"I'm Going Down" is a song written and produced by

Norman Whitfield Norman Jesse Whitfield (May 12, 1940 – September 16, 2008) was an American songwriter, composer, and producer, who worked with Berry Gordy's Motown labels during the 1960s. allmusic Biography/ref> He has been credited as one of the creators ...

, and performed by American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and R&B group

Rose Royce Rose Royce is an American soul and R&B group. They are best known for several hit singles during the 1970s including " Car Wash", " I Wanna Get Next to You", " I'm Going Down", " Wishing on a Star", and " Love Don't Live Here Anymore". Career ...

in 1976. It is from the film ''

Car Wash A car wash, or auto wash, is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior, of motor vehicle, cars. Car washes can be #Self-serve car wash, self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or #Autom ...

'' and is featured on its soundtrack. In 1994, it was covered by American singer

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Rose Royce version

The

(original) version received moderate success. It peaked at number seventy on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and reached number ten on the R&B singles chart. In the film ''

'', the song serves as a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

, as it complements the screen time of Maureen, a forlorn

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

who desperately seeks a chance at true love with Joe, even as she turns tricks.

Charts

Mary J. Blige version

In 1994, American R&B singer-songwriter

covered "I'm Going Down", titled "I'm Goin' Down", for her second studio album, '' My Life'' (1994). Her version was produced by

Sean "Puffy" Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

and

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Sean Combs' Bad Boy Records. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertai ...

. Released in January 1995 by Uptown and MCA as the album's second single, Blige's version peaked at number thirteen on the US

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 ...

chart and number twenty-two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In mid-1995, Blige released a remix featuring Mr. Cheeks of The Lost Boyz featuring co-production from "Prince" Charles Alexander and Mark "Led" Ledford, and contains portions of " The What" (1994) by American rappers

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 the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

and

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

. "I'm Going Down" is frequently performed at many of Blige's concerts and as well as live sets.

Critical reception

Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' felt "I'm Goin' Down" "offers this awesome vocalist a chance to give one of her most soulful performances. It sounds great anywhere, but it's even more incredible on the air." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

remarked that Blige "sparkles" on "a rather fabulous cover" of the old

song.

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update described it as an "exceptional ultra soulful sparse dramatic 61.7bpm Rose Royce remake in authentic mid-Sixties slow

Stax Stax can refer to: * StAX, (Computer Programming) Streaming API for reading and writing XML in Java * Stax Ltd, a Japanese brand of electrostatic headphones * Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, ...

Volt The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...

type" in his weekly dance column. Jonathan Bernstein from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' named it "a storming slice of down-on-my-knees, stop-start soul originally found on the ''

'' soundtrack, and you realize any previous praise for the record has been barely felt because you know the difference between the proficient material that went before and a ''great'' song. And this is a ''great'' song." In 2025, ''

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 advertis ...

'' magazine ranked the song number 72 in their list of "Top 100 Breakup Songs of All Time", writing that Blige's cover "gets increasingly heart-wrenching from start to finish, with the Queen of

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 had ...

going from spiraling about her breakup to fully pleading with her ex to take her back."

Music video

The accompanying music video for Blige's "I'm Goin' Down" was directed from January 14–15, 1995, by American artist, photographer and director

Matthew Rolston Matthew Russell Rolston is an American artist, photographer, director and creative director, known for his lighting techniques and detailed approach to art direction and design. Rolston has been identified throughout his career with the revival an ...

, and was shot in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

, with Blige as a lounge singer performing the song in a club, and wearing an-all black suit with a matching hat, walking downstairs (being duplicated over and over again). In the end, the bar patrons applaud her as she drops the microphone and walks offstage.

