Don't Let Go (Love)

"Don't Let Go (Love)"
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)
Writer(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)

"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 single to feature former band member Dawn Robinson, on lead vocals, and became En Vogue's biggest international single, peaking in the top ten of many countries. 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. "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. 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.

The single sold 1.3 million copies in the United States and was certified platinum by the RIAA.^[1][2][3] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 127 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".^[4] The song was notable in the 1996 movie Set It Off.

This song compelled Elektra mogul Sylvia Rhone to place En Vogue back in the studio to record their 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.

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.

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.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1996–97) Peak position Australian ARIA Chart 3 Austrian Singles Chart 9 Danish Singles Chart[5] 1 Dutch Singles Chart 2 French Singles Chart 16 German Singles Chart 7 Irish Singles Chart 3 Norwegian Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart 6 Swiss Singles Chart 4 UK Singles Chart 5 US Billboard Hot 100 2 US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard) 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard) 2 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) 16 Chart (2011) Peak position Irish Singles Chart 50 UK Singles Chart 23

Year-end charts Chart (1997) Position Australian ARIA Chart 18 UK Singles Chart 26 US Billboard Hot 100[6] 7 Decade-end charts Chart (1990–1999) Position US Billboard Hot 100[7] 83 Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Australia (ARIA)[8] Gold 35,000^^ Belgium (BEA)[9] Gold 25,000^* New Zealand (RMNZ)[10] Gold 7,500^* Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[11] Gold 25,000^x United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Gold 567,110[13] United States (RIAA)[3] Platinum 1,300,000[1][2] ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

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.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result
1997	Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group	Nominated
1997	Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B, Rap or Soul Single by Group, Band or Duo	Won
1997	Billboard Music Award for Top Soundtrack Single	Nominated

See also

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

Sources

1. "Best-Selling Records of 1996". Billboard (BPI Communications Inc.) 109 (3): 61. January 18, 1997. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
2. "Best-Selling Records of 1997". Billboard (BPI Communications Inc.) 110 (5): 76. January 31, 1998. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
3. "American single certifications – En Vogue – Don%27t Let Go". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
4. 150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years | NME.COM
5. Billboard, April 3, 1997: Hits of the World Section
6. "Billboard Top 100 - 1997". Retrieved 2010-08-28.
7. 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.
8. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
9. "Ultratop 50 Albums Wallonie 1997". Ultratop. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
10. "Top 50 Singles Chart, 4 May 1997". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
11. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (En Vogue)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
12. "British single certifications – En Vogue". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2011-09-28. Enter En Vogue in the field Search. Select Artist in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
13. Myers, Justin (24 October 2015). "Quiz: Who sold more?". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2015.

• Chartpositions: http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=En+Vogue&titel=Don%27t+Let+Go+%28Love%29&cat=s
• Norwegian chart position VG-lista Topp 20: http://lista.vg.no/album_info.php?AlbumOp=show&albumId=1887&albumtype=song&albumtype_id=

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics