Too Close (Next song)

"Too Close"
Single by Next
from the album Rated Next
Released September 1997
Format CD single
Recorded 1997
Genre R&B
Length 4:20
Label Arista
Writer(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)

"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).

The song reached number one on the U.S. Hot 100 and R&B charts and has gone Platinum making it their biggest and best known hit. In the 1998 U.S. Billboard End-Year chart, the song reached number one. It contains a sample of "Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow. "Too Close" was a massive hit on Urban Contemporary radio stations by its fourth month of airplay in January 1998 and still the most played single by Next.

Content

The song is about a man who has become aroused by a young woman who is grinding on his crotch at a club and cannot control the arousal. ("I feel a little poke coming through", as well as "Now girl I know you felt it... You know what I wanna do", and "You're making it hard for me.")

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[1] 12
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[2] 44
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[3] 39
Canada Dance (RPM)[4] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] 2
Germany (Media Control Charts)[6] 43
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 8
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 39
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 46
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[11] 24
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 1
US Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[12] 5
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks[12] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1998) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 1

Decade-end charts

Chart (1990-1999) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 16

Blue version

"Too Close"
Single by Blue
from the album All Rise
Released 27 August 2001
Format CD single, cassette
Recorded 2001
Genre R&B
Length 3:47
Label Virgin, Innocent
Writer(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]
Certification Silver (BPI)
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 seventeen 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. This caused a huge media backlash that resulted in Blue losing a record deal in the United States and campaigns to sack Ryan from the group.[15]

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

Chart (2001) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 5
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 72
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 6
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[19] 10
Germany (Media Control Charts)[20] 66
Ireland (IRMA) 17
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[21] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[22] 19
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[23] 2
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[24] 41
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[26] Platinum 70,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Silver 200,000^

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

References

  1. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Next – Too Close". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  2. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Next – Too Close" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  3. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Next – Too Close" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  4. ↑ Canadian dance peak
  5. ↑ Canadian top singles peak
  6. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Next > Too Close – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  7. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Next search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  8. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Next – Too Close". Top 40 Singles.
  9. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Next – Too Close". Singles Top 60.
  10. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Next – Too Close". Swiss Singles Chart.
  11. ↑ "Next – Too Close". Chart Stats. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Next > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Billboard. Allmusic. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  13. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 1998". Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  14. ↑ 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.
  15. ↑ "Lee Ryan's 9/11 gaffe". virginmedia.com. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  16. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Blue – Too Close". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Blue – Too Close" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Blue – Too Close" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. ↑ "Hits of the World - Eurochart Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 25 August 2001. p. 61. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Blue > Too Close – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  21. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Blue – Too Close". Top 40 Singles.
  22. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Blue – Too Close". VG-lista.
  23. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2001-09-08". Scottish Singles Top 40.
  24. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Blue – Too Close". Singles Top 60.
  25. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2001-09-08" UK Singles Chart.
  26. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2001 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  27. ↑ "British single certifications – Blue – Too Close". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Too Close in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search

External links