Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Hold On (En Vogue song)

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B-side
  
"Lies"

Recorded
  
August–September 1989

Length
  
5:04

Format
  
7", 12", CD single

Genre
  
R&B, new jack swing

Released
  
February 23, 1990 (airplay) March 5, 1990 (cassette/CD single)

"Hold On" is a song by American recording group En Vogue released in 1990. It is the first single from their debut album, Born to Sing. The song was produced by producing duo Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy and composed by all members of En Vogue, Thomas and Foster.

Contents

Production

The song opens with an a cappella rendition of the Motown standard "Who's Lovin' You", written by Smokey Robinson and originally recorded by his group, The Miracles. It features lead vocals by Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis vocals on the introduction. The song also contains a guitar sample from "The Payback" by James Brown.

Commercial performance

Following its release, the single peaked to #1 one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles, #2 on Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on Billboards Hot Dance chart. "Hold On" was also a huge hit in several countries, reaching the top five or top 10; #5 in the UK, #5 in New Zealand, #6 in Germany, #10 in the Netherlands. and #12 in Austrian.

In 1990, the single became one of the biggest hits in the US and overseas. "Hold On" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Year-End chart for 1990 as the top R&B hit, and as the No. 8 pop hit on the Billboard Year-End chart.

En Vogue performed the song at the 2008 BET Awards with Alicia Keys. In 2007, the song's chorus was used and performed by Pharrell on Jay-Z's song "Blue Magic" The song was also sampled in the Terminator X song "Buck Whylin'.

Impact and legacy

The Daily Telegraph ranked "Hold On" at #47 in their Top 50 Dance Songs list in 2015, adding:

"R&B girl group En Vogue broke through with this club classic. A piercing a cappella rendition of Motown standard Who's Lovin You leads into a hip-hop beat with a funky bass line, horn and piano stabs. "You've got to hold on, to your love", the girls proclaim, and it is their powerful singing that carries this one."

Formats and track listings

  • US 12" vinyl single
    1. "Hold On" (album version) – 5:18
    2. "Hold On" (instrumental) – 3:56
    3. "Hold On" (dub version) – 3:59
  • UK CD single
    1. "Hold On" (Tuff Jam's radio mix) – 4:04
    2. "Hold On" (C-Swing's Jerk Mix radio edit) – 4:00
    3. "Hold On" (Tuff Jam's classic garage mix) – 6:17
  • US CD single
    1. "Hold On" – 5:07
    2. "Lies" – 3:59

    Personnel

  • Executive-producer – David Lombard, Denzil Foster
  • Lead vocals, backing vocals, vocals [dialogues] – Cindy Herron, Dawn Robinson, Maxine Jones, Terry Ellis
  • Lyrics by – En Vogue, Thomas McElroy, Denzil Foster
  • Music by, keyboards, drum programming [drum machine programming] – Thomas McElroy, Denzil Foster
  • Keyboards (remix version) – Mark Fisher
  • Remix, producer – Karl "Tuff Enuff" Brown, Matt "Jam" Lamont
  • Saxophone – Grover Washington, Jr.
  • Vocals – En Vogue
  • Vocals (dialogues) – Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy
  • Producer, arranged by – Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster

    • Tracks & credits from Single liner notes

    References

    Hold On (En Vogue song) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA