Forever (Chris Brown Song)
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"Forever" is a song by American singer
Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
. Brown co-wrote the song with Andre Merritt, Rob Allen, Brian Kennedy, and Jamal "Polow da Don" Jones; the latter two are also the producers. Initially created to be used for a
Doublemint Doublemint is a variety of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company; according to early advertisements, it is "double strength" peppermint flavored. It was launched in the United States in 1914, and has had variable market share since then. The ...
commercial, "Forever" was selected to be released as the lead single from the reissue version of Brown's second studio album '' Exclusive'', titled the ''Forever Edition'', and the fifth single overall from the album. It was first released for digital download on November 2, 2007, in a few countries, followed the next April with a retail single CD released in Europe. The song reached number one in Ireland and New Zealand as well as peaking within the top ten in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States. It also reached the top forty in Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The accompanying music video features Brown in several scenes pursuing his love interest. The video features many dancers and digital effects. The official remix features
Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...
and
Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...
.


Background

The song was written by Brown and his songwriting team, the Graffiti Artists (Rob Allen and Andre Merritt). He stated that after entering the studio, Polow da Don created a beat that Brown wrote along to. Because the producer's style was "more of a European, techno, house-type feel,"Shaheem Reid, Jasmine Dotiwala (March 25, 2008)
Chris Brown readies deluxe Edition Of Exclusive
''MTV''. Accessed March 25, 2008.
the group "wanted to give it that other side of crossover, and go a little bit to that pop realm". "Forever" is one of four new songs Brown recorded for the re-release of his second studio album '' Exclusive''. The song was first intended to be on Brown's following album, but decided he "wasn't ready to release a new album yet". "Forever" is an extended version of a commercial jingle for
Doublemint Doublemint is a variety of chewing gum made by the Wrigley Company; according to early advertisements, it is "double strength" peppermint flavored. It was launched in the United States in 1914, and has had variable market share since then. The ...
gum, commissioned by an advertising company working for Wrigley. Brown first created the short version for the commercial, then extended and expanded it into a full song during a recording session in February 2007, which was paid for by the gum company. Originally, the plan was to follow up his third single, " With You," with the
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...
-featuring "Down," but the new material won out. Although the label initially was reluctant to release "Forever" as a single, the song was so "potent and strong" that it overruled any hesitations regarding its commercial connections.Ethan Smith, Julie Jargon (July 28, 2008)
Chew on This: Hit Song Is a Gum Jingle
''The Wall Street Journal''. Accessed July 29, 2008.


Release

The song was first released for digital download on November 2, 2007, in Denmark, Belgium, and New Zealand, and on November 6 in France. The next year, it was released on April 22, 2008, in Australia, Canada, and Japan, then on August 12, 2008, in the United States and Germany. An EP featuring three remixes was released in Ireland on June 13, 2008, in Australia, Austria and the Netherlands on June 16, 2008, and in Japan on August 13, 2008.


Composition

"Forever" is a
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...
that runs for 4 minutes and 38 seconds. It contains influences of
trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
and
techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
, as well as of
Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...
's production style, with synthesized voices over a drum machine pattern. Brown performed the song using the
autotune Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles from the vocoder ...
vocal effect, as he did in one of his previous singles, "
Kiss Kiss Kiss Kiss may refer to: Books * Kiss Kiss (book), ''Kiss Kiss'' (book), a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl Music * Kiss Kiss (band), an American indie rock band * Kiss Kiss (Japanese group), a Japanese girl group * Kiss Kiss (Chris Brown so ...
". According to the digital sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by
EMI Music Publishing EMI Music Publishing Ltd. is a British multinational music publishing company headquartered in London, owned by Sony Music Publishing. In May 2018, Sony Music Publishing agreed to increase its stake in EMI to 90%, pending regulatory approva ...
, it is written in the key of
B major B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...
, with a simple chord progression of E-B-F♯-C♯m. The song maintains a tempo of 120 beats per minute in common time. Brown's vocal range spans nearly an octave and a half from B3 to G♯5.


