"Understanding" is a song by American R&B group Xscape. Written by

Manuel Seal Manuel Lonnie Seal, Jr. (born September 26, 1960) is an American multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, vocal coach, and arranger. He has been credited, often in tandem with Jermaine Dupri, on releases by Mariah Ca ...

, the song was released in December 1993, by

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

, as the group's second single from their debut album, ''

Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha ''Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha'' is the debut studio album by American R&B group Xscape. Released on October 12, 1993, by So So Def Recordings (as the label's inaugural release) and Columbia Records, the album produced the singles " Just Kickin' It" ...

'' (1993). The song reached number eight on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent two weeks at number one on the

Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart.. It is the first single from the group to feature all four group members on lead vocals.

Release and reception

Released in December 1993, "Understanding" entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart the following month, and reached its peak of number eight in February 1994. The single spent 14 weeks in the top 40 portion of the chart. The song went to number one on the

chart, where it spent two weeks at the top. In other ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts, the song reached number seven on the

Hot 100 Singles Sales The Hot Singles Sales, also known as the Hot 100 Singles Sales and the POS chart, was a music chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine listing each week's best-selling physical singles in the United States, such as CD singles, vinyl single ...

chart and number 15 on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until July 1993) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States ...

chart. In February, the single was certified gold in the United States and has since been certified Platinum in March 2023. The song also reached number 24 in New Zealand. The "Understanding"

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

, directed by Otis Sallid, entered the most-played weekly charts at

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

and

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

in late 1993, and the video reached number one on The Box for the week ending January 29, 1994. When recording the 1995 album '' Off the Hook'', group member Kandi Buruss compared "Understanding" favorably to "

Just Kickin' It "Just Kickin' It" is a song by American R&B group Xscape. Written by Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, It was released in August 1993, by So So Def and Columbia Records, as Xscape's first single from the group's debut album, ''Hummin' Comin' at ' ...

", the group's previous single. "I felt like I could sing 'Just Kickin' It' in my sleep. Songs like 'Understanding', which was more vocally complex, had real feeling to it and that's what we wanted more of on our next album." Fellow group member

Tameka Cottle Tameka Dianne Cottle-Harris ( Cottle; born July 14, 1975), known professionally by her nickname Tiny, is an American singer. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the multi-platinum Contemporary R&B, R&B vocal group Xscape (group), Xscape ...

noted that the appeal of the song "was really universal."

Track listings

* CD/cassette single # "Understanding" (radio version) # "Understanding" (remix) # "Understanding" (Sexual Healing Mix) # "With You" (LP version) * 7" vinyl single # "Understanding" (LP version) - 5:40 # "Just Kickin' It" (remix) - 3:44

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

"Understanding" lyrics
{{Xscape 1993 singles Xscape (group) songs Songs written by Manuel Seal 1993 songs Columbia Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads Soul ballads 1990s ballads