Before You Walk Out of My Life

"Before You Walk Out of My Life" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written by Andrea Martin, Carsten Schack, and Kenneth Karlin, with production helmed by Schack and Karlin under their production moniker Soulshock & Karlin. Initially helmed for fellow R&B singer Toni Braxton's Secrets (1996) album, it was left unused and later re-recorded by Monica for her debut album Miss Thang (1995). Built around drum machine-backed rhythms and a saxophone-laced beat, the mid-tempo R&B ballad was released as the album's second single on August 3, 1995, with "Like This and Like That" serving as its other half on a double A-side stateside.

"Before You Walk Out of My Life"
Single by Monica
from the album Miss Thang
Released	August 3, 1995 (1995-08-03)
Genre	R&B
Length	4:53 (album version)
Label	Rowdy Arista
Songwriter(s)	Andrea Martin Carsten Schack Kenneth Karlin
Producer(s)	Soulshock & Karlin
Monica singles chronology
"Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" (1995) "Before You Walk Out of My Life" / "Like This and Like That" (1995) "Why I Love You So Much"/"Ain't Nobody" (1996)

In the United States, "Before You Walk Out of My Life" became Monica's second number-one hit on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, spending two weeks at number-one. It also reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, the New Zealand Singles Chart, and the UK R&B chart. Additionally, the song was ranked number thirty-eight on the 1996 Billboard year-end chart and certified platinum by the RIAA.^[1][2] "Before You Walk Out of My Life," alongside previous single "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)," made the singer the youngest recording artist to have two consecutive number-one hits on Billboard's R&B chart at the age of fourteen.^[2]

Background and recording

Written by singer Andrea Martin along with Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin from Danish production team Soulshock & Karlin,^[3] the song was originally crafted for Toni Braxton's second studio album Secrets (1996), but later offered to Monica when it was left unused.^[4][5] Recorded by Jay Lean, Brian Smith, and Carsten Schack at the Pure Studio and the D.A.R.P. Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, "Before You Walk Out of My Life" was mixed by Jon Gass at The Enterprise Studios.^[3] Dallas Austin served as executive producer on the track.^[3]

Critical reception

Music Week rated the song four out of five, adding, "This 15 year old from the Whitney and Brandy school of crooning turns in an ultra-smooth, ultra appealing R&B ballad which has been top three in the US."^[6] Tony Farside from the magazine's RM Dance Update gave it five out of five, calling it "one of the best new r&b tracks around for a while." He described the song as "a mid to low tempo smoocher with an acappella-ish intro and a lazy beat", and concluded, "A grower and definitely another hit waiting to happen for Monica."^[7] Another editor, James Hamilton deemed it a "sultry" and "attractive" R&B ballad.^[8]

Music video

An accompanying music video for the single was directed by Kevin Bray and released in August 1995.^[9] The video was edited by Scott C. Wilson.

Track listing

UK CD Single^[10]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Before You Walk Out of My Life" (Radio Edit)	Andrea Martin Carsten Schack Kenneth Karlin	Soulshock & Karlin	3:58
2.	"Before You Walk Out of My Life" (Pete Rock Remix)	Martin Schack Karlin	Soulshock & Karlin Pete Rock^[A]	4:56
3.	"Before You Walk Out of My Life" (Tony Rich Remix)	Martin Schack Karlin	Soulshock & Karlin Tony Rich^[A]	4:57
4.	"Before You Walk Out of My Life" (Mike Dean Remix)	Martin Schack Karlin	Soulshock & Karlin Mike Dean^[A]	4:55

US CD Single^[11]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Before You Walk Out of My Life" (Album Version)	Martin Schack Karlin	Soulshock & Karlin	4:51
2.	"Like This and Like That" (Album Version)	Dallas Austin Colin Wolfe Malik Edwards	Austin Wolfe	4:41
3.	"Before You Walk Out of My Life" (Mike Dean Remix)	Martin Schack Karlin	Soulshock & Karlin Dean^[A]	4:54
4.	"Like This and Like That" (All Star Mix)	Austin Wolfe Edwards	Austin Wolfe Allstar^[A]	4:34
5.	"Before You Walk Out of My Life" (Pete Rock Remix)	Martin Schack Karlin	Soulshock & Karlin Rock^[A]	4:56

Notes

• ^{^[A]} denotes additional producer

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Miss Thang.^[3]

Monica Arnold – vocals Dallas Austin – executive producer Jon Gass – mixing engineer Jay Lean – recording engineer

Andrea Martin – background vocals, writer Kenneth Karlin – producer, writer Carsten Schack – producer, recording engineer, writer Brian Smith – recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Before You Walk Out of My Life" Chart (1995–1996) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[12] 60 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[13] 8 Scotland (OCC)^[14] 78 UK Singles (OCC)^[15] 22 UK Dance (OCC)^[16] 6 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)^[17] 3 US Billboard Hot 100^[18] 7 US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)^[19] 8 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[20] 1 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)^[21] 30 US Rhythmic (Billboard)^[22] 6

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "Before You Walk Out of My Life" Chart (1996) Position US Billboard Hot 100^[23] 38 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)^[24] 9 US Rhythmic (Billboard)^[25] 21

Certifications

Certifications for "Before You Walk Out of My Life"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)^[26]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• R&B number-one hits of 1996 (USA)

References

1. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum Database". Recording Industry Association of America. RIAA.com. Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
2. Christian, Margena A. (2003-07-28). "Monica: Shares Life's Lessons On New CD After The Storm". Jet. FindArticles.com. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
3. Miss Thang (Media notes). Monica. Arista Records. 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
4. "Andrea Martin Gives The Stories Behind Her Songs with Blu Cantrell, Tracey Spencer & Toni Braxton". KempireRadio YouTube). Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
5. "Soulshock Talks Producing Hits With His Partner Karlin For 2Pac, Whitney Houston & Monica (Exclusive)". youknowigotsoul.com. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
6. "Reviews" (PDF). Music Week. 1996-05-11. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
7. Farside, Tony (1996-05-18). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 9. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
8. Hamilton, James (1996-06-01). "DJ Directory" (PDF). Music Week. p. 11. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
9. "Monica Videography". MVDBase.com. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
10. "Monica: Before You Walk Out My Life UK CD single (CD5 / 5")". Eli.com. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
11. "Monica: Before You Walk Out Of My Life US CD single (CD5 / 5")". Eli.com. Retrieved 2017-12-02.
12. . Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Archived from the original on 2020-09-24. Retrieved April 12, 2018. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
13. "Monica – Before You Walk Out of My Life". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
15. "Monica: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
16. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
17. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
18. "Monica Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
19. "Monica Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
20. "Monica Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
21. "Monica Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
22. "Monica Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
23. . Archived from the original on 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
24. "2003 Year End Chart: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
25. "Most Played Rhythmic Top 40 Songs Of 1996" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 4, no. 53. December 27, 1996. p. 32. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
26. "American single certifications – Monica – Before You Walk Out of My Life". Recording Industry Association of America.