The Finest (song)

"The Finest"
Single by The S.O.S. Band
from the album Sands of Time
B-side	"I Don't Want Nobody Else"
Released	1986 (UK) 1986 (US)
Format	12", 7"
Genre	Boogie
Length	4:42
Label	Tabu Records
Writer(s)	Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
Producer(s)	Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
The S.O.S. Band singles chronology
"Even When You Sleep" (1986) "The Finest" (1986) "No Lies" (1987)

"The Finest" is a 1986 hit single for the American band The S.O.S. Band. It is the fifth track on their sixth studio album Sands of Time and it is one of the group's last songs to feature the vocals of original lead singer Mary Davis. Singing alongside Mary Davis in the song is famous R&B singer Alexander O'Neal. "The Finest" was a major success on the US R&B charts, reaching number two and was their last entry on the Hot 100, where it peaked at number 44.^[1] On the dance charts, "The Finest" peaked at number eight^[2] and was also their second top 20 hit on the UK Singles chart, reaching number 17.

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	17
U.S. R&B Chart	2

Finest Dreams

"Finest Dreams"
Single by Richard X featuring Kelis
from the album Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1
B-side	"Music for an Imaginary Mobile Phone Commercial"
Released	11 August 2003 (UK)
Format	CD single, 12" single
Recorded	2003
Genre	Electropop
Length	4:14
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Philip Oakey, Philip Adrian Wright
Producer(s)	Richard X
Richard X singles chronology
"Being Nobody" (2002) "Finest Dreams" (2003)
Kelis singles chronology "Young, Fresh n' New" (2001) "Finest Dreams" (2003) "Milkshake" (2003)

In 2003, The Finest was covered by English mashup producer Richard X featuring vocals by American R&B singer–songwriter Kelis. This version of the song was entitled "Finest Dreams" and is a mash-up with backing based upon an instrumental remix of The Human League track "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" (taken from the Love and Dancing album).

The song was released on 11 August 2003 in the United Kingdom as the third single from Richard X's debut album, Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1. The single peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart the week ending 23 August 2003. The music video was directed by Oli Goldsmith.

Track listing

UK CD single

1. "Finest Dreams" (Richard X featuring Kelis) – 4:14
2. "Finest Dreams" (Part Two) (Richard X featuring Kelis) – 5:15
3. "Music for an Imaginary Mobile Phone Commercial" – 3:05

UK 12" single

• Side A:

1. "Finest Dreams" (Richard X featuring Kelis) – 4:14

• Side B:

1. "Finest Dreams" (Part Two) (Richard X featuring Kelis) – 5:15
2. "Music for an Imaginary Mobile Phone Commercial" – 3:05

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
European Hot 100 Singles[3]	46
Irish Singles Chart[4]	35
UK Singles Chart[4]	8

Other versions

• Foul Play sampled and sped up the vocals for their 1993 jungle/hardcore track "The Finest"
• The song was sampled in MF Doom track, The Finest from 1999 album Operation: Doomsday.
• British all-girl R&B trio Truce covered the song in 1995. The track peaked at number 54 on the UK singles chart.

References

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 540.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 240.
3. "Chart Data: Kelis". Mariah-Charts.com. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
4. "Richard X and Kelis – Finest Dreams – Music Charts". αCharts.us. Retrieved 2008-08-03.