"Almost Doesn't Count" is a song by American singer Brandy Norwood. It was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche and recorded by Norwood for her second studio album, Never Say Never (1998). Atlantic Records consulted Fred Jerkins III to recut the song to be more consistent with the overall sound of the album. He would subsequently share production credit along with Roche. A pop and R&B-ballad combining elements of country, it incorporates Latin flavored riffs. The song's lyrics are based on an on-again, off-again relationship that Peiken had experienced during her college years.
The song was released as the fourth overall single from Never Say Never on March 23, 1999. "Almost Doesn't Count" received a positive response from most music critics, who called it one of the album highlights, with major praise for Norwood's vocal performance. A commercial success, "Almost Doesn't Count" hit the top twenty in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and on the US Billboard Hot 100. It earned Norwood her third Best Female R&B Vocal Performance nomination at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards and was awarded a BMI Pop Award in 2000.
The accompanying music video for "Almost Doesn't Count," filmed by Kevin Bray in the Lancaster area, depicts Norwood as an unnoticed wedding guest in the backyard of an expressway hotel, following the breakdown of her car in the Mojave Desert. Norwood performed the song in the 1999 made-for-television musical drama film Double Platinum, directed by Nina Shengold, and starring Diana Ross and herself. She included the song in the set-list of various live shows and future tours, including the Never Say Never World Tour, the Human World Tour and the Slayana World Tour.
"Almost Doesn't Count" was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche.[1] Inspired by a powerful but unfruitful on-again, off-again relationship she had with a man in her college years,[2] Peiken recalled her emotions during a writing session with Roche decades later when she "dug up that laundry list of all the 'almosts' I felt we had, and we put it into the song."[2] In a 2020 interview, she further elaborated about the lyrics: "It was a relationship that was more in my head than in his, and I always felt like we almost got there, he almost said I love you, he almost broke up with the girlfriend he had the whole time. He almost faced his feelings but he never quite got there – maybe that was all in my head too. Maybe he never had any of those feelings, maybe it was all my imagination."[2][3]
Written in the thirty-two-bar form structure, which the pair considered "very sort of country," Peiken and Roche put the song on the back burner since they were not sure how to finish it, feeling undecided about the genre that they were looking for in the song.[2] They resumed work on "Almost Doesn't Count" a few months later when, according to Peiken, "it was a lot clearer – not so much the genre, but that it was good enough that we couldn't leave it on the back burner – it was really good and we had to finish it. So we did, and then we sent it around."[2] Picked up by Atlantic Records, the demo, produced by Roche, was eventually polished by producer Fred Jerkins III for Norwood's second album Never Say Never (1998).[1] Recording took place at Banana Boat Studios in Burbank and at Pacifique Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California, with Peiken providing backing vocals.[1] In 2019, Roche ranked the song among his favorite productions.[4]
Critical reception
In his review of parent album Never Say Never, Shaheen Chughtai, editor for The Daily Star Lebanon, wrote that "Brandy does have a fine voice, drenched in sex-appeal, and in good form on tracks like 'Almost Doesn’t Count'."[5]San Francisco Chronicle's Lee Hildebrand described the song as "haunting" and added: "Brandy takes her time with the ballad, wrapping her warm, melismatic alto pipes around their melodic contours with womanly nuance."[6]Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic cited the song one of the album's highlights along with "The Boy Is Mine" and "Have You Ever?."[7]Billboard editor Chuck Taylor wrote that "breezy, sensual, straightforward, and drenched with those gorgeous harmonies that are recognizable in an instant, Miss Norwood serves up a tasty slow jam about letting go of love. While the single is a certain bull's-eye at mainstream R&B radio – where it'll first be worked – top 40 will undoubtedly be waiting in the wings, licking its chops."[8]
