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On Bended Knee
1994 single by Boyz II Men From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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"On Bended Knee" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. It was written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and released in November 1994 by Motown as the second single from the group's second album, II (1994). The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and number two on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart on December 3, 1994. It stayed at number one for a total of six non-consecutive weeks. The accompanying music video was directed by Lionel C. Martin.
The single is notable for having replaced the previous Boyz II Men single, "I'll Make Love to You", as the top song on the Billboard Hot 100. This was the first time that an act had replaced itself at number one since the Beatles, when "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You", and "Can't Buy Me Love" monopolized the top of the chart for a total of 14 weeks. In the lyrics of the song, the speaker begs "on bended knee" for his ex-lover to come back to him, and apologizes for his wrongdoing.
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Composition
Sheet music for "On Bended Knee" shows a slow tempo of 60 beats per minute and the song starts in the key of A-flat major for the intro, then modulates to E-flat major for most of the song, but is also modulated to E major for the third chorus, then to F major for the final chorus, and then again to B-flat major for the outro.[2]
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard magazine complimented the song as a "lovely pop/R&B ballad". He added, "The single has all the right ingredients: tight harmonies, white-knuckled lead vocals, a slow and grinding urban groove, and words of undying love."[1] Music Week stated, "More elaborate and exquisite harmonies from these undeniably talented youngsters on a lilting song written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Destined for mid-chart respectability."[3] Gerald Martinez from New Sunday Times wrote that the song, along with its predecessor "I'll Make Love to You", "tries to recapture the magic of 'End of the Road', and they come close. Big production numbers with solid hooks, they should be flooding our airwaves for the next few months."[4] Paul Evans from Rolling Stone named it a "lush swoon-and-croon" ballad "of the kind the Boyz' hard-core fans demand."[5] Pete Stanton from Smash Hits gave it a score of three out of five in his review of the single.[6]
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Music video
The music video for "On Bended Knee", directed by American director Lionel C. Martin, featured the Boyz II Men band members and their breakup and eventual reconciliation with four famous actresses: Kim Fields, Renée Jones, Lark Voorhies, and Victoria Rowell. The video was filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana. It includes footage from Audubon Park, a streetcar, and the French Quarter.
The video begins with Wanyá Morris' girlfriend (Voorhies) in the car with him, accusing him of looking at another woman at the grocery store, and she gets out of the car, leaving Morris alone. He eventually finds her sitting on bleachers where they make up. Shawn Stockman meets a girl (Rowell) with a dog at the park and falls in love with her after just meeting her. Michael McCary gets into a fight with his girlfriend (Jones) on his birthday and he's shown alone, drawing a picture of her, but then she comes back to him. Nathan Morris is shown concentrating more on writing music than spending time with his girlfriend (Fields), which frustrates her so she writes a breakup note on his mirror and leaves him, but she eventually returns to him. The band appears singing on the subway and in the rain.
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