Don't_Leave_Me_(Blackstreet_song)
Don't Leave Me (Blackstreet song)
1997 single by Blackstreet
"Don't Leave Me" is a song by American R&B group Blackstreet, produced by Teddy Riley and released in February 1997 as the third single from their second album, Another Level (1996). It contains a sample of the DeBarge song "A Dream", also used in "I Ain't Mad at Cha" by Tupac Shakur.[citation needed] "Don't Leave Me" features Eric Williams, Mark Middleton, and Chauncey Hannibal on lead vocals. It topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for two weeks in May 1997 and reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.
"Don't Leave Me" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Blackstreet | ||||
from the album Another Level | ||||
Released | February 18, 1997 (1997-02-18) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:20 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Songwriter(s) |
| |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Blackstreet singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Don't Leave Me" on YouTube | ||||
Pan-European magazine Music & Media noted that after the success of "No Diggity", "Riley & Co. switch to ballad mode with this well constructed song, which has already met with approval across Europe." Stephan Hampe, head of music at RSH, a CHR network covering northern Germany commented, "I think this is going to break Blackstreet in a big way in Germany, because it is the kind of great song that really stands out". He added, "while No Diggity received a warm welcome too, it remained largely confined to the quarters traditionally inhabited by the R&B fraternity over here. This record however, has the potential to appeal to a much broader audience, so we put in powerplay rotation (32 plays a week) because we want to familiarize our audience quickly with this song."[1]
David Finlan from Experience said that the song "is slightly depressing, because it is about a man trying to keep his girlfriend from breaking up with him. This song hits home because everybody has been through a breakup and as we all know, they are not fun."[2] Malaysian newspaper New Straits Times noted "the fantastic four-part harmony interplay" on "Don't Leave Me".[3] A reviewer from People Magazine stated that Blackstreet "pours on the heartache and late-night yearning".[4] David Fricke from Rolling Stone felt "the turn-ons" in songs like "Don't Leave Me", "are as banal as the titles suggest."[5] James L. Brown from USC Today described it as "a slow bump and grind ballad".[6]
The song did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 or the Hot R&B Singles chart due to Billboard rules at the time preventing songs not released as physical singles from charting. However, the song peaked on the Hot 100 Airplay and Hot R&B Airplay charts at No. 12 and No. 1, respectively.[7][8] Internationally, it went to No. 1 in New Zealand and No. 6 in the United Kingdom.[9][10] In the former country, it stayed at No. 1 for two weeks in May 1997 and earned a Gold sales certification from Recorded Music NZ,[11] finishing the year as the 12th-most-successful single.[12]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (September 2015) |
The official music video for the song was directed by Michael Martin.[13]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Leave Me" (radio edit) | 4:24 |
2. | "Don't Leave Me" (album version) | 5:10 |
3. | "No Diggity" (Das Diggity radio) | 4:25 |
4. | "No Diggity" (Teddy Riley Jungle Remix) | 8:03 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Leave Me" (album version) | 5:10 |
2. | "No Diggity" (Das Diggity radio) | 4:25 |
3. | "No Diggity" (Teddy Riley jungle mix) | 8:03 |
4. | "No Diggity" (BJ Das radio) | 4:20 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Leave Me" (radio edit) | 4:24 |
2. | "No Diggity" (Das Diggity radio) | 4:25 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Don't Leave Me" (radio edit) | 4:22 |
2. | "No Diggity" (Teddy Riley jungle mix) | 8:02 |
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ)[11] | Gold | 5,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | February 18, 1997 (1997-02-18) | Rhythmic contemporary radio | Interscope | [40] |
United Kingdom | April 14, 1997 (1997-04-14) |
|
[41] |
- "Airborne" (PDF). Music & Media. May 3, 1997. p. 25. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- Finlan, David (October 18, 1996). "Blackstreef sings rhythm and blues". Experience. p. 3. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- "Riley's masterpieces". New Straits Times. May 20, 1999. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- "Picks and Pans Review: Another Level". People. November 11, 1996. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
- Fricke, David (December 26, 1996-January 9, 1997). "The year in recordings". Rolling Stone. Issue 750/751.
- Brown, James L. (April 23, 1997). "Blackstreet brings soul back to the R&B sound". USC Today. p. 10. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
- "Blackstreet Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Blackstreet Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- "Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "New Zealand single certifications – Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "End of Year Charts 1997". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- ""Don't Leave Me" by Blackstreet | Music Video | VH1.com". VH1. Viacom International. August 15, 2006. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- Don't Leave Me (UK CD single liner notes). Blackstreet. Interscope Records. 1997. IND 95534.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Don't Leave Me (UK 12-inch single sleeve). Blackstreet. Interscope Records. 1997. INT 95534.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Don't Leave Me (UK cassette single sleeve). Blackstreet. Interscope Records. 1997. INC 95534.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - Don't Leave Me (European CD single liner notes). Blackstreet. Interscope Records. 1997. IND 97515.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - "Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 3297." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 20. May 17, 1997. p. 11. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- "Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (NR. 217 Vikuna 17.4. '97 – 23.4. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). April 18, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
- "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Don't Leave Me". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Blackstreet Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Blackstreet Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "Rapports Annuels 1997" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
- "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 1997" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- "Romanian Top 100: Top of the Year 1997" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on September 22, 2005.
- "Top 100 Singles 1997". Music Week. January 17, 1998. p. 27.
- "Najlepsze single na UK Top 40–1997" (in Polish). Archived from the original on June 4, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
- "British single certifications – Blackstreet – Don't Leave Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
- "New Releases" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1184. February 14, 1997. p. 71. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- "New Releases" (PDF). Music Week. April 12, 1997. p. 41. Retrieved September 4, 2021.