Music video


Background and synopsis

The two-day shoot took place in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, at the beginning of March 2008. It was directed by Joseph Kahn. The video premiered on '' TRL'' on April 30, 2008, and on
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 ...
's ''
106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...
'' on May 5, 2008. The video reached number one on the MTV Online Chart. BET placed the song at number 55 on their ''Notarized: Top 100 Videos'' countdown. Brown's main love interest in the video is played by model Megan Abrigo. The
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 ...
starts off with Brown driving up to a
nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...
, unwrapping a fresh stick of Doublemint gum, and walking inside. People are seen dancing while Brown starts to sing the first verse. Brown is also seen singing with light effects circling him. During the choruses, Brown and his background dancers start to
house dance House dance is a freestyle street dance and social dance that has roots in the underground house music scene of Chicago and New York.
on the empty dance floor. Among the dancers are Marie Courchinoux and
Rino Nakasone Razalan is a Japanese dancer, choreographer, artistic director and actor. Nakasone and her dance crew, Beat Freaks, participated in the third season of ''America's Best Dance Crew'', where they finished in second place. Nakasone has worked as a choreog ...
from
Beat Freaks Beat Freaks is an all-female breaking dance crew from Los Angeles, California. Each of its ten members have achieved individual success dancing before taking part of the group, which was created in 2003. The Beat Freaks were featured on MTV's ...
. In the second verse, Brown is walking outside the club following his love interest. Later he is seen performing a 540 crescent kick in front of a water fountain. During the bridge, Brown is seen in the top roof with his love interest; the girl falls off the roof and Brown jumps to catch her. The two land safely, and after the final chorus, Brown drives away from the club.


Reception

According to 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 ...
'', the song's video is "digital dream about sharing with one who makes your world stop." The video was popular in American television. The video for "Forever" debuted on BET's ''106 & Park'' at number 10 on July 21, 2008, before finally reach number 2 and has stayed in the countdown for nine days. The video also has reached number 2 on for 8 days
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 ...
'' TRL'' and has stayed in the countdown for 29 days. The video for "Forever" was also popular enough across Asia, by debuting at number 13 on
MTV Asia MTV was a pan-Asian music pay television channel that was launched on 5 May 1995 as a standalone pay television service. The channel was owned by Paramount Networks EMEAA. History Pre-launch The first incarnation of MTV Asia was launched on ...
program, "Chart Attack", which count 20 most popular video in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
and so far has peaked at number 1 replacing
Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...
's " Bye Bye". "Forever" also debuted at number 7 on MTV Hip Hop Countdown; MTV Asian program which count 10 most popular
urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
video in the region and has reached number 1 for six consecutive weeks. In UK, it has reached number 1 on MTV Base. It also has peaked at number 1 on the MTV Online Chart for several weeks. The video was nominated in the "Best Dancing in a Video", "Best Choreography" and "Video of the Year" categories
2008 MTV Video Music Awards The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 7, 2008, live from Paramount Pictures Studios (which, like MTV, is owned by Viacom), honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Nominations for a majority of the categories were ...
.


Critical reception

Bill Lamb of
About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...
gave the song four and a half stars, and said it was one of Brown's best to date.Chris Brown - "Forever"
About.com. Accessed June 19, 2008.
''
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 ...
'' stated that the single "is really a love song but bangs with electrified production from Polow Da Don to ignite dancefloors."Menachem, Michael
Single Reviews: Forever
''Billboard''. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
Alex Fletcher of
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
gave the song two out of five stars, saying "Listening to 'Forever' is a pleasant enough experience, but this track never truly sparks into life or finds its own identity." He went on to say that, "His style is a bit hard to distinguish from Usher,
Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo ( ), is an American singer and songwriter. Regarded as a leading figure of Contemporary R&B#2000s, 2000s R&B music, he is the recipient of numerous accolades, includi ...
and the rest of the current crop of American male solo artists." ''
HotNewHipHop ''HotNewHipHop'' (HNHH) is an online publication that covers daily news about hip hop and pop culture, including streetwear, sports, and Sneaker collecting, sneakers. In addition to its editorial content, HotNewHipHop also produces the video seri ...
'' mentioned "Forever" as a "standout track in Chris Brown’s discography, highlighting his ability to craft timeless hits that transcend musical genres".


