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Angel of Mine

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"Angel of Mine"
Single by Eternal
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side
  • "Twelve Months"
  • "Talk About It"
  • "Dreams" (remix)
Released29 September 1997 (1997-09-29)
Studio
  • Sound Gallery (Los Angeles)
  • H-2-O Enterprises (London, England)
GenreR&B
Length
  • 4:21 (album version)
  • 3:35 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rhett Lawrence
Eternal singles chronology
"I Wanna Be the Only One"
(1997)
"Angel of Mine"
(1997)
"What'cha Gonna Do"
(1999)

"Angel of Mine" is a song by British R&B girl group Eternal from their first compilation album, Greatest Hits (1997). It was written by Rhett Lawrence and Travon Potts, produced by Lawrence, and released on 29 September 1997. The song became Eternal's 12th and final top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. "Angel of Mine" was the ensemble's final single as a three-piece, as after its release, Kéllé Bryan left the group. In June 2019, "Angel of Mine" was ranked at number 91 on the Official Charts Company's "Top 100 Girl Band Singles of the Last 25 Years".[1]

In 1998, American singer Monica released a cover version that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks and peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot R&B Singles & Tracks chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999.

Critical reception

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Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "With this lush number, Eternal confirm their status as the U.K.'s queens of the R&B ballad, at the same time offering a preview of their imminent Greatest Hits album, which is due for release on October 20."[2] British magazine Music Week rated "Angel of Mine" five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. It was described as a "lush, touching ballad, highlighting their vocal prowess", and, "It cannot fail."[3] The magazine's Alan Jones declared it as "particularly uplifting and enjoyable."[4]

Track listings

[edit]
UK CD1[5]
No.TitleLength
1."Angel of Mine" (original mix) 
2."Twelve Months" 
3."Talk About It" 
4."Dreams" (Mike Dean remix featuring Grand Puba and Sadat X) 
UK CD2 and Japanese CD single[6][7]
No.TitleLength
1."Angel of Mine" (original mix) 
2."Angel of Mine" (Ignorants club mix) 
3."Angel of Mine" (Blacksmith "Eternal Meets D&D" mix) 
4."Dreams" (Frankie Cutlass remix featuring Grand Puba and Sadat X) 
UK cassette single[8]
No.TitleLength
1."Angel of Mine" (original mix) 
2."Twelve Months" 
3."Angel of Mine" (Blacksmith R&B Rub) 
4."Angel of Mine" (Ignorants radio mix) 
European CD single[9]
No.TitleLength
1."Angel of Mine" (radio edit) 
2."Power of a Woman" (radio edit) 

Credits and personnel

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Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Greatest Hits.[10]

Studios

  • Recorded at Sound Gallery Studios (Los Angeles) and H-2-O Enterprises (London, England)
  • Mixed at Sound Gallery Studios (Los Angeles)

Personnel

  • Rhett Lawrence – writing, all instruments, production, programming, arrangement, mixing
  • Travon Potts – writing, all instruments, programming, arrangement
  • Easther Bennett – lead vocals, background vocals
  • Vernie Bennett – background vocals
  • Kéllé Bryan – background vocals
  • Maxx – mixing
  • Dave Pensado – mixing
  • Eric White – engineering
  • Bryan Golder – engineering
  • Simon Bohannon – engineering
  • William Catterson – assistant engineering

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Norway (IFPI Norway)[30] Gold  
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 29 September 1997
  • CD
  • cassette
[32]
Japan 29 October 1997 CD EMI [33]

Monica version

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"Angel of Mine"
Single by Monica
from the album The Boy Is Mine
B-side"The First Night" (remix)
Released9 November 1998 (1998-11-09)
Genre
Length4:10
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
  • Rhett Lawrence
  • Travon Potts
Producer(s)Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins
Monica singles chronology
"The First Night"
(1998)
"Angel of Mine"
(1998)
"Inside"
(1999)

American R&B singer Monica recorded "Angel of Mine" for her second studio album, The Boy Is Mine (1998).[35] On her version, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins replaced Lawrence as the song's producer. Jerkins also oversaw mixing along with Dexter Simmons, while recording was handled by Rico Lumpkins.[35] Still credited as a songwriter, Lawrence slightly altered the lyrics for Monica at the behest of Arista Records head Clive Davis.[36] Co-writer Potts commented on Monica's rendition: "Rodney [Jerkins] did an incredible job on the production, and then Monica's interpretation, vocally, was incredible as well. She has such a big voice for someone so young."[37] Monica herself, who was unaware of Eternal's original of "Angel of Mine" until she had recorded her own version the song,[38] described the song about "having a friend that she falls in with, which being human is very easy to do."[39] Sheet music for the song "Angel of Mine" is in the key of D Major in common time with a slow tempo of 96 beats per minute.[40]

Critical reception

[edit]

"Angel of Mine" was positively received by Chuck Taylor of Billboard, who called the song "unbelievable" and "absolutely stunning." He also noted its commercial potential, claiming "this song has #1 stamped across its heart."[41] In a retrospective review of the song, Tom Breihan from Stereogum called the song "one more sappy ballad from a time that had no shortage of sappy ballads. But the song has stuck in my head a little more than a lot of the other sappy ballads from that time; the chorus melody is strong enough to pop up in my head whenever I see the song’s title." He further added: "Jerkins kept the sleek acoustic-guitar line from Eternal’s version of the song — a sound so clean that it feels almost unreal. [He] also switched the tempo up a bit and added some subtle synth accents and some itchy drum-machine programming. Those touches aren’t enough to keep "Angel of Mine" from sounding sleepy, but they were enough to set it apart from some of the other pop balladry that was on the charts at the time."[42]

Commercial performance

[edit]

"Angel of Mine" was released on 9 November 1998 as the third single from The Boy Is Mine after Lawrence and Clive Davis had worked out a deal which would see Eternal release the song in Europe, while Monica would get to release the song’s Jerkins-produced version in North America and Oceania.[42][43] Following the success of her previous singles, "The Boy Is Mine" and "The First Night", "Angel of Mine" became the album's third consecutive release to reach the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 within nine months.[44] It also reached number two on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, becoming the seventh domestic top-10 hit of Monica's career.[45] "Angel of Mine" was eventually ranked third on Billboard's Hot 100 year-end chart for 1999 and placed 62nd on the 1990s decade-end chart.[46]

Elsewhere, "Angel of Mine" became a top ten hit in Canada, where it peaked at number five on RPM's Canada Top Singles,[47] and reached number eight on both the Adult Contemporary chart and the Dance/Urban chart, respectively.[48][49] It also peaked at number 12 on the Australian Singles Chart and reached number 36 in New Zealand.[50][51] In the United Kingdom, despite the success of Eternal's 1997 version, "Angel of Mine" spent two weeks on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 55.[52] It also reached the top ten of the UK Hip Hop/R&B chart, peaking at number ten.[53]

Music video

[edit]

The accompanying music video for "Angel of Mine" was directed by Diane Martel and features Tyrese Gibson as Monica's love interest.[54]

Track listings

[edit]
US CD and cassette single[55][56]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Angel of Mine"
  • Rhett Lawrence
  • Travon Potts
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins4:10
2."The First Night" (So So Def remix featuring JD and R.O.C.)
4:09
UK CD single[57]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Angel of Mine"
  • Rhett Lawrence
  • Travon Potts
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins4:10
2."Inside" (Masters at Work remix—TNT radio edit)Diane Warren3:53
3."Inside" (Masters at Work remix)Warren
8:17
Australian CD single[58]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Angel of Mine"
  • Lawrence
  • Potts
Jerkins4:13
2."The First Night" (Razor-N-Guido club mix radio edit)
  • Dupri
  • Savage
  • McLeod
  • Sawyer
  • Dupri
  • Peter "Razor" Osback[a]
  • Guido Osorio[a]
4:37
3."Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)"
Austin3:50

Notes

  • ^a denotes additional producer(s)

Credits and personnel

[edit]

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Boy Is Mine.[35]

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for "Angel of Mine"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[71] Gold 35,000^
United States (RIAA)[73] Platinum 1,100,000[72]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Official Top 100 girl band singles and albums of the last 25 years". Official Charts Company. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. 25 October 1997. p. 17. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  3. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 20 September 1997. p. 31. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  4. ^ Jones, Alan (4 October 1997). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 30. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  5. ^ Angel of Mine (UK CD1 liner notes). Eternal. EMI Records, 1st Avenue Records. 1997. CDEM493, 7243 8 84743 2 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ Angel of Mine (UK CD2 liner notes). Eternal. EMI Records, 1st Avenue Records. 1997. CDEMS 493, 7243 8 84742 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ Angel of Mine (Japanese CD single liner notes). Eternal. EMI Music Japan. 1997. TOCP-40071.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Angel of Mine (UK cassette single sleeve). Eternal. EMI Records, 1st Avenue Records. 1997. TCEMS 493, 7243 8 84742 4 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Angel of Mine (European CD single liner notes). Eternal. EMI Records, 1st Avenue Records. 1997. 7243 8 84835 2 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Greatest Hits (UK CD album liner notes). Eternal. EMI Records, 1st Avenue Records. 1997. 7243 8 21798 2 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  12. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 42. 18 October 1997. p. 13. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine" (in French). Les classement single.
  14. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Angel of Mine". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Eternal" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  18. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine". VG-lista.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  21. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine". Singles Top 100.
  22. ^ "Eternal – Angel of Mine". Swiss Singles Chart.
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  24. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  25. ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 1997". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  26. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1997". Single Top 100. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  27. ^ "Romanian Top 100 Singles Airplay – Top of the Year 1997" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on 22 January 2005. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1997". Music Week. 17 January 1998. p. 27.
  29. ^ "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1997" (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  30. ^ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  31. ^ "British single certifications – Eternal – Angel of Mine". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  32. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 September 1997. p. 37. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  33. ^ "エンジェル・オブ・マイン | エターナル" [Angel of Mine | Eternal] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  34. ^ a b Smith, Troy L. (21 October 2020). "Every No. 1 song of the 1990s ranked from worst to best". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  35. ^ a b c The Boy Is Mine (Media notes). Monica. Arista Records. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  36. ^ "Monica: Angel of Mine (1999)". Billboard. 14 August 1999. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  37. ^ "Monica: Angel of Mine (1999)". Billboard. 9 January 1999. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  38. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (21 December 2023). "Monica on 25 Years of 'The Boy Is Mine' and Why Others Shouldn't Remake Her Epic Duet With Brandy: "What She and I Did Is Sacred"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Monica Plans To Follow Up Two Straight Number One Hits". MTV News. 1 December 1998. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  40. ^ https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0027264
  41. ^ Taylor, Chuck (7 November 1998). "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard, p. 25.
  42. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (1 July 2022). "Monica Plans To Follow Up Two Straight Number One Hits". Stereogum. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  43. ^ "AddVance Notice". Radio & Records. No. 1273. 6 November 1998. p. 52.
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  45. ^ a b "Monica Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  46. ^ a b "Hot 100 Singles of the '90s". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. 25 December 1999. p. YE-20. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  47. ^ a b "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7443." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  48. ^ a b "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8144." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  49. ^ a b "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 7409." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  50. ^ a b "Monica – Angel of Mine". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  51. ^ a b "Monica – Angel of Mine". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  52. ^ a b "Monica: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  53. ^ a b "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
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  55. ^ Angel of Mine (US CD single liner notes). Monica. Arista Records. 1999. 07822-13590-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  56. ^ Angel of Mine (US cassette single sleeve). Monica. Arista Records. 1999. 07822-13590-4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  57. ^ Angel of Mine (UK CD single liner notes). Monica. Arista Records. 1999. 74321 69289 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  58. ^ Angel of Mine (Australian CD single liner notes). Monica. Arista Records. 1999. 74321 66786 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  59. ^ "Monica Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  60. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  61. ^ "Monica Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  62. ^ "Monica Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  63. ^ "Monica Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  64. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1999". ARIA. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  65. ^ "RPM 1999 Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. 13 December 1999. Retrieved 9 March 2021 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  66. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 1999". Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  67. ^ "1999 The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. 25 December 1999. p. YE-99. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  68. ^ "1999 Year End Chart: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  69. ^ "Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1999" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 7, no. 52. 24 December 1999. p. 54. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  70. ^ "Most Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 1999" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 7, no. 52. 24 December 1999. p. 53. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  71. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  72. ^ "Best-Selling Records of 1999". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 4. 22 January 2000. p. 63. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  73. ^ "American single certifications – Monica – Angel of Mine". Recording Industry Association of America.
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