Track listings

* US cassette single # "I'm Goin' Down" (Album version) – 3:43 # "I'm Goin' Down" (Remix) – 3:48 * UK CD and 12-inch single # "I'm Goin' Down" (album version) – 3:43 # "You Bring Me Joy" (Smoove's soul mix) – 5:24 # "You Bring Me Joy" (E-Smoove's Joyous club mix) – 10:12 # "You Bring Me Joy" (Smoove Funk mix) – 4:38 * UK cassette single # "I'm Goin' Down" (album version) – 3:43 # " You Bring Me Joy" (Smoove's soul mix) – 5:24 * Australian CD single # "I'm Goin' Down" (album version) – 3:43 # "You Bring Me Joy" (E-Smoove's Joyous club mix) – 10:12 # "You Bring Me Joy" (Smoove Funk mix) – 4:38

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''My Life'' liner notes. * Mary J. Blige – vocals * "Prince" Charles Alexander – tenor saxophone, piccolo flute, additional flute, recording engineer, mixing * Mark "Led" Ledford – trumpet * Bruce Purse – trumpet * Vincent Henry – alto saxophone *

Paul Pesco Paul Pesco (born May 13, 1959) is an American session guitarist, singer-songwriter, film score composer and record producer. Biography Pesco was born in Canandaigua, New York, to a Sicilian father (an opera singer and voice instructor) and ...

– guitar * Lenny Underwood – piano * Fred McFarlane – additional keyboards *

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

– violin * Diane Monroe – violin * Lesa Terry – violin * Eileen Folson – cello * Victor Bailey – bass played by * Gloria Agostini – harp * Kevin "K-Dog" Johnson – drums * Frank Colon – percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

In popular culture

" Oh, Boy" off of

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), known Mononym, mononymously as Cam'ron, is an American rapper. Beginning his career in the early 1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed with Lance Rivera, Lance "Un" Rivera's Lance Rivera, Untertainment, a ...

's third album ''

Come Home with Me ''Come Home with Me'' is the third studio album by American rapper Cam'ron, released on May 14, 2002, by Cam'ron's Diplomat Records and Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records and The Island Def Jam Music Group. There are featured guest appearances f ...

'' samples the original Rose Royce song.

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

also sampled the song on her 2002 album '' Charmbracelet'' for the song " Boy (I Need You)". Both songs were composed by hip-hop producer Justin "Just Blaze" Smith and are almost identical. On the episode season 3 finale of '' Sister, Sister'', Tamera (

Tamera Mowry Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (née Mowry) () (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress, television personality, and former singer. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/ WB sitcom '' Sister, Sister'' (opposite h ...

) covered the song for a talent show, winning a bet that her sister Tia ( Tia Mowry) had with her enemy—and Tamera's opponent, Marva. *Female R&B group Y?N-Vee released a cover version from their self-titled 1994 album, just a few weeks before Mary J. Blige released her version of the song. *Marcus Canty performed this song on season one of ''The X Factor'' (U.S.) during "Movie Week" and the elimination. *

Megan Hilty Megan Hilty (born March 29, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She rose to prominence for her roles in Broadway musicals, including her performance as Glinda in '' Wicked'', Doralee Rhodes in '' 9 to 5: The Musical'', and her Tony Award– ...

performed the song in the "Tech" episode of '' Smash''. *Sera Hill performed the song in "Episode 5: The Blind Auditions, Part 5" on the second season of ''The Voice'' (U.S.) *In the film '' Little'', Jordan and April perform the Mary J. Blige version of the song inside an upscale restaurant, with (13-year old) Jordan starting the performance while lying on a bar. *Paige Thomas performed this song as her audition for the second season of ''The X Factor'' (U.S.) *Taylor Beckham performed this song on "Episode 3: The Blind Auditions, Part 3" on the fourth season of ''The Voice'' (U.S.) *Beyoncé covered this song on her

Renaissance World Tour The Renaissance World Tour was the ninth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé. Her highest-grossing tour to date, it was staged in support of her seventh studio album, ''Renaissance (Beyoncé album), Renaissance'' (2022). The to ...

References

{{authority control 1976 songs 1977 singles 1995 singles Rose Royce songs Mary J. Blige songs Music videos directed by Matthew Rolston Songs written by Norman Whitfield Soul ballads Song recordings produced by Norman Whitfield Whitfield Records singles MCA Records singles Uptown Records singles Black-and-white music videos Torch songs Songs about heartache Rhythm and blues ballads 1970s ballads