"Why Don't We Fall in Love" is a song written and produced by

Rich Harrison Richard Christopher Harrison (born 1979) is an American record producer and songwriter specializing in R&B and hip hop music. The winner of a Grammy Award, Harrison is well known for producing songs such as " Get Right" (performed by Jennifer ...

for American R&B singer

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Rogers Nicholson (born January 12, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and writer. She has released four studio albums to date: '' All I Have'' (2002), ''Touch'' (2005), '' Because I Love It'' (2007), '' In Love & W ...

's debut album, '' All I Have'' (2002). Released as the album's

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 ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in October 2001 and in the United States in July 2002. After being sent to US

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 ...

Urban AC Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music on ...

, Top 40 and

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 ...

radio in April 2002, the song reached number twenty-three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became a top ten hit on the

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 ...

. It performed moderately elsewhere, peaking at number forty in the United Kingdom and number seventy-three 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 ...

. The song is also used for the promo of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''. It is also one of the songs used in the American version of the 2004 video game '' Donkey Konga 2''. Part of the lyrics, along with the background music, was sampled in the song " Rule the World" by

2 Chainz Tauheed K. Epps (born September 12, 1977), known professionally as 2 Chainz (formerly Tity Boi), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, he gained recognition as one-half of the Southern hip-hop duo Playaz Ci ...

and

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

from the 2019 album ''

Rap or Go to the League ''Rap or Go to the League'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper 2 Chainz. It was released on March 1, 2019, through Gamebread and Def Jam Recordings. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers, including 9th Wonder, Ho ...

'' and the 2023 song "No Fake Love" by

Queen Naija Queen Naija Bulls (; born October 17, 1995) is an American singer and media personality. Born and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Bulls began her career as a YouTube vlogger, and appeared on the thirteenth season of ''American Idol''. Her 2017 si ...

and

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Kentrell DeSean Gaulden (born October 20, 1999), known professionally as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy, is an American rapper. From Louisiana, United States, Gaulden released eight independent mixtapes and garnered a regional foll ...

Background

In a 2024 interview with ''Questlove Supreme'', Amerie revealed "Why Don't We Fall in Love" was not supposed to be the first single from her album '' All I Have''. She initially wanted " Talkin' to Me" to be her single debut - which was later made to be the second single released. Amerie considered "Why Don't We Fall in Love" to be the album's intro - hence the reason for the short length and the placement as the opening track on her debut album, ''All I Have''. Despite this,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

insisted the song slated to be released as her first single.

Music video

The single's

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 ...

was directed by

Benny Boom Benny Douglas (born July 22, 1971), professionally known as Benny Boom, is an American director who has worked in music, television, and film. His most commercially successful film was the 2017 Tupac Shakur biopic '' All Eyez on Me''. Career Do ...

and filmed in May 2002 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. The video features a guest appearance by Carl Thomas, and was released in June 2002. The video opens with the words "The first day of summer" ( The 1st day of summer was June 21, 2002 and although the date was never clear it was rumored that June 21 was the exact date of the release of the video).

Remixes

The official remix features rapper

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...

who is also in the CD single and the Japanese edition of the album ''All I Have''. There is also a remix called the "

Roc-A-Fella Roc-A-Fella Records was an American record label and music management company founded in 1994 by record executives and entrepreneurs Jay-Z, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Damon Dash, and Kareem Burke, Kareem "Biggs" Burke. Carter issued his debut album, ...

Remix" that features

Dipset The Diplomats (also known as Dipset) were an American hip hop collective formed in the summer of 1997 by childhood friends Cam'ron and Jimmy Jones in Harlem, New York City. The group was originally composed of Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Freekey Ze ...

rapper

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known Mononym, mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance Rivera, Lance "Un" Rivera's Lance Rivera, Untertainment, a ...

; another remix also produced by

called the "Richcraft Remix" has new verses by Amerie and a new instrumental. This remix would later appear on her next album ''

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

'' in 2005 as a bonus track for the U.S. and Japanese editions.

Track listings and formats

;U.S. double A-side single with "Got to Be There" #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (album version) – 2:39 #"Got to Be There" – 3:01 ;UK and Australian CD single #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (album version) – 2:39 #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (main mix featuring

) – 3:33 #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (Richcraft Remix) – 3:36 #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (instrumental) – 2:48 #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (main mix - a cappella featuring Ludacris) – 3:26 ;UK 12" single *Side A: #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (main mix featuring Ludacris) – 3:33 #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (album version) – 2:39 #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (instrumental) – 2:48 *Side B: #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (Richcraft Remix) – 3:36 #"Why Don't We Fall in Love" (Richcraft Remix Instrumental) – 3:35

Charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Why Don't We Fall In Love 2002 debut singles Amerie songs Ludacris songs Music videos directed by Benny Boom Song recordings produced by Rich Harrison Songs written by Rich Harrison 2002 songs Columbia Records singles