Less impressed, Lorraine Ali from Rolling Stone declared "the Spanish guitar and chimes in "Almost Doesn't Count [...] the cheesiest moment" on Never Say Never.[9] Her colleague Rob Sheffield ranked the song 67th on his The 98 Best Songs of 1998 listing for Rolling Stone and called it a "a doleful weeper where Ms. Norwood comes close to true love – but alas, not close enough – over a flourish of Latin acoustic guitar."[10]The Village Voiceranked "Almost Doesn't Count" 16th on its Pazz & Jop 1998 Singles listing.[11] In 2020, Lela Olds from Vibe, ranked the song eighth on his Brandy's 15 Best Songs listing.[12] One of the most-performed songs of the year, "Almost Doesn't Count" was honored with BMI Citations of Achievement at the BMI Pop Awards in 2000.[13] In addition, the song earned Norwood her third nomination in the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance category at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards, though she lost to Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right but It's Okay."[14]
A music video for "Almost Doesn't Count" was directed by Kevin Bray in April 1999.[15] It marked his second collaboration with Norwood following their work on the video for "Have You Ever?" (1998). Filmed in Lancaster, California and the surrounding Mojave Desert,[16] it depicts Norwood as a wedding guest and singer whose oldtimer suffers from a breakdown prior to the wedding ceremony in the evening.[15] After a walk of several miles, a pick up drives by and she climbs inside the back where a fellow passenger gives her his cowboy hat. At night, they drop her off at a gas station which Norwood finds closed, prompting her to check into a nearby hotel off the expressway. In the hotel room, she unpacks and changes her outfit when she, out from the window, watches a couple getting married in the courtyard across the street.[15] The video ends with Norwood crashing the celebration, unnoticed, before joining the band who play to an empty courtyard.[15]
"I Want to Know (Everything There Is to Know About You)" (2000)
In March 2000, American country music artist Mark Wills released a cover of the song as the second single from his third studio album, Permanently. Hisversion reached number 19 on Billboard's US Hot Country Songs chart. Wills's cover marked his second R&B cover following his late-1999 cover of Brian McKnight's "Back at One" (1998). An accompanying music video was directed by Michael Salomon and premiered in March 2000. It was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia. There are two different videos, both with the same concept but with different scenes.
^"Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1999" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 7, no. 52. December 24, 1999. p. 54. (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
^"Most Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 1999" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 7, no. 52. December 24, 1999. p. 53. (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
^"New Releases / AddVance Notice". Radio & Records. No. 1291. March 19, 1999. pp. 44, 49.
^"New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1294. April 9, 1999. p. 106.
^"New Releases – For Week Starting 7 June, 1999: Singles". Music Week. June 5, 1999. p. 31.
^Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. pp. 470–471. ISBN978-0-89820-177-2.
^"Mark Wills Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
^Abraham, Mya (June 11, 2023). "Alex Vaughn Remakes Brandy's "Almost Doesn't Count" For 25th Anniversary Of 'Never Say Never'". Vibe.com. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
External links
Brandy CD Maxi release info (US) Discogs
July 01, 2023
almost, doesn, count, song, american, singer, brandy, norwood, written, shelly, peiken, roche, recorded, norwood, second, studio, album, never, never, 1998, atlantic, records, consulted, fred, jerkins, recut, song, more, consistent, with, overall, sound, album. Almost Doesn t Count is a song by American singer Brandy Norwood It was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche and recorded by Norwood for her second studio album Never Say Never 1998 Atlantic Records consulted Fred Jerkins III to recut the song to be more consistent with the overall sound of the album He would subsequently share production credit along with Roche A pop and R amp B ballad combining elements of country it incorporates Latin flavored riffs The song s lyrics are based on an on again off again relationship that Peiken had experienced during her college years Almost Doesn t Count Single by Brandyfrom the album Never Say NeverReleasedMarch 23 1999 1999 03 23 GenrePopR amp BLength3 37LabelAtlanticSongwriter s Shelly PeikenGuy RocheProducer s Fred Jerkins IIIRocheBrandy singles chronology Angel in Disguise 1999 Almost Doesn t Count 1999 U Don t Know Me 1999 The song was released as the fourth overall single from Never Say Never