Chart performance

"Forever" has reached number one in Ireland and New Zealand, and the top ten in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the UK. The song debuted at number six on the ''Billboard''
Hot Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...
on May 10, 2008, selling 113,072 digital downloads on its first week. Due to its high digital sales, "Forever" debuted at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it the highest debut of that week along with
Jesse McCartney Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama ''All My Children'' as JR Chandler. He later joined the boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a s ...
's " Leavin'" which debuted at number fourteen; it became Brown's ninth top-ten single. The song also debuted at number nine on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
based only on digital sales and has peaked there for 3 non-consecutive weeks, before finally jumped to number two. It has peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks. Coincidentally, “Disturbia” was written by Brown and originally intended to be the lead single for ''Exclusive: Forever Edition'', however “Forever” was ultimately chosen instead. In 2021 it has been certified sextuple platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). It also stayed in the top ten for 15 weeks. It has sold over 3,830,000 copies as of April 2014. "Forever" began receiving airplay on pop and rhythmic radio stations across the US while urban radio stations still playing his previous single, " Take You Down". The song has finally been added to urban radio stations in the week of July 7, 2008, and made a debut at number ninety-five on the ''Billboard''
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 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 ...
, peaking at number seventy-two. "Forever" debuted at number sixty-three on the ''Billboard''
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 ...
, and has peaked at number-one on the Hot 100 Airplay, staying there for three weeks. "Forever" has entered various ''Billboard'' charts including number one on the Hot 100 Airplay,
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 ...
,
Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles ...
,
Pop 100 Airplay The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...
, Hot Digital Songs,
Hot Digital Tracks The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
, and
Hot RingMasters The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
. "Forever" also became a hit across
Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...
. "Forever" debuted at number-forty on the New Zealand
RIANZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
Singles Chart, and in its second week ascended to number-five before reaching its peak at number-one, due to high digital sales. "Forever" has officially become Brown's eighth top ten hit in the country. It sat at number-one on the official RIANZ Singles Chart for eight weeks keeping Rihanna's "Take a Bow" from taking the top spot for five weeks. It became his fifth number one single in New Zealand, after "
Run It! "Run It!" is the debut single by American singer Chris Brown featuring American rapper Juelz Santana. It was produced by Scott Storch, who wrote the song alongside Sean Garrett and Santana. The song appeared on Brown's self-titled debut albu ...
", "
Kiss Kiss Kiss Kiss may refer to: Books * Kiss Kiss (book), ''Kiss Kiss'' (book), a collection of short stories by Roald Dahl Music * Kiss Kiss (band), an American indie rock band * Kiss Kiss (Japanese group), a Japanese girl group * Kiss Kiss (Chris Brown so ...
", " With You" and "No Air". It has been certified Platinum by RIANZ for sales in excess of 15,000, and was the third biggest selling single of 2008 in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. "Forever" debuted at number twenty-nine 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 ...
, and the following week rose to number-sixteen following its physical release. "Forever" has since peaked at number seven. "Forever" has not only become the third consecutive top ten hit from '' Exclusive'', but has also surpassed the success of "Kiss Kiss" to become the album's second most successful single. The song also became successful across Europe. In the UK, the song charted on June 1, 2008, at number 17 on downloads alone. The following week it moved up to number 11, and a week later, to number 8 (still on downloads alone). "Forever" was physically released on June 16, 2008, and on the chart dated June 29, 2008, it reached its peak position at number 4, becoming Chris Brown's second highest charting solo single in the UK at the time, behind "
Run It! "Run It!" is the debut single by American singer Chris Brown featuring American rapper Juelz Santana. It was produced by Scott Storch, who wrote the song alongside Sean Garrett and Santana. The song appeared on Brown's self-titled debut albu ...
", which peaked at number two. It has sold 209,275 copies and stayed in the top ten for six weeks, becoming his third highest-selling single there after " With You" (221,750 copies) and "
No Air "No Air" is a song by American singer Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown. The song was written by James Fauntleroy II, Harvey Mason Jr., Troop (band), Steve Russell, Erik Griggs and Damon Thomas. It was released in the United States on February 11, 2 ...
" (316,630 copies). In
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, "Forever" debuted at number nine, and two weeks later peaked at number six. In the next week, for the issue dated June 22, "Forever" knocked Rihanna's "Take A Bow" off the top spot on the
Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...
, becoming his first number-one single in that country, and stayed at number one for two non-consecutive weeks. The song also reached number 12 on
European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...
, becoming his third highest-charting single there.


