"Torn" a song by American
R&B singer
LeToya Luckett
LeToya Luckett-Coles (born March 11, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a mem ...
. It was written by Luckett,
Teddy Bishop
Edward James Bishop (born 15 July 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Colchester United.
Club career Ipswich Town
Bishop was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. He originally played for boyho ...
, and Dave Young for her solo debut album ''
LeToya
LeToya Luckett-Coles (born March 11, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a mem ...
'' (2006), while production was helmed by Bishop. The song contains elements and features samples from
The Stylistics
The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...
' "
You Are Everything
"You Are Everything" is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed and originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics.
The Stylistics version
An R&B ballad, it was the sixth track from their debut self-titled album an ...
" (1971). Due to the inclusion of the sample,
Thom Bell
Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and prod ...
and
Linda Epstein received credit as songwriters. Lyrically, "Torn" is about the protagonist being "torn" between staying with or leaving her lover.
Released as the album's lead single in March 2006, "Torn" became a hit on the US
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 ...
chart, peaking at number two, and reached the top twenty on both the
Rhythmic Top 40
The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine.
The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...
and
Adult R&B Songs
The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...
charts. Aside from peaking at number 31 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100, it reached top forty in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. A music video for "Torn" was directed by
Chris Robinson and co-stars American football safety
Will Demps
William Henry Demps Jr. (born November 7, 1979) is a former American football safety who was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at San Diego State. He is also the close cousin of top pro ...
as Luckett's love interest.
Background
"Torn" was written by Luckett,
Teddy Bishop
Edward James Bishop (born 15 July 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Colchester United.
Club career Ipswich Town
Bishop was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. He originally played for boyho ...
, and Dave Young.
Commenting on the creation process of the song, Bishop said in 2012: "That song just kind of came about where LeToya had called me and asked me to put together some tracks for her. I went in the studio and I started coming up with different tracks. I had ideas of her doing something a little bit older. I dug in my crates and pulled out an old
Stylistics
Stylistics, a branch of applied linguistics, is the study and interpretation of texts of all types, but particularly literary texts, and spoken language with regard to their linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of l ...
record. Now
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...
had already did that particular sample previously, so I just did some different things to it. I flipped it and played live music and piano across it and gave it a different feel."
Music video
A music video for "Torn" was directed by
Chris Robinson and debuted 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 ...
''
Access Granted
''Access Granted'' is an American television series that features an in-depth look at the planning, filming and production of R&B and hip hop music videos. Each week a different artist and their new music video are featured, with the video pre ...
'' on July 5, 2006. American football safety
Will Demps
William Henry Demps Jr. (born November 7, 1979) is a former American football safety who was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at San Diego State. He is also the close cousin of top pro ...
co-stars as Luckett's love interest. The clip had one of its biggest successes on the network's music video countdown show ''
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 ...
'' where it reached number one in eleven days and stayed there for twenty-five days straight, eventually remaining on the countdown for sixty-five days. The visuals are featured as an enhanced video on the European edition and the Japanese special edition of the ''
LeToya
LeToya Luckett-Coles (born March 11, 1981) is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a founding member of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. As a mem ...
'' album.
Remixes
Producer
Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...
and frequent collaborator
LRoc
James Elbert Phillips, known professionally as LRoc, is an American record producer who has served as in-house talent for Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings since 1997. His credits include the singles " Call on Me" by Janet Jackson, " Everyt ...
were consulted to produce a remix for "Torn." Their "
So So Def
So So Def Recordings is an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, founded by producer Jermaine Dupri in 1993. Specializing in Southern hip hop, R&B, and bass music, the label has signed musical acts such as Bow Wow, Kris Kross, Xsca ...
Remix" features guest appearances from rappers
Mike Jones and
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
. The album version is also slightly different from the single version and there is also a version with rapper Short Dogg and Dave Young, co-writer of "Torn," singing along with Luckett.
Track listing
*U.S. 12-inch single
#"Torn" (Album version)
#"Torn" (Instrumental)
#"Torn" (A Cappella)
#"Tear Da Club Up" (Album version)
#"Tear Da Club Up" (Wine-O Mix)
#"Tear Da Club Up" (Instrumental)
#"Tear Da Club Up" (Wine-O Mix instrumental)
*U.S. 12-inch single (Remix)
#"Torn" (So So Def remix)
#"Torn" (So So Def remix) (Instrumental)
#"Torn" (So So Def remix)
#"Torn" (So So Def remix) (Instrumental)
*Australia CD single
#"Torn" (Radio edit) – 4:11
#"Torn" (So So Def remix) – 4:36
#"Torn" (Instrumental) – 4:21
*U.K. CD single 1
#"Torn" (Radio edit) – 4:11
#"Torn" (So So Def remix) – 4:36
*U.K. CD single 2 (Enhanced)
#"Torn" (Radio edit) – 4:11
#"Torn" (So So Def remix) – 4:36
#"All Eyes On Me" – 3:34
#"No More" – 4:08
#"Torn" (Enhanced music video) – 4:37
NOTE: The So So Def remix features Mike Jones and
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{LeToya
2006 debut singles
2006 songs
LeToya Luckett songs
Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director)
Songs written by LeToya Luckett
Capitol Records singles
Contemporary R&B ballads