on March 23 1999 Almost Doesn t Count received a positive response from most music critics who called it one of the album highlights with major praise for Norwood s vocal performance A commercial success Almost Doesn t Count hit the top twenty in New Zealand the United Kingdom and on the US Billboard Hot 100 It earned Norwood her third Best Female R amp B Vocal Performance nomination at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards and was awarded a BMI Pop Award in 2000 The accompanying music video for Almost Doesn t Count filmed by Kevin Bray in the Lancaster area depicts Norwood as an unnoticed wedding guest in the backyard of an expressway hotel following the breakdown of her car in the Mojave Desert Norwood performed the song in the 1999 made for television musical drama film Double Platinum directed by Nina Shengold and starring Diana Ross and herself She included the song in the set list of various live shows and future tours including the Never Say Never World Tour the Human World Tour and the Slayana World Tour Contents 1 Background 2 Critical reception 3 Music video 4 Track listings 5 Credits and personnel 6 Charts 6 1 Weekly charts 6 2 Year end charts 7 Release history 8 Mark Wills version 8 1 Charts 8 1 1 Weekly charts 8 1 2 Year end charts 9 Other cover versions 10 References 11 External linksBackground Edit Almost Doesn t Count was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche 1 Inspired by a powerful but unfruitful on again off again relationship she had with a man in her college years 2 Peiken recalled her emotions during a writing session with Roche decades later when she dug up that laundry list of all the almosts I felt we had and we put it into the song 2 In a 2020 interview she further elaborated about the lyrics It was a relationship that was more in my head than in his and I always felt like we almost got there he almost said I love you he almost broke up with the girlfriend he had the whole time He almost faced his feelings but he never quite got there maybe that was all in my head too Maybe he never had any of those feelings maybe it was all my imagination 2 3 Written in the thirty two bar form structure which the pair considered very sort of country Peiken and Roche put the song on the back burner since they were not sure how to finish it feeling undecided about the genre that they were looking for in the song 2 They resumed work on Almost Doesn t Count a few months later when according to Peiken it was a lot clearer not so much the genre but that it was good enough that we couldn t leave it on the back burner it was really good and we had to finish it So we did and then we sent it around 2 Picked up by Atlantic Records the demo produced by Roche was eventually polished by producer Fred Jerkins III for Norwood s second album Never Say Never 1998 1 Recording took place at Banana Boat Studios in Burbank and at Pacifique Recording Studios in North Hollywood California with Peiken providing backing vocals 1 In 2019 Roche ranked the song among his favorite productions 4 Critical reception EditIn his review of parent album Never Say Never Shaheen Chughtai editor for The Daily Star Lebanon wrote that Brandy does have a fine voice drenched in sex appeal and in good form on tracks like Almost Doesn t Count 5 San Francisco Chronicle s Lee Hildebrand described the song as haunting and added Brandy takes her time with the ballad wrapping her warm melismatic alto pipes around their melodic contours with womanly nuance 6 Stephen Thomas Erlewine from Allmusic cited the song one of the album s highlights along with The Boy Is Mine and Have You Ever 7 Billboard editor Chuck Taylor wrote that breezy sensual straightforward and drenched with those gorgeous harmonies that are recognizable in an instant Miss Norwood serves up a tasty slow jam about letting go of love While the single is a certain bull s eye at mainstream R amp B radio where it ll first be worked top 40 will undoubtedly be waiting in the wings licking its chops 8 Less impressed Lorraine Ali from Rolling Stone declared the Spanish guitar and chimes in Almost Doesn t Count the cheesiest moment on Never Say Never 9 Her colleague Rob Sheffield ranked the song 67th on his The 98 Best Songs of 1998 listing for Rolling Stone and called it a a doleful weeper where Ms Norwood comes close to true love but alas not close enough over a flourish of Latin acoustic guitar 10 The Village Voiceranked Almost Doesn t Count 16th on its Pazz amp Jop 1998 Singles listing 11 In 2020 Lela Olds from Vibe ranked the song eighth on his Brandy s 15 Best Songs listing 12 One of the most performed songs of the year Almost Doesn t Count was honored with BMI Citations of Achievement at the BMI Pop Awards in 2000 13 In addition