Contagious (song)

"Contagious"
Single by The Isley Brothers featuring R. Kelly and Chanté Moore
from the album Eternal
Released	April 24, 2001
Format	CD
Genre	R&B
Length	4:52
Label	DreamWorks
Writer(s)	R. Kelly
Producer(s)	R. Kelly
The Isley Brothers chronology
"Tears" (1996) "Contagious" (2001) "Secret Lover" (2001)

"Contagious" is a song by The Isley Brothers featuring group member Ronald Isley. It was released as a single from their 2001 album Eternal. The song was written and produced by R. Kelly, who was also featured on the song, and also features vocals by R&B singer Chanté Moore.

The video plays as a mini soap opera depicting a man who goes home and finds out his woman has been cheating on him with another man. The song is taken to another level during the breakdown of the song, where the two men, Mr. Biggs and Kelly, meet once again after their previous battle on Kelly's 1996 single, "Down Low" (although they also met on Kelly Price's 1998 hit "Friend of Mine"). In the middle of the second verse, Ron Isley goes down memory lane after saying "The down low happened to me all over again"; additionally, the third verse starts off with Mr. Biggs asking R. Kelly "What the hell is going on between the sheets in my own home?", reprising their meeting in the Kelly Price song as well as the title of his own hit "Between the Sheets", and R. Kelly accuses Mr. Biggs (who recalls seeing him before) of mistaken identity. In the video, there is also a brief clip of the "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)" video, shown of Mr. Biggs beating R. Kelly with a sledgehammer.

"Contagious" rose to #19 on the pop singles chart and #3 on the R&B singles chart and made the Isleys the first band to score a hit in six consecutive decades on Billboard's Hot 100. The breakthrough helped their 2001 album Eternal go double platinum.

In 2002 the song won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo.

Single track listing

1. "Contagious" (Clean Radio Edit) - 4:27
2. "Contagious" (Radio Edit) - 4:27
3. "Contagious" (LP Version) - 5:46
4. "Contagious" (Instrumental) - 5:46
5. "Contagious" (A Capella) - 5:41

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Billboard Hot 100	19
Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	3
Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	22

Year-End charts

End of year chart (2001)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[1]	81

References

1. "Billboard Top 100 - 2001". Retrieved 2011-07-09.