If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time

Not to be confused with If I Could Turn Back Time or Turn Back the Hands of Time (song).
"If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time"
Single by R. Kelly
from the album R.
Released July 24, 1999
Format CD single, cassette single
Recorded 1997
Genre R&B, soul
Length 6:17 (album and single version)
4:56 (radio edit)
Label Jive
Writer(s) R. Kelly
Producer(s) R. Kelly
R. Kelly singles chronology
"Did You Ever Think"
(1999)		 "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time"
(1999)		 "I Wish"
(2000)

"If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" is a song by R. Kelly, released as the fifth single from his 1998 album, R..[1] The song is a sweeping ballad about a man wishing he could go back in time and repair his relationship with his girlfriend. The song was a top 10 hit on the pop charts of several countries, while in the United States it finished just outside the top 10, peaking at number 12.

Background

The song is a sweeping ballad about a man wishing he could turn back in time and repair his relationship with his girlfriend.

Music video

The music video was directed by F. Gary Gray and is a highly budget video.

Success and legacy

The song has sold close to a million copies in the UK and is one of his biggest hits in many countries, in the Belgium the song is one of the best selling and biggest recordings there, selling triple Platinum. The song was certified Gold in the United States.[2] The song has been covered by several artist including Ed Sheeran and also sung at talent shows.[3] Rapper Mims sampled the song for his debut album Music Is My Savior on the track "I Did You Wrong".[4]

Later samples

Later covers

Live performance

Kelly does not performed this song very often, he performed this song for the first time on live television when he was in England on the show Top of the Pops.[5] He seem to perform this song more when he's in doing a show in Europe than in America, reason for that is that this song is was highly successful there.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[6] 12
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[7] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[8] 24
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[9] 27
Australia Single Chart 65
Austrian Singles Chart 2
Ireland Singles Chart 2
Belgian Flanders Singles Chart 1
Belgian Walonia Singles Chart 1
Canada Singles Chart 7
Dutch Singles Chart 1
French Singles Chart 2
German Singles Chart 2
Italian Singles Chart 20
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart 39
Norwegian Singles Chart 9
Swedish Singles Chart[10] 3
Swiss Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart 2
Scottish Singles Chart 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 19

Certifications

Territory Certifier Certification Sales
UK BPI Platinum[12] 600,000
Belgium IFPI 3x Platinum[13]
Germany IFPI Platinum[14] 500,000
Sweden IFPI Platinum[15]
Austria IFPI Gold[16]
Spain SNEP Gold[17]
Switzerland IFPI Gold[18]
United States RIAA Gold[19] 500,000

References

References

External links