"Ex-Factor" is a song recorded by American recording artist

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

for her debut solo studio album ''

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' is the debut solo album by American singer and rapper Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' is a neo soul and R&B album ...

'' (1998). Written and produced by Hill herself, it incorporates elements of 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 ...

and

hip hop soul Hip hop soul is a subgenre of contemporary R&B music, most popular during the early and mid 1990s, which fuses R&B or soul singing with hip hop musical production. The subgenre had evolved from a previous R&B subgenre, new jack swing, which h ...

. The song features a sample of "

Can It Be All So Simple "Can It Be All So Simple" is the third and final single from Wu-Tang Clan's critically acclaimed debut album ''Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)''. It features production from RZA (credited as Prince Rakeem) that samples Gladys Knight & the Pips' ...

" by

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

. It has been claimed to be about Hill's former

Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...

groupmate

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

. The song was released as the second single from ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' on December 8, 1998, by

Ruffhouse Records Ruffhouse Records is an American record label founded in 1989 by Chris Schwartz and Joe Nicolo as a joint venture with Columbia Records. In 1999, Schwartz and Nicolo closed the label, and Schwartz and Kevon Glickman continued with RuffNation Re ...

and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. Upon its release, "Ex-Factor" received widespread critical acclaim. The song peaked at number 21 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at number seven on the

Hot 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 ...

. Internationally, it peaked within the top five in Iceland and the United Kingdom. It won the Best R&B/Soul Single - Female award at the

2000 Soul Train Music Awards The 2000 Soul Train Music Awards were held on March 4, 2000 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Eric Benét, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Tamia and Shemar Moore. Special awards Artist of the Decade for Extraordina ...

. ''Spin'' named it the third best single of 1999. In 2020, ''The Ringer'' ranked it as the 18th greatest breakup song of all time. Since its release, the song has been sampled and covered by numerous artists.

Music and lyrics

"Ex-Factor" was written and produced by Lauryn Hill and it features replayed elements of "

" by

,(1998) Album notes for ''

'' by

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(

). which itself samples

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...

' cover of

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

's "

The Way We Were ''The Way We Were'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Arthur Laurents wrote both the novel and screenplay based on his college days at Cornell University and his ...

". "Ex-Factor" is a

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

number which serves as a painful dissection of a failing relationship. The accompaniment is driven by two-chord progressions all throughout its

melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

variations Variation or Variations may refer to: Science and mathematics * Variation (astronomy), any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite, particularly of the moon * Genetic variation, the difference in DNA among individuals ...

. Its refrain contains soaring

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...

Commercial performance

"Ex-Factor", although not as successful as Hill's previous single "

Doo Wop (That Thing) "Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as the lead single from ''Th ...

", still entered several international charts. It spent 22 weeks on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 21 on the chart dated April 10, 1999. The song peaked atop the US

R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

. It also charted on the US

, spending 31 weeks and peaking at number seven on March 13, 1999. It reached number four 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 ...

and spent 16 weeks on the chart, remaining Hill's biggest hit in the United Kingdom to date.

Legacy

Since its release, "Ex-Factor" has been sampled by numerous artists in their songs, including rapper

Lil B Brandon Christopher McCartney (born August 17, 1989), professionally known as Lil B and as his alter ego The BasedGod, is an American rapper. Lil B has recorded both solo and with Bay Area group The Pack. His solo work spans several genres, ...

's "Money Over Suckas" (2012), singer

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released thei ...

's "Till the Morning" (2014), singer

Omarion Omari Ishmael Grandberry (born November 12, 1984), better known by his stage name Omarion, is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the boy band B2K. The group achieved success in the e ...

's "Show Me" (2014) featuring

Jeremih Jeremy Phillip Felton (born July 17, 1987), known professionally as Jeremih ( ), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. In 2009, he signed a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. Jeremih's commercial debut single, "Birthday Sex", ...

, rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's "

Nice for What "Nice for What" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake from his fifth studio album ''Scorpion'' (2018). It was released by Young Money Entertainment and Cash Money Records as the second single from the album on April 6, 2018, along with its ...

" (2018), and rapper

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

's "

Be Careful BE or be may refer to: Linguistics * ''To be'', the English copular verb * Be (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic alphabet * ''be'' (interjection), in several languages * Be language or Ong Be, a language of northern Hainan province, China *Bla ...

" (2018). Additionally, it has been covered by

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

, and

H.E.R. Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson (born June 27, 1997), known professionally as H.E.R. (pronounced "her", an acronym for "Having Everything Revealed"), is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actress. She has received several awards includin ...

Track listings and formats

* US 7-inch single :A. "Ex-Factor" (radio edit) – 4:38 :B. "When It Hurts So Bad" (album version) – 5:42 * UK CD1 # "Ex-Factor" (album version) – 5:27 # "Ex-Factor" (Part II remix) – 4:38 # "Ex-Factor" (A Simple Mix) – 4:37 * UK CD2 # "Ex-Factor" (radio edit) – 4:38 # "Ex-Factor" (A Simple Breakdown) – 4:10 # "Lost Ones" (remix) – 4:17 * UK cassette single # "Ex-Factor" # "

Can't Take My Eyes Off You "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is a 1967 song written by Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio. It was recorded as a single by Frankie Valli. The song was among his biggest hits, earning a gold record and reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a week ...

" * European CD1 # "Ex-Factor" (radio edit) – 4:38 # "Ex-Factor" (A Simple Mix) – 4:37 * European CD2 # "Ex-Factor" (radio edit) – 4:38 # "Ex-Factor" (A Simple Breakdown) – 4:10 # " Lost Ones" – 4:17 # "Ex-Factor" (A Simple Mix) – 4:37

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' liner notes. * Leads and background vocals: Lauryn Hill * Additional background: Chuck Young *

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

: Paul Fakhourie * Piano: Tejumold Newton *

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

and rhodes: James Poyser * Percussion: Rudy Byrd *

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

: Johari Newton * Drum programming by

Vada Nobles Vada Nobles is an American record producer and songwriter. He provided production for " Lost Ones" on Lauryn Hill's debut solo album, ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998).McLeod, Rodd"The reeducation of Lauryn Hill". Salon.com. May 10, 2000. ...

* Recorded by Commissioner Gordon * Mixed by Commissioner Gordon * Assistant recording engineer: Chip Verspyck * Assistant mix engineer: Greg Thompson * Recorded at RPM Studios, (

NYC New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

), Marley Music, Inc. (Kingston, Jamaica) and Chung King Studios (NYC) * Mixed at Hit Factory Studios and Chuing King Studios (NYC)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990s ballads 1998 singles Contemporary R&B ballads Holly Miranda songs Lauryn Hill songs Song recordings produced by Lauryn Hill Songs about heartache Songs written by Lauryn Hill Soul ballads