"Back 2 Life" (''titled "B2L" on the digital format'' ''of the album'') is a song recorded by American singer
LeToya Luckett
LeToya Nicole Luckett (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 me ...
, for her third studio album ''
Back 2 Life
''Back 2 Life'' is the third studio album by Jamaican-American singer Sean Kingston. The album was released on September 10, 2013. The album was supported by the single " Beat It" which peaked at number 52 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The a ...
'' (2017). The song was released on December 7, 2016, by
eOne Music Entertainment.
The song samples “
Back to Life (However Do You Want Me) Back to Life may refer to:
Books
*''Back to Life: Poems from behind the Iron Curtain'', 1958, ed. Robert Conquest
* ''Back to Life'' (novel), 2004 novel by Wendy Coakley-Thompson
*''Back to Life, The Rachel Riley Diaries'', 2009 novel by Joanna Na ...
” (1989) by
Soul II Soul
Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
.
Background and promotion
Following the release of the single, Luckett posted pictures of a photo shoot and the single's artwork on her Instagram account. A teaser trailer for the music video was posted on Luckett's Instagram account on December 12, 2016.
Critical reception
The song was well received by critics.
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 ...
stated "The end of 2016 is near, but there’s still tons of new music to look forward to before it comes to a close. LeToya Luckett will return from a musical hiatus with her long-awaited new single “Back2Life” hitting iTunes this week. The single’s exclusive artwork features Luckett sporting cropped blond hair, a black leather choker, and fierce cat-eye liner."
Rap-Up
''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...
stated in a review "LeToya Luckett is “Back.” Following a hiatus from music, the former Destiny’s Child songstress unleashes her new single, “Back 2 Life,” off her upcoming album Until Then. Sampling Soul II Soul’s classic “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me),” LeToya sings about a failing relationship. While the muse for the track is unknown, it could be inspired by art imitating life." Singersroom described the track as a "mid-tempo, laid-back groove," while SheBOPS noted that the song's "sombre R&B sounds sonically pinpoint the vulnerable realities of a painfully toxic relationship."
Music video
Release
A 40-second teaser trailer for the music video was released to Luckett's YouTube account on December 14, 2016. The video features actor and former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
running back
A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...
Thomas Jones. It was directed and produced by Michael Vaughn Hernandez and executive produced by Luckett. The music video was released to LeToya's
VEVO
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
account on January 10, 2017.
Synopsis
The music video, which is over eight minutes long, begins with LeToya in a perfect relationship. The plot twists when she suspects that her significant other is a little too friendly with his female best friend. The video ends with a heated argument between LeToya and her man, resulting in her leaving the relationship with a "to be continued...".
Reception
Amber McKynzie from
The Boombox
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
wrote "It’s a new year, which means it’s time to be out with the old and in with the new; or simply take some time to focus on you. At least that’s the mindset LeToya Luckett follows in her new video, 'Back 2 Life.' LeToya Luckett recounts a love story gone wrong thanks to a good “friend” named Cynthia. First in love and floating through the honeymoon stage, Luckett discovers the man she thought she knew is nothing like the man she met after meeting his childhood friend who’s a little too close for comfort." Lauren Porter from
Essence
Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...
commented: "Ladies, we've all been there: you're dating a great guy who wants you to meet his female friend who you suspect wants to be more than that. Well, in LeToya Luckett's new video for her song, "Back 2 Life" art truly imitates reality with a scenario we can all say we've encountered at least once or twice. With some steamy eye-candy from Being Mary Jane's former "cuddy buddy," Thomas Q. Jones, Luckett and her on-screen love serve up a true cautionary tale for what it means when he says, 'don't worry baby, she's just my friend.'"
Chart performance
The song debuted at number twenty-six on the US
Adult R&B Airplay
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 ...
chart on February 4, 2017. In its second and third week the song charted at number twenty-two and number twenty respectively. In its twelfth week the song peaked at number eleven.
In its fourteenth week the song peaked at number seven.
Track listing
Charts
Release history
References
External links
*
{{authority control
2016 singles
LeToya Luckett songs
2016 songs
Songs written by LeToya Luckett