Released February 22, 2000 Length 4:49 | Format CD single
12" Label Blackground, Virgin | |
Recorded Fall 1999; Manhattan Center
(New York City, New York) Genre R&B
EDM
hip hop
electro
dance-pop | ||
"Try Again" is a song by American recording artist Aaliyah. It was written by Static Major and Timothy Mosley, and produced by Timbaland. The song was released on February 22, 2000, as the lead single for the soundtrack to the film Romeo Must Die, and was later included on international pressings of the singer's self-titled album. "Try Again" features an intro in which Timbaland pays homage to Eric B. & Rakim by rapping the duo's opening verse from "I Know You Got Soul".
Contents
Background
In 1999, Aaliyah landed her first movie role in Romeo Must Die, released March 22, 2000. A loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families. It grossed US$18.6 million in its first weekend, ranking number two at the box office. In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film soundtrack, to which she contributed four songs. Aaliyah revealed that the production team "actually talked about the soundtrack before we even shot the movie". On February 18, 2000, it was announced that "Try Again" would be released as the lead single of Romeo Must Die: The Album (2000), while an accompanying music video would be directed by Wayne Isham. It was physically released on February 22, 2000.
Composition
"Try Again" is a song written by Stephen Garrett and Timothy Mosley, and produced by Timbaland. Timbaland's fuzzy, booming soundscape is influenced by acid house. Yahoo! Music formally known as "Launch" mentioned that the song's sound is associated with Detroit techno. Aaliyah's sinuous singing comprises simple vocal riffs, which are repeated and refracted to echo the manipulated loops that produce the song's digital rhythm. The chorus line, "If at first you don't succeed, then dust yourself off and try again", is hypnotically repeated in a fashion similar to the sampling and vocal manipulation found in house music.
According to Music Notes, the song is composed in the key of C♯ minor and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 92 beats per minute, while Aaliyah's vocal range spans from G♯3 to G♯4. In the song's intro, Timbaland pays homage to Eric B. & Rakim by rapping the duo's opening verse from "I Know You Got Soul".
Chart performance
"Try Again" debuted on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week of March 18, 2000 at number fifty-eight, reaching number one on the week of June 17, 2000. It also peaked at number one on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, number three on the Mainstream Top 40 chart and number four on the Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart. On the Year-End chart for 2000, the song reached number twelve.
In the United Kingdom, "Try Again" debuted and peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart on July 16, 2000―for the week ending July 22, 2000―while staying in the top seventy-five of the chart for twelve weeks.
"Try Again" also achieved commercial success elsewhere in Europe, peaking within the top five on the charts in Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland. In Germany, the song peaked at number five on the German Singles Chart.
In Australia, the song reached number eight on the ARIA Singles Chart. It became the country's fifty-first best-selling song of 2000.
Music video
The music video was filmed at Hollywood Center Studios on March 6, 2000. It begins with Jet Li entering a hall of mirrors and Aaliyah stepping in, wearing a revealing low-cut bra and tight low-rise leather pants. Timbaland is also shown. The room is dim with a shallow pool and circle light in the center to resemble the moon shining over the ocean represented by said pool. The making of the video and the video itself was featured on the Romeo Must Die DVD. The video was directed by Wayne Isham, with Fatima Robinson creating the choreography. The "Hall of Mirrors" room was inspired by Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. The video placed seventh on BET's year-end special Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2000, fifteenth on Channel V's Retro Top 20: 2000, ranks Aaliyah at number 29 on Channel V's Top 40: Ladies of the '00s and 41st on Channel Max's Top 100 Sexiest Women.
Legacy
"Try Again" was the first song ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on the strength of its radio airplay. "Try Again" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 43rd Grammy Awards, while its music video won two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film. The song was also nominated on the seventh annual Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards in the category of Song of the Year; however, Aaliyah lost to gospel artist Yolanda Adams.
"Try Again" was featured on Billboard's Hot 100 Songs of the Decade list at number ninety-eight, while appearing at number eighty-six on the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Best Songs of the Decade. On January 31, 2005, Pitchfork Media ranked the song number thirty-seven on its list of the Top 100 Singles of 2000-04. Complex Magazine ranked the single 43rd on its list of the 100 Best Songs of the 2000s, while it finished 60th on Slant Magazine's Best of the Aughts: Singles list. In September 2011, VH1 included "Try Again" in their list of 100 Greatest Songs of the '00s, placing it at number 65. The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop annual year-end critics' poll ranked "Try Again" at number 10 to find the best music of 2000. British publication The Daily Telegraph ranked try again at number 42 on their 100 songs that defined the Noughties list. Yahoo included "Try Again" on their 15 Chart toppers that didn't suck (2000's edition) list
George Michael sampled "Try Again" in his 2002 hit song "Freeek!".
Dr. Danny from The Mindy Project taught the choreography of the video to Mindy in an episode of the series.
German NDH band Knorkator covered the song in their album "Ich hasse Musik".