Same Script, Different Cast

"Same Script, Different Cast"
Single by Whitney Houston and Deborah Cox
from the album Whitney: The Greatest Hits
Released October 10, 2000 (US)
October 25, 2000 (UK)
April 7, 2006 (Digital Download Dance Vault Mixes)
Format CD single, Digital Download
Recorded 2000
Genre R&B, Urban adult contemporary
Length 4:58
Label Arista
Writer(s) Stacey Daniels, Shae Jones, Shep Crawford, Montell Jordan
Producer(s) "Shep" Crawford
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"If I Told You That"
(2000)		 "Same Script, Different Cast"
(2000)		 "Fine"
(2000)
Deborah Cox singles chronology
"I Never Knew"
(2000)		 "Same Script, Different Cast"
(2000)		 "Absolutely Not"
(2001)

"Same Script, Different Cast" is a song performed as a duet by American R&B singers Whitney Houston and Deborah Cox. Released as a single in 2000, the song features Houston playing the former lover of Cox's current boyfriend. Houston warns Cox of his hurtful ways, though Cox refuses to acknowledge it.

The song incorporates a backing track of Ludwig van Beethoven's Für Elise during the intro. The song was released as a radio-only promo single and hence no video was made. It was a minor hit on Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #70 while reaching #14 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Critical reception

Jim Farber of New York Daily News wrote: "There's a nice tête- ... -tête with label mate Deborah Cox on "Same Script, Different Cast" which amounts to a grownup version of Brandy and Monica's "The Boy Is Mine."[1] JAM! Music's Jane Stevenson preferred this duet: "Toronto's own Deborah Cox fares better with Houston on Same Script, Different Cast than Enrique Iglesias does on the soppy Could I Have This Kiss Forever (Metro Mix)."[2] USA Today's Steve Jones wrote that this collaboration is "most telling."[3] Billboard called this song special highlight.[4] The Star-Ledger Newark, NJ wrote: "Same Script, Different Cast" isn't much of a song, but gives Houston and duet partner Deborah Cox an opportunity to engage in some thrilling vocal sparring."[5] Sonic.net editor wrote: "Same Script, Different Cast" features plucked harp strings and piano behind a duet with Deborah Cox, the two singers bemoaning that they chose the same loser for a lover," ; Barnes & Noble called this song my "man done me wrong" pairing. Essence review called this song special gem in which laides trade sassy lines. Vibe Magazine agreed. Orlando Sentinel editor wrote: "Same Script, Different Cast" plays like a conversation in a Broadway musical. In the song, Houston warns her friend that her current boyfriend eventually will break her heart."[6] Reporter. pl agreed when critics claimed that this is one of the most interesting duets in years.[7] The Baltimore Sun panned the song calling it tepid and bloated.[8] Following Houston's death in 2012, Entertainment Weekly published a list of her 25 best songs and ranked "Same Script, Different Cast" at number 24, commenting "If the boy from the Brandy and Monica duet The Boy Is Mine grew up into a cad, burned Whitney, and took up with Deborah Cox."[9]

Track listings

12" promo
2x12" promo
Dance Vault Mixes (Digital Download)
  1. Same Script, Different Cast (Jonathan Peters Vocal Club Mix)
  2. Same Script, Different Cast (Joe Smooth Slang Club Mix)
  3. Same Script, Different Cast (Jonathan Peters Goes There Dub)
  4. Same Script, Different Cast (Victor Romeo Slang Vocal Mix)
  5. Same Script, Different Cast (Friburn & Urik Cover Your Ears Mix)
  6. Same Script, Different Cast (Mel Hammond Beautiful Slang Dub)
  7. Same Script, Different Cast (Jonathan Peters Radio Edit)

Personnel

Recording and mixing[10]
Credits[10]

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (2000) Peak
position
Canadian Singles Chart 38
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 70
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[12] 4
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[13] 14

Year-end charts

Chart (2000) Position
U.S R&B/Hip-Hop Singles[14] 64

References

  1. ↑ Daily News (New York) http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/whitney-half-wild-latest-album-set-1-part-bad-ballads-1-part-boogie-bliss-article-1.872163. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/H/Houston_Whitney/AlbumReviews/2000/05/21/771101.html
  3. ↑ Jones, Steve (9 May 2000). "Whitney's 'Greatest' lined up in smart order". USA TODAY.
  4. ↑ http://books.google.fi/books?id=PA8EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=fi&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=whitney%20houston&f=false
  5. ↑ Lustig, Jay (May 16, 2000). "The greatest hits of all, but the remix is just so-so". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 18 April 2014. (Full review available at Classic-Whitney.com)
  6. ↑ Galera, Christine (June 30, 2000). "Whitney Houston: The Greatest Hits". The Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  7. ↑ http://www.classicwhitney.com/review/music/albums/wtghrev.htm#NME
  8. ↑ http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2000-05-25/entertainment/0005240312_1_whitney-houston-greatest-hits-wanna-dance
  9. ↑ Anderson, Kyle; Goldblatt, Henry; Greenblatt, Leah; Rahman, Ray (17 February 2012). "Whitney Houston: Her 25 Best Songs". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Whitney: The Greatest Hits album booklet
  11. ↑ "Whitney Houston Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Whitney Houston.
  12. ↑ "Whitney Houston Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Whitney Houston.
  13. ↑ "Whitney Houston Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Whitney Houston.
  14. ↑ http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/1114806

External links