the song earned Norwood her third nomination in the Best Female R amp B Vocal Performance category at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards though she lost to Whitney Houston s It s Not Right but It s Okay 14 Music video Edit The video for Almost Doesn t Count was filmed in the Mojave Desert in California 15 A music video for Almost Doesn t Count was directed by Kevin Bray in April 1999 15 It marked his second collaboration with Norwood following their work on the video for Have You Ever 1998 Filmed in Lancaster California and the surrounding Mojave Desert 16 it depicts Norwood as a wedding guest and singer whose oldtimer suffers from a breakdown prior to the wedding ceremony in the evening 15 After a walk of several miles a pick up drives by and she climbs inside the back where a fellow passenger gives her his cowboy hat At night they drop her off at a gas station which Norwood finds closed prompting her to check into a nearby hotel off the expressway In the hotel room she unpacks and changes her outfit when she out from the window watches a couple getting married in the courtyard across the street 15 The video ends with Norwood crashing the celebration unnoticed before joining the band who play to an empty courtyard 15 Track listings EditAustralian CD singleNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Almost Doesn t Count Radio Remix Shelly PeikenGuy RocheFred Jerkins IIIRochePull a 3 372 Almost Doesn t Count Album Version PeikenRocheJerkinsRoche3 393 Almost Doesn t Count Pull Club Radio Edit PeikenRocheJerkinsRochePull a 4 154 Almost Doesn t Count DJ Premier Remix PeikenRocheJerkinsRocheDJ Premier a 3 475 Almost Doesn t Count Pull Club Extended Mix PeikenRocheJerkinsRochePull a 8 21 Japan CD singleNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Almost Doesn t Count Album Version PeikenRocheJerkinsRoche3 392 Have You Ever Soul Skank Remix Diane WarrenDavid FosterSoul Inside Productions 98 a 5 403 The Boy Is Mine duet with Monica Club Remix LaShawn DanielsRodney JerkinsFred Jerkins IIIJaphe TejedaBrandy NorwoodDarkchildBrandyDallas Austin a 7 424 Almost Doesn t Count DJ Premier Remix PeikenRocheJerkinsRocheDJ Premier a 3 475 Almost Doesn t Count Club Remix PeikenRocheJerkinsRochePull a 4 37 UK CD single INo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Almost Doesn t Count Radio Remix PeikenRocheJerkinsRochePull a 3 372 Almost Doesn t Count Album Version PeikenRocheJerkinsRoche3 393 Almost Doesn t Count DJ Premier Remix PeikenRocheJerkinsRocheDJ Premier a 3 47 UK CD single IINo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Almost Doesn t Count Pull Club Radio Edit PeikenRocheJerkinsRochePull a 4 152 Almost Doesn t Count Club Remix PeikenRocheJerkinsRochePull a 4 373 Have You Ever Soul Skank Remix WarrenFosterSoul Inside Productions 98 a 5 40 Notes a denotes additional producerCredits and personnel EditCredits lifted from the album s liner notes 1 Anas Allaf guitar Gerry Brown mixing Fred Jerkins III engineering mixing producer Mario Luccy engineering Brandy Norwood vocals Shelly Peiken background vocals writer Moana Suchard engineering Guy Roche producer writerCharts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1998 1999 PeakpositionCanada Adult Contemporary RPM 17 24Canada Top Singles RPM 18 34Canada CHR Top 40 BDS 19 27Europe European Hot 100 Singles 20 61Germany Official German Charts 21 88New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 22 13Scotland OCC 23 40UK Singles OCC 24 15UK Hip Hop R amp B OCC 25 2US Billboard Hot 100 26 16US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 27 16US Mainstream Top 40 Billboard 28 15US Rhythmic Billboard 29 8 Year end charts Edit Chart 1999 PositionUS Billboard Hot 100 30 76US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 31 73US Mainstream Top 40 Billboard 32 59US Rhythmic Billboard 33 36Release history EditRegion Date Format s Label s Ref United States March 23 1999 Rhythmic contemporaryurban radio Atlantic 34 April 13 1999 Contemporary hit radio 35 United Kingdom June 7 1999 CDcassette 36 Mark Wills version Edit Almost Doesn t Count Single by Mark Willsfrom the album PermanentlyB side Permanently 37 ReleasedMarch 2000GenreCountryLength3 37LabelMercury NashvilleSongwriter s Shelly PeikenGuy RocheProducer s Carson ChamberlainMark Wills singles chronology Back at One 1999 Almost Doesn t Count 2000 I Want to Know Everything There Is to Know About You 2000 In March 2000 American country music artist Mark Wills released a cover of the song as the second single from his third studio album Permanently Hisversion reached number 19 on Billboard s US Hot Country Songs chart Wills s cover marked his second R amp B cover following his late 1999 cover of Brian McKnight s Back at One 