"Make This Song Cry" is a song recorded by American singer

K. Michelle Kimberly Michelle Pate (born March 4, 1982) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She is most known from VH1's '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' and after appearing as a regular cast member for two seasons on the reality televi ...

for her fourth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Kimberly: The People I Used to Know'' (2017). It was released on October 6, 2017, by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

as the third single from the album. The song's lyrics were written by K. Michelle, Phillip Cornish, Jeremiah "Sick Pen" Bethea and Douglas Gibbs. It was produced by Lil Ronnie. "Make This Song Cry" received positive reviews from music critics, with some praising the singer's vocal range. It contains a sample from

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

's 2001 single "

Song Cry "Song Cry" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z and produced by Just Blaze. It was released on April 16, 2002. It was the fourth and final single from his sixth studio album ''The Blueprint'' and also appears on the 2001 live album '' Jay-Z: Unplug ...

". The track was performed during Michelle's The People I Used to Know Tour in 2017. The song peaked at number 13 on the Adult R&B Songs chart, spending over twenty-four weeks on the chart. The song also charted at number 44 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and spent six weeks on that chart. Michelle performed "Make This Song Cry" during her album release party for her album '' Kimberly: The People I Used to Know''. She also performed the song at The Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina on February 25, 2018.

Production and composition

"Make This Song Cry" was written by

, Jonas Jeberg, Chloe Angelides, Ashlyn Wilson and James "Gladius" Wong. The track was produced by

Lil' Ronnie Lil' Ronnie (born Ronnie Jackson) is an American record producer from Kansas City, Missouri and Atlanta, Georgia, who has produced tracks for artists R. Kelly, T.I., Bow Wow, Britney Spears T-Pain, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Reuben Studda ...

. Phillip Cornish performed the keyboard and Victor Ekpo performed the violin. Anton Kuhl contributed as the additional producer.

Mitch Allan Mitchell Allan Scherr, known professionally as Mitch Allan, is an American record producer, songwriter, and musician. He has written and produced songs for artists such as Demi Lovato, Third Eye Blind, Miley Cyrus, Carlie Hanson, Jason Derulo, Pi ...

also served as the song's vocal producer, alongside additional vocal producing by Scott Robinson. The track was recorded by Phillip Lynah Jr. at Amerycan Recording Studios, located in Los Angeles. Michelle recorded the vocals with guidance by Jose Balaguer and was assisted by Nicole "Coco" Llorens at

Westlake Recording Studios Westlake Recording Studios is a music recording studio in West Hollywood, California. History Westlake Recording Studios was founded in the early 1970s by the American audio engineer Tom Hidley under the name Westlake Audio. Hidley was experienc ...

in Los Angeles. The track was eventually mixed by Kevin "KD' Dav. The track was finally mastered by Matt Champlin. The lyrics reflect about leaving all of your past sexual partners to be faithful in a romantic relationship with someone, but eventually later getting hurt by that person which leaves you feeling shameful and regretful. The song was released as the third official single from '' Kimberly: The People I Used to Know'' on October 6, 2017. The track sold 3,139 copies in its first week of release. During an interview with Hollywood Life, Michelle said about the song,

Critical reception

Hype Hype (derived from hyperbole) is promotion, especially promotion consisting of exaggerated claims. Hype or The Hype may also refer to: Film and television * ''Hype'' (TV series), an American comedy television series * ''The Hype'' (TV seri ...

s Brent Faulkner praised Michelle's vocal range on the track, saying that she delivered "powerful, dramatic vocals" and also compared it to "You Changed' by Keyshia Cole from her debut studio album '' The Way It Is'' (2006). While reviewing ''Kimberlyː The People I Used to Know'', Glenn Gamboa of

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

described the track as a "wrenching ballad" and said that Michelle lets "her guard down" in it. Em Casalena of Arena praised the concept of the song, saying "Make This Song Cry is a fan favorite off of Kimberly, where K. Michelle laments sacrificing her integrity to make a relationship work. It's definitely got some vintage vibes to it. The track opens with a soulful saxophone introduction and nineties-era violins and piano melodies that carry K. Michelle's strong vocals above and beyond." Kel & Mel Reviews reviewed the song, stating "K. Michelle is turning her fandom for JAY Z into her own music. Taking the tagline from his track, Song Cry, she tells us that she isn’t going to let a man see her cry from his hurting her and is going to put that energy into this (or some other) song." ''ThisIsRnB'' said "Inspired by the JAY-Z classic, “Song Cry,” the Memphis native uses the same sample from Bobby Glenn's “Sounds Like a Love Song,” as she belts out a personal emotional accounting of heartbreak and karma. YouKnowIGotSoul.com added to their blog "K. Michelle reveals yet another layer off of her upcoming album, with the release of the new single Make This Song Cry."

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 2010s ballads 2017 songs K. Michelle songs Songs written by K. Michelle Songs written by Lil' Ronnie Atlantic Records singles Warner Records singles Contemporary R&B ballads