"Damaged" is a song by American recording group

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

. It was written by band member

Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins Tionne Tenese Watkins (born April 26, 1970), better known by her stage name T-Boz, is an American singer and actress. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Watkins rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the girl-group TLC. She has won four Grammy A ...

and long time contributor

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and film producer. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfirmed events inv ...

and recorded for the band's fourth studio album, '' 3D'' (2002), the latter also serving as its producer. The lyrics of the song talk about freedom and healing from hurt and pain. The song was released as the album's second international single and third US single from the album on March 7, 2003, and internationally on June 16, 2003. While not as commercially successful as leading single " Girl Talk", the song peaked at number 21 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

and in the United States, reached the top twenty of ''Billboard''s

Pop Songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

chart. On the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Damaged" peaked at number 53. The song was included on both of the group's official greatest hits albums: '' Now & Forever: The Hits'' and '' 20.''

Background

Dallas Austin originally wrote another song titled "

Cool Cool commonly refers to: * Cool, a moderately low temperature * Cool (aesthetic), an aesthetic of attitude, behavior, and style Cool or COOL may also refer to: Economics * Country of origin labelling * mCOOL - US consumer legislation to enforc ...

" for TLC. However, Austin felt reluctant to give them the song after breaking up with TLC member

Chilli Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

. Austin recalled it for ''

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'': As a result, Austin decided to give "Cool" to

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

for her debut solo album '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'', and instead wrote another song for TLC with a slightly similar concept:

Critical reception

David Browne from ''

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'' called the track "a genuinely uplifting song about being emotionally screwed up, benefits tremendously from the use of live instruments rather than samples."

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

Sal Cinquemani called the track "poignant."

Music video

In the music video for the song, directed by

Joseph Kahn Joseph Kahn may refer to: *Joseph Kahn (director) (born 1972), a film and music video director *Joseph Kahn (journalist) (born 1964), American journalist * Joseph Kahn (shipping executive) (1916–1979), American businessman See also *Joseph Hahn ...

, a young woman, (played by actress

Justina Machado Justina Milagros Machado (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress, known for her roles as Penelope Alvarez on the Netflix and Pop TV sitcom '' One Day at a Time'', Darci Factor in The CW dramedy ''Jane the Virgin'', Vanessa Diaz on the HBO ...

) works two jobs to support her family. One day she comes home and finds her boyfriend in bed with another girl. After confronting him, he hits her. She then finds herself stuck in an abusive relationship as well as trying to look after her child. She finds herself torn and unsure of what to do, eventually literally falling to pieces at the end of the video as she crumbles into hundreds of tiny jigsaw puzzle pieces. It shows other "damaged" women falling to pieces. The lead woman is shown to be put back together by her daughter, and she's happy now.

Track listing

Notes * denotes additional producer * denotes additional co-producer Sample credits *"Hands Up" (So So Def Remix)" contains portions from " Nasty Boy" as performed by

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Damaged (Tlc Song) 2003 singles TLC (group) songs Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Song recordings produced by Dallas Austin Songs written by Dallas Austin Songs written by Tionne Watkins 2002 songs Arista Records singles American pop rock songs Pop rock songs