"Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder) is a 1996 song by American R&B/

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

singer Maxwell, released as the second single from his debut album, ''

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite ''Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite'' is the debut album by American R&B singer-songwriter Maxwell. It was recorded in 1994 and 1995, then released on April 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. Maxwell largely wrote and produced the album himself, recordin ...

''. It peaked at number eight on the US ''

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 advertise ...

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 p ...

chart, number 36 on the ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

and number 28 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The B side of the single is "Lock You Up N' Love Fa Days," which was previously unreleased and also written and produced by Musze.

Critical reception

Christopher A. Daniel from Albumism stated that the song "keeps the groove in motion".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Stephen Cook picked it as one of the highlights from ''

''. Daryl Easlea for

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said that it "was the rightful hit single".

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' wrote that it continues to revisit the classic soul ground first mined by legends like

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

and

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

. He noted that "cruising at a chilled midtempo pace, Maxwell flexes his voice to

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heights while also displaying a rich lower register that's so sexy. Wrap in a rubbery bassline and jiggly funk guitars and you have a tasty single". Monyca D. Coleman from ''

Indianapolis Recorder The ''Indianapolis Recorder'' is an American weekly newspaper based in Indianapolis, Indiana. First published in 1895, the ''Recorder'' is the longest-running African-American newspaper in Indiana and fourth in the U.S. History The newspaper w ...

'' deemed it as "brilliant". 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 ...

'' stated that "it won't take long for the world to discover the Next Big Thing In Soul Music. Maxwell is quickly capturing hearts all over the world. He even got TAFKAP to do the sound of his recent Paris show. He oozes charisma and he has the musical clout to back it up. He glides his way through this mid-tempo smoothie with a delicious deep bass and wah wah guitars." A reviewer 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 W ...

'' rated it three out of five, describing it as a "dreamy soul offering", that "could see him making inroads into the charts." Damien Mendis from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update praised the track, writing, "The class just oozes out of the speakers. He lays down sophisticated soul that will have purists gagging at the first four bars." He added, "So good it hurts." Bob Jones from ''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...

'' said it is "the next best thing since soul was invented. Awesome, truly awesome!" Malaysian newspaper ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

commented, "Forget about

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, this is the real thing! If ethereal tracks like Ascension, Whenever, Wherever and ...Til The Cops Keep Knockin' don't raise body temperatures, you're in serious "shagadelic" trouble my friend. Lights off, stimulus on!" ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

'' described it as "slinky". A writer for ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...

'' called it a "smooth" and "slow" track, with a "sultry mood".

Chart performance

"Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" debuted on the ''

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 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 p ...

chart in the US in August 1996, at number 11, eventually peaking at number eight and spending 29 weeks on the chart. It also spent eighteen weeks on the ''Billboard''

, peaking at number 36 on September 28, 1996. In Europe, the single reached the Top 30 in the UK, peaking at number 28 on the

. But it was even more successful on the

UK R&B Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

, peaking at number six. Additionally, it also charted in Scotland, reaching number 52.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by American music video and television director and television producer

Liz Friedlander Liz Friedlander is an American music video, television director and television producer. Originally from New York City, Friedlander moved to Pennsylvania to attend the Drama Conservatory school at Carnegie Mellon University. She then moved to Lo ...

. At the beginning, Maxwell stands alone, dancing in the dark in a room that is a large stage surrounded by white screens. As he begins to sing, the light slowly turns on the singer. He is dressed in a shiny gray outfit and a band is now performing around him on stage. Throughout the video, different people are entering the room through a large oval opening. Towards the end, these people are dancing among the musicians while Maxwell sings until the end of the video. The video for "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" was later published on Maxwell's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel in October 2009. It has amassed more than 52,2 million views as of October 2021.

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

External links

www.musze.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder) 1996 singles Maxwell (musician) songs 1995 songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Itaal Shur Songs written by Maxwell (musician) Music videos directed by Liz Friedlander