N.R.Barry Hankerson - Aaliyah's uncle - gave his blessing to Normani after she released her new track "Wild Side." However, he said it would have been "more honorable" if the singer had reached out for permission to sample Aaliyah's "One In A Million" track. But no shade to those other artists, Aaliyah was simply ahead of her time - and as always, truly one in a million. 1 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, the track’s sound remained untouched, setting it apart from the less imaginative ballads and rap songs surrounding it. During the six weeks “ One in a Million” spent at No. Besides, even Timbaland’s striking instrumental is no match for the singer, who effortlessly dominates the beat through her inexplicably captivating swagger and tone. Despite her understated approach, Aaliyah never felt the need to compete. Across the song’s 4:30 runtime, the trio joined forces to pioneer an unprecedented R&B lane, defined by its versatility. Like the singer herself, “ One in a Million” bridged often-juxtaposed worlds: The track is a gentle ballad over a tough beat, melding together rugged and smooth with ease. Twenty-five years later, her hunch remains true. According to Missy, Baby Girl knew “ One in a Million” was a hit before anyone else. Atlantic Records pushed for a radio mix to make the track more palatable. Radio stations had no clue where to place it.
Production-wise, a burgeoning Timbaland sprinkled in sounds of crickets, aircrafts and birds. Melodically, its cadences are similar to those of a rapper, formulated by then-newcomer, Missy Elliott. Lyrically, it’s a love song, the R&B princess declaring her innermost feelings and lifelong promises to a partner. Upon its release, “ One in a Million” was an unlikely hit.
One in a million song aaliyah movie#
" Try Again" was the first song to ever top the Hot 100 from airplay points alone (following a 1998 chart rule change), and its hall-of-mirrors-set VMA-winning music video - featuring scenes of Aaliyah opposite Jet Li in her debut movie role - was an MTV and BET staple and further cemented her status as a fashion trend-setter (the bedazzled bra with low-cut leather pants) and a choreography queen. Aaliyah's voice is as nimble as ever, slinkily sliding over the synth line and icing the techno-inspired beat with her R&B finesse. Aaliyah reteamed with Timbaland for the Grammy-nominated Romeo Must Die soundtrack single, and while he dipped back into the vocal-sampling tricks of 1998's "Are You That Somebody?," this time around, the production skews more toward the fuzzy electronic sounds of the future than the thumping hip-hop beats of the past. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" is a cliché dating back to the 1800s, but there's nothing trite about this ahead-of-its-time 2000 smash. Listen to a few of 'em today, and marvel at an artist talented and fully realized enough to change the course of an entire genre before she was old enough to buy cigarettes. But we tried our best, with our Billboard staff list of the 20 best songs from the artist forever known as Baby Girl, counted down below. Her presence remains mighty and ineffable, and her music seemingly more influential and more highly regarded with each passing year.Įven with just three official albums across her seven-year recording career, Aaliyah's catalog is tough to pare down to essentials. But while her music has long been absent, her impact has never been less than unavoidable: At no point in the last 20 years could you foray deep into the worlds of hip-hop, R&B, pop or even electronic without running across an Aaliyah cover, an Aaliyah sample, an Aaliyah reference - or just an Aaliyah acolyte spouting the gospel through their words and/or their music. With Aaliyah's classic 1996 sophomore LP One in a Million now available on streaming and at digital retailers - and the rest of her long-absent catalog soon to follow - younger generations will finally able to experience the greatness of Aaliyah's too-brief catalog for themselves. By 22, with her brilliant self-titled album, she had fully come into her own as an adult artist - and she was still just getting started. Already a star at age 15, her artistic maturation came rapidly by 17 she was forecasting R&B's future alongside kindred spirits Missy Elliott and Timbaland, by 21 she was topping the Billboard Hot 100 and threatening a Hollywood takeover. Kelly, the man who wrote and produced it, but it still feels uncannily appropriate for Aaliyah's career.
The title of her Age Ain't Nothing But a Number debut album may be tainted today by what we would learn about R. It seems almost impossible to imagine today, 20 years after that fatal plane crash in the Bahamas, that Aaliyah Dana Haughton was just 22 years old when she died.
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