1998 An accompanying music video was directed by Michael Salomon and premiered in March 2000 It was filmed in Atlanta Georgia There are two different videos both with the same concept but with different scenes Charts Edit Weekly charts Edit Chart 2000 PeakpositionUS Hot Country Songs Billboard 38 19Year end charts Edit Chart 2000 PositionUS Hot Country Songs Billboard 39 72Other cover versions EditIn 2007 the song was sampled by Ali amp Gipp in the single Almost Made Ya featuring vocals by LeToya Luckett and production by Jermaine Dupri In 2023 singer Alex Vaughn covered Almost Doesn t Count as part of Spotify s Black Music Month Her version was produced by Bryan Michael Cox 40 References Edit a b c d Never Say Never booklet Brandy Atlantic Records 1998 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link a b c d e Wiser Carl Songwriter Interviews Shelly Peiken songfacts com Retrieved May 3 2020 Peiken Shelly March 2016 Confessions of a Serial Songwriter songfacts com ISBN 9781495063619 Retrieved May 3 2020 When Shelly Twitter Retrieved May 3 2020 Chughtai Shaheen July 25 1998 Party Animal The Daily Star Retrieved May 3 2020 Hildebrand Lee June 7 1998 The New Brandy Is Watered Down San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved May 3 2020 Erlewine Stephen Thomas Never Say Never review Allmusic Allmusic Retrieved July 16 2010 Taylor Chuck March 25 1999 Singles Billboard Retrieved May 4 2020 Ali Lorraine June 18 1998 Brandy Never Say Never Music Reviews Rolling Stone Archived from the original on October 2 2007 Retrieved May 4 2020 Sheffield Rob June 4 1998 Party Animal Rolling Stone The 98 Best Songs of 1998 Pop s Weirdest Year Retrieved May 3 2020 Pazz amp Jop 1998 Dean s List The Village Voice March 2 1999 Retrieved May 3 2020 Olds Lela March 25 2020 From Teen Sensation To Vocal Bible Brandy s 15 Best Songs Vibe Retrieved May 3 2020 Rob Thomas Eagle Eye Cherry Receive BMI Awards MTV News May 17 2000 Retrieved May 3 2020 List of Brandy s GRAMMY Awards history grammy com Retrieved May 3 2020 a b c d e Porter Nina January 25 2000 The Brandy Star Profile Master Dance Tones Production Notes Billboard April 17 1999 Retrieved May 2 2020 Top RPM Adult Contemporary Issue 8453 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved November 20 2019 Top RPM Singles Issue 8404 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved November 20 2019 Lwin Nanda 2000 Top 40 Hits The Essential Chart Guide Music Data Canada p 50 ISBN 1 896594 13 1 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles PDF Music amp Media Vol 16 no 26 June 26 1999 p 8 Retrieved January 7 2018 Brandy Almost Doesn t Count in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved October 30 2018 Brandy Almost Doesn t Count Top 40 Singles Retrieved May 23 2011 Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Brandy Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Retrieved May 23 2011 Official Hip Hop and R amp B Singles Chart Top 40 Official Charts Company Retrieved November 26 2017 Brandy Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved May 23 2011 Brandy Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard Retrieved May 23 2011 Brandy Chart History Pop Songs Billboard Retrieved November 30 2017 Brandy Chart History Rhythmic Billboard Retrieved November 30 2017 Billboard Top 100 1999 Archived from the original on July 9 2009 Retrieved August 28 2010 1999 Year End Chart R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard Prometheus Global Media Retrieved January 27 2012 Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1999 PDF Billboard Vol 7 no 52 December 24 1999 p 54 Archived PDF from the original on January 25 2021 Retrieved March 14 2021 Most Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs of 1999 PDF Billboard Vol 7 no 52 December 24 1999 p 53 Archived PDF from the original on January 25 2021 Retrieved March 14 2021 New Releases AddVance Notice Radio amp Records No 1291 March 19 1999 pp 44 49 New Releases Radio amp Records No 1294 April 9 1999 p 106 New Releases For Week Starting 7 June 1999 Singles Music Week June 5 1999 p 31 Whitburn Joel 2008 Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008 Record Research Inc pp 470 471 ISBN 978 0 89820 177 2 Mark Wills Chart History Hot Country Songs Billboard Retrieved May 23 2011 Best of 2000 Country Songs Billboard Prometheus Global Media 2000 Retrieved August 16 2012 Abraham Mya June 11 2023 Alex Vaughn Remakes Brandy s Almost Doesn t Count For 25th Anniversary Of Never Say Never Vibe com Retrieved June 17 2023 External links EditBrandy CD Maxi release info US Discogs Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Almost Doesn 27t Count amp oldid 1160589758, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