In other media

* On July 16, 2008, Comfort Fedoke and Stephen "Twitch" Boss from the US television
reality program Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
and dance competition ''
So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
'' danced to "Forever" as the part of the competition.
Quest Crew Quest Crew is an American hip-hop dance crew from Los Angeles, California who were declared winners of the third season of '' America's Best Dance Crew''. They made their first few appearances individually on shows like ''So You Think You Can ...
and SoReal Cru danced to this song on ''
America's Best Dance Crew ''America's Best Dance Crew'', often abbreviated as ''ABDC'', is an American competitive dance reality television series featuring both national and international dance crews. The show was produced by singer, record producer, and former ''Ameri ...
''. * In 2009 American
parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
comedy movie ''
Dance Flick ''Dance Flick'' is a 2009 American musical comedy film directed by Damien Dante Wayans in his directorial debut and written by and starring many members of the Wayans family. The film was set for release in the United States on February 6, 2009, an ...
'', the song was used in a scene where the protagonist is in a club, and when ''Forever'' comes up he screams "This is my song!" and he starts dancing. * On July 19, 2009, a video was uploaded on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
that received significant media attention, using "Forever" as the song to a
wedding march Music is often played at wedding celebrations, including during the ceremony and at festivities before or after the event. The music can be performed live by instrumentalists or vocalists or may use pre-recorded songs, depending on the format ...
. The video, known as the
JK Wedding Entrance Dance "JK Wedding Entrance Dance" is a viral video originally uploaded to YouTube on July 19, 2009, featuring the wedding of Jill Peterson and Kevin Heinz, using "Forever (Chris Brown song), Forever" by Chris Brown as the song for their Wedding music, we ...
video, received over 1.7 million views in its first seven days. The popularity of the video caused a resurgence of the song, landing it back into the top ten singles on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
. By July 4, 2023, the video had received 105,101,387 hits. Due to the circumstances surrounding the song in their wedding video (the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident), on their website, the couple in the video asked that donations be made to a
domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
charity. * On October 8, 2009, "Forever" was used in the American version of ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
'' at Jim and Pam's
wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...
as part of an homage of the aforementioned JK Wedding. Again, it caused the song to move back into the top twenty singles on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
. In 2010 it was used in another JK Wedding homage, in the Irish TV series '' Love/Hate''. * On March 30, 2010,
Andrew Garcia Andrew Adrian Garcia (born October 18, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter who was the ninth place finalist on the ninth season of ''American Idol''. Garcia has released two EPs and numerous standalone singles. He has also collaborated with ...
performed an acoustic cover of the song on the top 10 performance night of ''American Idol''. He chose this as his R&B song selection. His non-acoustic full-length recording of the song was released on the iTunes Store as "Forever (American Idol Studio Version) – Single" during the season's run and was later included as part of the ''American Idol Season 9'' album that featured the top 10 finalists. * On January 13, 2012, this song, along with "
I Want to Take You Higher "I Want to Take You Higher" is a song by the soul/rock/funk band Sly and the Family Stone, the B-side to their top 30 hit "Stand!". Unlike most of the other tracks on the ''Stand!'' album, "I Want to Take You Higher" is not a message song; instead ...
" by
Sly & the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1966 and active until 1983. Their work, which blended elements of funk, soul, psychedelic rock, gospel, and R&B, became a pivotal influence on subsequent Amer ...
, "Yeah!" by Usher and "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" by
Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...
, was featured in the film '' Joyful Noise'' with
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
, Angela Grovey, and
DeQuina Moore DeQuina Moore is an American actress, best known for her role as Pilar in the original Broadway cast of '' Legally Blonde: The Musical''. She is a native of Houston, Texas. Filmography *''Camp'' (2003) as DeQuina *'' The Warriors'' (2005) as Sharl ...
singing a part of it in the "Higher Medley".


Track listing

Notes * signifies co-producer(s)


Credits and personnel

* Vocals: Chris Brown,
Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she began her musical career as a songwriter and backing vocalist for other artists under the wing of record producer Anthony De ...
*
Writers A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short stori ...
: C. Brown, J. Jones, B. Kennedy, R. Allen, A. Merritt *
Producers Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes t ...
:
Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977 or 1978), known professionally as Polow da Don, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career as a recording artist in the late 1990s, leaving college to pursue a career with ...
for Zone 4 Inc. and Brian Kennedy * Recording: Jason Scweitzer at Village Studios,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, CA and
Doug Fenske Doug Fenske (born January 11, 1982) is an American record producer, recording engineer, mix engineer, and remixer from suburban Chicago, Illinois. He has worked in Los Angeles since 2005, and has been involved in several aspects of record product ...
for Real Records, LLC at Westlake Audio,
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, CA * Mixing: Phil Tan for Riotproof Productions at Soapbox Studios,
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, GA * Assistant: Josh Houghkir * Mastered by: Chris Athens at Sterling Sound,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications


References


External links


JK Wedding Entrance Dance Official Site
{{authority control 2008 singles Chris Brown songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Song recordings produced by Polow da Don Songs written by Polow da Don Songs written by Andre Merritt Songs written by Brian Kennedy (record producer) 2008 songs Jive Records singles Zomba Group of Companies singles