"Seven Whole Days" is a song performed by American singer

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven ...

. It serves as the third single from her self-titled debut album (1993). It was released on October 8, 1993 by

LaFace LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...

and

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. Written and produced by Kenneth Edmonds,

Antonio Reid Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Music ...

and

Daryl Simmons Daryl L. Simmons is an American R&B record producer and songwriter. Best known for his production work with L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Simmons was credited on the majority of albums by their label LaFace Records, as well as sev ...

, the track describes a romance that was fading. As the single was not commercially released in the United States, it was ineligible to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and only managed to chart 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 ...

at number forty-eight in early March 1994. Nevertheless, it successfully topped the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

in late January 1994. "Seven Whole Days" is featured on

The Essential Toni Braxton ''The Essential Toni Braxton'' is a compilation album by the American recording artist Toni Braxton in Sony BMG's ''The Essential'' series. Released on February 20, 2007, it follows the earlier compilations ''Ultimate Toni Braxton'', released in ...

and Playlist: The Very Best of Toni Braxton.

Critical reception

In his review of ''

'', John Martinucci from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' found that Braxton "creates steamy sensuality" with "Seven Whole Days". Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' noted the singer's "a boys-beware growl" on the "easy-going" track. Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote that it "could melt even the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

." Ralph Tee from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

s ''RM'' Dance Update stated that it is "the closest Toni gets to

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American jazz and soul singer. She is known for her soulful ballads, particularly from the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk ban ...

territory vocally." Mike Joyce from ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' felt the song "have a depth".

Music video

The official

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 ...

for "Seven Whole Days" was shot while Braxton was on tour with her four sisters Traci, Towanda,

Trina Katrina Laverne Kearse (née Taylor; born December 3, 1974), is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s for her collaborations with Trick Daddy on the singles " Nann Nigga", " Shut Up", and " Take It to da House". In 2000, ...

and Tamar featured as background singers. It was released in 1993 and directed by

Lionel C. Martin Lionel C. Martin is an American music video director, film director and VJ from Queens, New York. While he is known primarily as a music video director, he has also directed the films '' Def Jam's How to Be a Player'' (1997) and '' Longshot'' (2 ...

. The video was later released on Braxton's

VEVO Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...

channel on October 25, 2009, and is in both color and black and white. It had generated more than 29 million views as of January 2025.

Track listing

* US Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM (73008-24063-1) #A1 "Seven Whole Days" (Ghetto Vibe) – 6:35 #A2 "Seven Whole Days" (Ghetto Vibe Instrumental) – 6:36 #B1 "Seven Whole Days" (Album Version) – 6:22 #B2 "Seven Whole Days" (Live Version) – 6:15 #B3 "The Christmas Song" – 3:25 * US Promo CD (LFPCD-4062) #"Seven Whole Days" (Radio Edit) – 4:42 #"Seven Whole Days" (Live Radio Edit) – 4:42 #"Seven Whole Days" (Album Version) – 6:22 #"Seven Whole Days" (Live Version) – 6:15 #"Seven Whole Days" (Ghetto Vibe) – 6:35 #"Seven Whole Days" (Quiet Mix) – 6:12 #" The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" – 3:25

Credits and personnel

Credits taken from Discogs website. ; Performers and musicians *Toni Braxton - Vocals, Background *Keisha Jackson - Background (tracks 1–6) *Pamela Copeland - Background (tracks 1–6) *Tammy Davis - Background (tracks 1–6) ; Technical personnel *A&R - Bryant Reid *Engineer - Jim "Z" Zumpano *Engineer, Mixing and Programming - John Frye (tracks 1–6) *Executive Producer - L.A Reid and Babyface (tracks 1–6) *Written by - L.A Reid and Babyface (tracks 1–6) *Published By - ECAF, Sony Songs Inc., Cuff Link Music, Edwin H. Morris & Co.

Charts

Cover versions

In 2002, bassist Michael Manson presented his version from his album "The Bottom Line." Saxophonist Steve Cole is a special guest on this song.

References

{{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs 1990s ballads Toni Braxton songs Arista Records singles LaFace Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads Songs about heartache Soul ballads Music videos directed by Lionel C. Martin Song recordings produced by Babyface (musician) Song recordings produced by Daryl Simmons Song recordings produced by L.A. Reid Songs written by Babyface (musician) Songs written by L.A. Reid