"Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" 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 ...

. It was written by

Johntá Austin Johntá Moore Austin ( ; born June 28, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for his production and songwriting work on hometown native Jermaine Dupri's record label, So So Def Recordings during the mid-2000s. As a recordin ...

along with Andre Harris and Vidal Davis from production duo

Dre & Vidal Dre & Vidal is a songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis. Alumni of DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz production team, Dre & Vidal were als ...

for Brown's self-titled debut album (2005), while production was helmed by Harris and Davis. Lyrically, the R&B track focuses on teenage love. "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" features background vocals from singer André Meritt in the chorus. The song was released by

Jive Records Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...

as the album's second single in November 2005 in the United States, and February 2006 worldwide. It became Brown's second top ten single in the United States, peaking at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, causing the song to appear on the 2006 compilation album Now That’s What I Call Music! 22. "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" also became a top ten hit in Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. At the 2006 BET Awards, the song won in the Viewer's Choice category, while its music video, directed by

Erik White Erik White is an American music video director. In 2010, he made his feature film directorial debut with the comedy film ''Lottery Ticket'', starring rappers Bow Wow and Ice Cube. He appeared on the reality show competition '' The Glee Project' ...

and Brown, received Best R&B Video nominations at both the

2006 MTV Video Music Awards The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31, 2006, honoring the best music videos from June 11, 2005, to June 26, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black (actor), Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 2006 in music ...

and the

MTV Australia Awards The MTV Australia Awards (previously known as the MTV Australia Video Music Awards or AVMA's) started in 2005 and were Australia's first awards show to celebrate both local and international acts. The last edition took place in 2009. History Th ...

Critical reception

In her review of parent album ''Chris Brown'', Kelefa Sanneh from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote: " rownsounds enthusiastic but polite, more the solicitous friend than the lecherous stranger ..The beat, by Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, evokes the plush minimalism of an expensive sofa, and once again Mr. Brown makes an ostentatiously well-mannered plea." ''

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 ...

'' listed "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" among the 30 best R&B songs of the 21st century. ''

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 ...

'' stated in 2021 that "the song and accompanying music video have become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon since its release nearly two decades ago. In the visual, Brown memorably pursues a girl while dancing for her and singing the lyrics to her, a true testament and time stamp of the 00s era."

Chart performance

According to ''

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 ...

'', "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" was the song that solidified Brown's presence in the music industry, following the success of his previous single "Run It!". The song peaked at number seven on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on February 18, 2006, becoming Brown's second top-ten song on the chart. It spent a total of 21 weeks on the chart. On December 12, 2007, "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

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) for sales of over a million copies in the United States. Elsewhere, the song became a top ten hit in Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand and reached number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart.

Music video

The song'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

and Chris Brown. Filmed in various locations throughout

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, ...

, including a basketball court in Pecan Park, it features then-model

Erica Mena Erica Jasmin Mena (born November 8, 1987) is an American actress, model, singer and video vixen. She is best known for her appearances in the ''Love & Hip Hop'' franchise from 2011 to 2023, particularly in the ''New York'' and ''Atlanta'' install ...

as a girl Brown sees, catching his attention. He then follows the girl while dancing for her. After arriving at a basketball court, he continues the choreography with two other guys. Brown then gets the girl's car and sings to her. They get close, then she gives him her phone to put his number in. The video's ending transitions to the first verse of " Gimme That", with Brown singing in a different scenario.

Lil' JJ James Charles Lewis III (born October 31, 1990), known professionally as Lil' JJ or Big JJ, is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Jordan on the Nickelodeon television series '' Just Jordan'' and doing Vital Infor ...

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...

, and

DeRay Davis Antoine DeRay Davis (born February 26, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian and actor.Todd Davis (February 2, 2008)Steph Jones: Heart & Soul ''HHNLive''. Accessed July 18, 2008. He is known for his role as Ray the Hustle Guy in the '' Barb ...

make cameo appearances in the video. Portions of the visuals were inspired by singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's 1987 video for his single "

The Way You Make Me Feel "The Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released by Epic Records on November 9, 1987, as the third single from his seventh studio album, '' Bad''. It was written and composed by Jackson and produced ...

." "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" received a Best R&B Video nomination at the

, but lost to

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

's "

Check on It "Check on It" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé. It was written by her, Swizz Beatz, Sean Garrett, Angela Beyincé and Slim Thug, and produced by Swizz Beatz. Serving as the main theme of the 2006 film ''The Pink Panther'', in whic ...

" (2005).

Live performance

On April 1, 2006, Brown performed "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" at the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards as part of a musical duel with rapper Bow Wow that was inspired by the 1986 Run-D.M.C. music video "

Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...

Track listing

Notes * signifies co-producer(s)

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from ''

'' liner notes. * Johnta Austin – writer *

– vocalist * Vidal Davis – all instruments, producer, writer *Vincent DiLorenzo – mixing and recording engineer * Andre Harris – all instruments, producer, writer * Herb Powers Jr. –

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2005 songs 2006 singles Chris Brown songs Songs written by Johntá Austin Songs written by Vidal Davis Songs written by Andre Harris Song recordings produced by Dre & Vidal Music videos directed by Erik White Jive Records singles