Don't Let Go (Love)

"Don't Let Go (Love)"
Artwork for US CD editions
Single by En Vogue
from the album EV3 and Set It Off (soundtrack)
Released	October 22, 1996
Format	CD single, Cassette single
Recorded	August 1996
Genre	R&B, pop, urban contemporary
Length	4:52 (Album/Soundtrack Version) 4:04 (Radio Edit)
Label	eastwest
Songwriter(s)	Andrea Martin; Ivan Matias; Marqueze Ethridge; Organized Noize
Producer(s)	Organized Noize
En Vogue singles chronology
"Whatta Man" (1993) "Don't Let Go (Love)" (1996) "Whatever" (1997)
"Whatta Man" (1993) "Don't Let Go (Love)" (1996) "Whatever" (1997)

"Don't Let Go (Love)" is a song by American R&B group En Vogue. It was written by Ivan Matias, Andrea Martin, Marqueze Etheridge and produced by Organized Noize and Ivan Matias for the Set It Off soundtrack (1996), also appearing on the group's third album, EV3 (1997). The song was the band's last released single to feature former band member Dawn Robinson, and became En Vogue's biggest international single, peaking in the top ten of many countries. According to Billboard, the single ranked as the #83rd most successful single of the 1990s.

In June 2017, original member of En Vogue, Maxine Jones released a brand new version of "Don't Let Go (Love)" as a duet with Australian singer Greg Gould after songwriter Ivan Matias saw Gould's cover version online and introduced them. Gould's version reached number 5 on the Australian pop charts and the accompanying music video was a viral hit, reaching over 15 million views. ^[1]

Background

The worldwide popularity of this song compelled Elektra mogul Sylvia Rhone to place En Vogue back in the studio to record their album EV3 for release in 1997. However, Dawn Robinson felt a solo career was not feasible while she was still a member of En Vogue, while the other group members plus the record producers and label executives were focused on the new En Vogue album. Forced to choose, Robinson decided to leave En Vogue for a solo career with Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. The turn of events following the success of "Don't Let Go (Love)" was the beginning of a long and tumultuous era for En Vogue as member changes became quite frequent.

Commercial performance

"Don't Let Go (Love)" became the third En Vogue track to peak at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 where it was the group's fifth and final Top Ten hit. The song was a #1 R&B song for 1 week becoming En Vogue's sixth and final #1 R&B Hit to date. It hit #5 in the UK in early 1997 and spent 13 weeks in the UK top 40, eight of those weeks in the top ten. The single re-entered the UK chart at number 23 in 2011 after girl group Little Mix performed the song on the eighth series of British television talent contest The X Factor on November 19, 2011: the En Vogue track reached #23 on the UK chart and also returned to the Irish charts at #50. In 1997 Don't Let Go (Love) went to number one on the Norwegian top 20 singles chart (VG-Lista Topp 20) and stayed at the top spot for six consecutive weeks. In total it stayed in the top 20 for 16 weeks.

The single sold 1.3 million copies in the United States and was certified platinum by the RIAA.^[2][3][4] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 127 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[5] The song was notable in the 1996 movie Set It Off.

Music video

A music video was released to promote the single in which they sang in front of an audience in black outfits while some clips of the "Set it Off" movie were inserted. A second video was released using the same footage of En Vogue singing in front of an audience, but the scenes from Set it Off were replaced with images that followed a new storyline. In this version, Mekhi Phifer plays a man who has been secretly dating all four members of En Vogue. The four women find out about each other and confront Phifer's character at a party.

Versions

During promotion of the single, several versions surfaced. The main album version was essentially used for the music video, but with a slightly different ending where Terry Ellis ad libs as the final chorus fades. An edit version which cut out several seconds in the beginning, as well as the instrumental following Cindy's ad libbing towards the end, was mainly spun at radio stations.

Charts and certifications

Cover versions

• American rock band Deepfield covered this song on their debut album, Archetypes and Repetition.
• British girl group Sugababes covered this song during their Change Tour in 2008.
• The song was sampled in the 2009 recording, also titled "Don't Let Go", by British hip-hop artist Professor Green.
• Korean girl group Bella covered this song in Korean Language as their debut single in 2011.
• On November 19, 2011, girl group contestants Little Mix performed the song on the eighth season of British television talent contest The X Factor, resulting in En Vogue's version to re-enter the UK chart at number 23. On the final, Little Mix performed the song for the second time and they won the show on 11 December. The song features as a bonus track on the group's "winner's single". Following the group's win, and featuring it on their single, the song re-entered the charts again a few weeks later at Number 27. On 25 January 2012, they performed this song on The National Television Awards.
• On June 15, 2013, contestant Cleo Higgins performed the song on the second season of British television talent contest The Voice.
• Australian singer Delta Goodrem performed the song on her 2016 Wings of the Wild Tour.
• Australian singer Greg Gould released an acoustic version of the song on his EP 'Don't Let Go' on February 10, 2017. In June 2017, he released a duet version of the song, featuring newly recorded vocals from original En Vogue member Maxine Jones.

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of number-one R&B singles of 1997 (U.S.)
• List of number-one hits in Norway

Sources

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics