Back & Forth (Aaliyah song)
"Back & Forth" is the debut single performed by American singer Aaliyah for her debut studio album Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. The song was written and produced by R&B singer R. Kelly, and lyrically the song is about a teenager's excitement for partying on the weekend with friends. "Back and Forth" has been described as being a Dance cross over song with Pop and R&B influences. Vocally on the song she sings in a subtle "Laid Back" way. Blackground and Jive released the song as the album's lead single on April 8, 1994. Upon its release the song was met with generally positive reviews with many critics praising the song's lyrical content and Aaliyah's vocal delivery on the record.
Commercially "Back & Forth" performed well peaking at number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending on July 2, 1994. The song was just as successful on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart where it topped the charts on the week ending on May 21, 1994, eventually spending a total of 3 weeks at number 1 on the chart. The song also topped the Rhythmic top 40 charts on the week ending on July 9, 1994. On June 9, 1994 the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Towards the end of 1994 Billboard reported that the song had sold over 700,000 copies.
Internationally "Back & Forth" performed moderately well peaking within the top 20 at number 16 on the UK's official chart. Also in the UK the song peaked within the top 20 at number 16 on the Official Dance Chart. Elsewhere in Europe the song peaked within the top 40 at number 38 in the Netherlands. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Millicent Shelton in Aaliyah's hometown of Detroit. The actual video location was at Aaliyah's high school and on the day of the video shoot many local teens were recruited to be in multiple scenes of the video.
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"Back & Forth" has been described as an urban Dance cross-over song with Pop and R&B influences. On the song Aaliyah sings with a "subtle, laid-back vocal" while she talks about partying on the weekend with her friends. According to billboard "It doesn't matter that Aaliyah is 15. It’s the freakin' weekend, baby, so she's picking up her ladies—presumably in her jeep—and hitting the local party spot". When asked about the lyrical direction of Back & Forth Aaliyah stated “It’s not a song about love or whatever; it’s about going to a party and having fun. I have songs about love, crushes, or whatever, but that song is about dancing. This album is about teens and what they go through.” Entertainment Weekly described the song as a "steamy invitation to dance all night" with Aaliyah requesting to ”let the funky melody put you in the mood”.Critical reception
In his review of the song, Larry Flick from Billboard felt that this song was on the course to being a pop and urban smash and he praised Aaliyah's vocal styling by saying,"It is worth noting that this newcomer has the vocal charm and range to warm the hearts of punters on her own". He also complemented Aaliyah's approach to being perceived as hard and sexy in comparison to her peers who struggle to be seen as hard and sexy. James Hunter from Vibe described Aaliyah as Lithe, substantial, confident and peaceful. He also felt that Back and Forth was a "leading candidate for the years best single" and that Aaliyah has "one of those who's that? voices". Elena Bergeron from Complex felt that Back and Forth was the perfect example with why Aaliyah could play coy with the media regarding her age. Bergeron also praised Aaliyah voice saying "Instead of over-emoting like a child singer, Aaliyah's confident in singing about something basic—it's just a song about partying on a Friday night-and that takes an adult's restraint". According to Georgette Cline from The Boombox "Moving away from the R&B that speaks of heartbreak and betrayal, Aaliyah's vocals shined on the lead single from her debut LP, 'Age Ain't Nothing But a Number,' as she sang of hitting the dancefloor and getting lost in the DJ's tunes". In a review for Aaliyah's debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" Tonya Pendleton from The Washington Post praised Aaliyah vocals on the song saying, "Aaliyah’s silken voice caresses the beat, which swings rhythmically through “Back and Forth,” one of this summer's street anthems". Quentin B. Huff from PopMatters felt that the song was "Simple, but effective, and Aaliyah's layered vocals warm the track like a soothing blanket. \"Back & Forth" integrates seamlessly into any up-tempo dance playlist".Accolades
In October 1994 the song was nominated for Best New R&B/Urban Artist Clip Of The Year at the Billboard Music Video Awards. Meanwhile in July 1995 Aaliyah was nominated for Best R&B/Soul New Artist for "Back & Forth" at the Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards.Chart performance
"Back & Forth" was released as the album's lead single on April 8, 1994, it reached its peak at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart three months after it was released on July 2, 1994. On May 21, 1994 the song reached its peak at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart; this would become one of three number ones that Aaliyah would achieve on this chart. During its chart run "Back & Forth" ended R. Kelly's 12-week run at number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with "Bump n' Grind".Elsewhere on the billboard charts, "Back & Forth" peaked at number 1 on the billboard rhythmic charts on July 9, 1994. Meanwhile, on the Mainstream top 40 chart the song peaked within the top 20 at number 16 on July 30, 1994. on June 9, 1994 two months after the song was released it was certified Gold by the RIAA with sales of 700,000 copies sold.
Internationally "Back & Forth" experienced moderate success within the UK peaking within the top 20 at number 16 on the UK official charts. On July 10, 1994 the song peaked within the top 20 at number 16 On the official UK Dance singles Chart. According to the Official Charts Company "Back & Forth" is Aaliyah's fifth best selling single in the UK.
Elsewhere in Europe "Back & Forth" peaked within the top 40 at number 38 on the Single Top 100 chart in The Netherlands. In the Oceania region of the world the song peaked within the top 50 at number 48 in New Zealand.
Music video
The music video for "Back & Forth" was directed by Millicent Shelton and it was filmed on January 16, 1994, which was Aaliyah's 15th birthday and released in February 1994. The video was filmed at Detroit's High School for the Fine and Performing Arts which was the school that Aaliyah attended. Prior to filming the video both Aaliyah and R.Kelly worked on dance moves and the styling for the video. On the day of the video many local teens were recruited to be in multiple scenes of the video. When Aaliyah discussed her experience shooting her first music video she said "That was my first video, but Millicent made me comfortable Between takes, she listened to the music of Tupac, Wu-Tang, and Gang Starr, They all rap on an intellectual level”.Synopsis
The video opens with a male entering a gym, bouncing a basketball. When the song kicks in, there are cuts of people entering the gym and people playing basketball. Aaliyah enters wearing baggy clothing, a bandana and shades. She sings the song by the gym's entrance. In other parts of the clip she is seen dancing in the middle of the gymnasium with a crowd moving around her, sitting with R. Kelly in the bleachers and performing on a stage to her fans. The original setting was chosen for the music video in Los Angeles, but was relocated to her hometown of Detroit because of an earthquake.Reception
The instant success for Back & Forth's accompanying music video prompted Aaliyah's record label to release her debut album earlier than expected. According to Barry Weiss, Senior Vice President of Jive records, "The Original June 14 release date of the album "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" was moved up to May 24. Weiss continued his statement saying,"Back & Forth" has permeated the consciousness of the young public, and because it has picked up steam so quickly, MTV jumped on board faster than we thought, which led to our decision to drop the album sooner". During its chart run the music video for "Back & Forth" received heavy TV airplay on multiple music video count down shows. For the week ending on June 12, 1994 the music video was the second most played video on BET. Meanwhile, for the week ending on June 26, 1994 the music video was the twelfth most played video on MTV.Legacy
sampled "Back & Forth" on her song "Inside of Me" from her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories, which was released a few months after "Back & Forth".British publication NME ranked the song at number 10 on their 50 "Incredible Debut Singles That Kick-Started Massive Careers" list. HuffPost ranked the song at number 16 on their "Ranking Of The 33 Greatest Pop Divas’ Debut Singles list", stating "Aaliyah blended hip-hop and dance-pop to foster a sound that many of her peers would ape".
Billboard included "Back & Forth" on their Summer Songs 1958-2016: The Top 10 Tunes of Each Summer list. The song was also ranked at number 13 on Idolator's The 50 Best Pop Singles Of 1994 list.
Rapper Kid Ink mentioned the song on his verse on Sevyn Streeter's 2014 song nEXt. In 2014 Beyonce shared her memorial day playlist of songs via her website and "back and forth" was included on the list. In 2015 at pop singer Rihanna's 2nd annual diamond ball charity event the Dj included "Back & Forth" on the setlist. In November 2017 Reality star Kim Kardashian included the song on her Spotify "glam session" playlist. In 2018 Rapper Tyga sampled "Back & Forth" on his song "U Cry". In 2019 singer Chris Brown sampled "Back & Forth" on his song “Throw It Back" from his ninth studio album Indigo.