"Angel" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Amanda Perez Amanda Jane Perez (born May 24, 1980) is an American R&B singer. Early life and education Perez, who is of Mexican descent, was raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She grew up in the Waynedale community of Fort Wayne, where she attended North S ...

. Written by Perez and produced by Mike Quinn, "Angel" was released as a single in August 2002 and was included on Perez's second studio album of the same name, released later the same year. In the United States, the single reached the top five of the ''

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 ...

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

chart and the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Angel" was also a top-five hit in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at number one in the latter country for two weeks.

Release

The song "Angel" was released to US

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

radio on August 26, 2002. The D-Lo Urban Remix was released to US radio as a Single Mix for promo. It was also released digitally.

Reception

Critical

The review by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

praised Amanda Perez's vocal performance and named it the best song on its parent album ''Angel''.

Commercial

In the United States, it reached number 20 on the ''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

, spending 19 weeks on the chart. On the

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor ...

chart, the song reached number 13. The song was most successful in the US on the

, where it reached number three and spent 25 total weeks. The track also hit number seven on

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 ...

's ''Total Request Live''. ''Billboard'' ranked the song as the 69th most-successful of 2003 in the US. The song was also successful in Canada, where it peaked at number 12 in June 2003. On the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

, the single reached number one, spending for two weeks atop the chart in June 2003. The following month, "Angel" reached number two on the Australian

ARIA Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. "Angel" was ranked at number 13 on

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

's list of top 100 songs of 2003 and number 15 on the New Zealand year-end chart for 2003. Perez's subsequent singles failed to break the top 40 in any country, essentially making Perez a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music performers with ...

(though she also scored a minor hit with "Never," which peaked at number 79 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100). Additionally, it was the last song to be played as a long-distance dedication on ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...

'' in January 2004, as

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

replaced

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

a week later, though long-distance dedications continued on ''

American Top 20 ''American Top 20'' was the name given to two weekly spinoffs of the music countdown program ''American Top 40''. They were both hosted by Casey Kasem for Premiere Networks (originally AMFM Radio Networks) and premiered on the weekend of March ...

'' and ''American Top 10'' until both shows ended in 2009.

Music video

A music video was released, featuring Perez having flashbacks of her boyfriend (implied to be dead), and footage of her lighting candles. The video shows a thug who is a getaway driver for a gang and wishes to leave his criminal life behind while his girlfriend packs her things and waits for him. The gang stops and attempts to steal a car but the thug flees on foot from the theft and gets into his own car, thinking that he’s safe. However, the gang leader catches up to him and kills him in his car and flees. The music video was dedicated to two of her family members who had passed, Michael and Benitez Perez. The music video received substantial play on MTV's ''Total Request Live''.

Track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

View the music video
on YouTube {{Authority control 2002 singles 2002 songs Amanda Perez songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs about heartache Virgin Records singles