are dying?". The Sun. News UK. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  28. bbspy. "Lee explains his 9/11 terrorist attack controversy". bbspy. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  29. "Australian-charts.com – Blue – Too Close". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  30. "Austriancharts.at – Blue – Too Close" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  31. "Ultratop.be – Blue – Too Close" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  32. "Ultratop.be – Blue – Too Close" (in French). Ultratip.
  33. "Hits of the World - Eurochart Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 25, 2001. p. 61. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
  34. "Offiziellecharts.de – Blue – Too Close". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  35. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Too Close". Irish Singles Chart.
  36. "Charts.nz – Blue – Too Close". Top 40 Singles.
  37. "Norwegiancharts.com – Blue – Too Close". VG-lista.
  38. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  39. "Swedishcharts.com – Blue – Too Close". Singles Top 100.
  40. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  41. "ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2001". ARIA. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  42. "Jaaroverzichten 2001" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  43. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  44. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  45. "British single certifications – Blue – Too Close". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Too Close in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  46. Fraser, Nicholas (August 29, 2015). "When she say she got a cute friend for you". Vine. Vine. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  47. Downgoes Fraser (September 14, 2015), Ig-@Downgoes.Fraser (OFFICIAL FULL LENGTH!!) Why You Always Lying video, retrieved March 8, 2016
  48. Lynch, Allison (September 11, 2015). "This 'Why you always lying?' meme is the internet's new obsession". Metro News UK. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  49. "90's Group Next's "Too Close" Song & Video Gets A Little Boost After "Why You Lyin'" Video Goes Viral". Spaced Out Magazine Radio. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
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