"No Letting Go" is a song by Jamaican
reggae fusion
Reggae fusion is a Music_genre#Subtypes, fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop music, pop, rock music, rock, hip hop music, hip-hop/rap, Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz, funk, soul music, soul, disco ...
artist
Wayne Wonder
Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist. His most popular single is the 2003 hit " No Letting Go".
Biography Early life
Wonder was born in Buff Bay, Portla ...
. The song was written by Wonder and
Steven "Lenky" Marsden
Steven "Lenky" Marsden is a Jamaican-born music producer and musician who specializes primarily in dancehall reggae music. He also arranges and remixes pop and hip hop songs. Marsden is the founder of the Jamaica-based label, 40/40 Records and ...
, and produced by Marsden. It was included on Wonder's 2003
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
''
No Holding Back'' and was released as the
lead single
A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
A similar term, "debut ...
from the album. The single was released worldwide on 21 January 2003 and charted at a peak position of number three in the
UK Singles Chart. It also peaked at number 11 in the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States.
It remains Wonder's most successful single to date. "I had been working with him
arsdenfor years when he was playing live music so when he switched over to music production, I transitioned with him. I actually gave him my first two door
Civic
Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things:
Civic or CIVIC can also refer to: General
*Honda Civic, a car produced by the Honda Motor Co.
*Civics, the science of comparative government
* Civic ...
. I signed over the title to him and everything, and he gave me my most successful hit.
The song was one of the many hits from the jumpy
handclap
A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), b ...
riddim
In Jamaican dancehall music, a riddim is the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the ''riddim'' plus the ''voicing'' (vocal part) sung by the deeja ...
known as the
Diwali Riddim, which was also produced by Marsden.
Content
According to Wayne Wonder, the song is about a girl that he once knew but he doesn't mention her name. He said in an interview with
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 ...
in 2003 "I just wrote this song
bout a girlwithout calling her name in the song because she always said to me, 'You are always
allingthese other girls' names.' I said, 'I don’t have to call your name, I'll just write a song and you can appreciate it.'" He was also amazed by the success that the song had achieved, saying "Everybody loves it, which is surprising to me. When I'm writing, I don’t think
bout whether the songwill be a big hit."
Reception
''
Blender magazine's'' called the song "a fetching love song that paired his
onder'saccented tenor with rough, digital funk".
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
were critical of the album but called this song "mesmerizing".
Music video
The music video was directed by
Director X
Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...
, and filmed in
Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") () is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth ...
,
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, in December 2002. Wonder said that "It took us 24 hours
o shoot.. It was raining in the morning and the shoot was supposed to start at like 6:30 a.m. and it never really got started until about maybe 8 o'clock... The video, to me, was a success; the dances, everyone enjoying themselves on the stage, there was no bad vibe."
Remix
The official remix features rappers
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...
& Queen Duchess. The remix also uses more of the
Diwali Riddim beat.
Track listings
US CD single
# "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22
# "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:43
European enhanced CD single
# "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:25
# "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:44
# "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:40
# "No Letting Go" (Video)
US 12-inch vinyl
:A1. "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22
:B1. "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:43
:B2. "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:43
German 12-inch vinyl
:A1. "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22
:A2. "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:41
:B1. "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:22
:B2. "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix instrumental) - 3:41
US 12-inch vinyl (Remix)
:A1. "No Letting Go (Remix)" (Club Mix featuring LL Cool J & Queen Duchess) - 3:29
:A2. "No Letting Go (Remix)" (Radio Mix featuring LL Cool J & Queen Duchess) - 3:16
:A3. "No Letting Go (Remix)" (Remix Instrumental) - 3:45
:B1. "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22
:B2. "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:32
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Dirty Werk version
In 2019, the American house/remix duo
Dirty Werk released an electro dance version of "No Letting Go", which is more of a cover that is mixed with portions taken from the original. The updated version gave Dirty Werk its second number one on ''Billboard''s
Dance Club Songs
The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...
chart in the issue dated 2 November 2019.
Track listing
Remixes EP
# "No Letting Go" (Dirty Werk House Remix) – 3:12
# "No Letting Go" (Kue Radio Mix) – 3:44
# "No Letting Go" (Alex Acosta Peak Hour Remix) – 3:21
# "No Letting Go" (Lemi Vice Remix) – 3:34
# "No Letting Go" (Dave Matthias Remix) – 3:03
# "No Letting Go" (
Perry Twins Remix) – 3:23
Charts
See also
*
List of ''Billboard'' number-one dance songs of 2019
References
*
{{Authority control
2002 songs
2003 singles
2019 singles
Electro house songs
Reggae fusion songs
Song recordings produced by Steven "Lenky" Marsden
Songs written by Steven "Lenky" Marsden
Wayne Wonder songs