"Happiness" is the first single from

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

' fifth studio album, ''

Next Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

''. Written and produced by

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

and released through

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

in July 1997, it reached number 25 on the US ''Billboard'' Adult R&B Airplay Chart, number 23 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, and number 38 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. It also reached number 49 on the New Zealand Singles Chart. The song samples from

Nu Shooz Nu Shooz is an American R&B group fronted by husband-and-wife team of John Smith and Valerie Day, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Nu Shooz released four albums in the U.S. during the 1980s. Their third album, '' Poolside'', brought th ...

's " I Can't Wait" and

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

's "

(Not Just) Knee Deep "(Not Just) Knee Deep" is a funk song, with a running time of 15 minutes, 21 seconds, on Side 1 of Funkadelic's 1979 album ''Uncle Jam Wants You''. Song information An edited version of the song, appearing as Side A on the single release, reache ...

Critical reception

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 ''

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 ...

'' wrote "Vanessa getsdown and funky on this peek into ''Next'', a project that has the juice to push her backto the top of da pops. Bolstered by thekind of finger-poppin' pop/soul groove that producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis .Williams delivers a performance that is, by turns, playful and sophisticated. After last year's credible but underappreciated foray into jazz, she's back on the street-and sheappears to be doing it on her own terms. Good for her. She should be rewarded by the ardor of popsters who are starved for something sweet to eat."

Music video

An accompanying music video directed by

Francis Lawrence Francis Lawrence (born March 26, 1971) is an Austrian-born American filmmaker and producer. After establishing himself as a director of music videos and commercials, Lawrence made his feature-length directorial debut with the superhero thrille ...

was released, and shows Williams singing and dancing across different areas of a mansion.

Track listing and formats

;US CD Single # Happiness (Radio Edit) – 3:55 # Happiness (Morales Def Club Mix) – 7:36 # Happiness (Morales Dubiness Mix) – 7:38 # Happiness (Album Version) – 4:27 ;Japanese Maxi single # Happiness (Album Verson) – 4:27 # First Thing On Your Mind (Album Version) – 3:57 # Happiness (Radio Morales) – 3:22 # Happiness (Dubiness Mix) – 7:38 ;European CD single # Happiness (Radio Edit) – 3:55 # Happiness (Radio Morales) – 3:22 # Happiness (Morales Def Club Mix) – 7:36 # Happiness (Morales Dubiness Mix) – 7:38 # Happiness (Darkchild Remix With Rap) – 4:20 # Happiness (Darkchild Remix No Rap) – 4:20 # Happiness (Darkchild Beat Mix) – 4:20 # Happiness (Redbull Dance Hall Mix) – 2:54

Charts

References

{{authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Vanessa Williams songs Hip hop soul songs Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis