"Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" is a song by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

recording artist A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

Lumidee Lumidee Cedeño (born October 13, 1984) is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. She quickly rose to fame in 2003 with the release of her song "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)", which peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, ...

, released as the debut single on May 12, 2003, from her debut

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 ...

, ''

Almost Famous ''Almost Famous'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, and Patrick Fugit. It tells the story of a teenage journalist writing for ''Rolling Stone ...

'' (2003). The official remix features

Fabolous John David Jackson (born November 18, 1977), better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper. Raised in Brooklyn, he first gained recognition while still a senior in high school, when he performed live on American music executive ...

and

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

. "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Outside of the United States, "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" topped the charts in Belgium (Flanders), Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in many other countries, including Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark, and the United Kingdom.

Background

The original mix of the song was recorded by DJ Tedsmooth, a native of

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

where Lumidee was raised, for DJ Tedsmooth's

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Straight Face. The song used the same instrumental and consent as

Dirt McGirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Dust: a genera ...

and

Nicole Wray Nicole Monique Wray (born May 2, 1979), also known as Lady Wray, is an American singer and songwriter. Her 1998 debut single "Make It Hot" was certified gold. Early life Nicole Monique Wray was born on May 2, 1979, in Salinas, California, to ...

's single "Welcome Home". The song became the number 1 requested song on many New York radio stations. The success resulted in many major record label offering deals to both Lumidee and DJ Tedsmooth. After signing with

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, the song was remixed with guest appearances by

and

. The song gained popularity because of its slightly altered use of the already wildly popular

Diwali riddim ''Greensleeves Rhythm Album #27: Diwali'', also known as the ''Diwali Riddim'', is an album and popular dancehall riddim that came to prominence in 2002. The riddim is credited to Jamaican producer Steven "Lenky" Marsden. This has appeared on ...

by then-up-and-coming dancehall producer Steven "Lenky" Marsden. "Diwali" was one of the most internationally successful dancehall rhythms of all time, garnering hits for

Wayne Wonder Von Wayne Charles (born 26 July 1972), better known by his stage name Wayne Wonder, is a Jamaican reggae artist. While his early recordings were dancehall and reggae, he later moved towards hip hop and rap. His most popular single is the 2003 ...

(" No Letting Go"),

T.O.K. T.O.K. were a dancehall reggae group from Kingston, Jamaica. The group consisted of Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke, Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, and Xavier "Flexx" Davidson.Kenner, Rob (2005)Boomshots, ''Vibe'', August 2005, ...

("Galang Gal"),

Bounty Killer Rodney Basil Price (born 12 June 1972), known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair ...

and Wayne Marshall's "Sufferer",

Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then wen ...

("Elephant Message"), and

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

Get Busy "Get Busy" is a dancehall song by Jamaican reggae toaster Sean Paul, from his album ''Dutty Rock''. The song was one of the many hits from the jumpy handclap riddim known as the Diwali Riddim, produced by then-newcomer Steven Marsden, and ...

"). But since "Never Leave You" was an R&B song by an R&B singer over a dancehall riddim, sound system selectors, club DJs and urban market radio stations immediately took notice of this unique factor and started playing it heavily and regularly, mixing it in with the other songs on the rhythm. It remains the most successful song of Lumidee's career so far, regarding chart positions, and her only hit to date. The song was most successful in Europe, reaching number 1 in five countries. It peaked at number 1 in Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland in August–September 2003. It also charted at number 2 in the United Kingdom. It also reached number 1 on the

Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

. Nevertheless, the song peaked at number 3 on the ''

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 ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart in her own country. "Never Leave You" was incorporated into the 2010 re-release of the Diwali riddim album on Greensleeves/VP Records. It included other songs derived from the Diwali riddim, along with Sean Paul's "

," which was a late entry that never made the original release. The song was also used multiple times in the 2004 film ''

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen ''Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen'' is a 2004 American teen musical comedy film directed by Sara Sugarman from a screenplay by Gail Parent, based on Dyan Sheldon's 1999 novel of the same name. It stars Lindsay Lohan as an aspiring tee ...

'', which starred

Lindsay Lohan Lindsay Dee Lohan ( ; born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Lohan was signed to Ford Models at the age of three. Having appeared as a regular on the television soap opera '' An ...

Composition

"Never Leave You (Uh Ooh, Uh Ooh)" is an R&B song written by Lumidee Cedeño, Teddy "Tedsmooth" Mendez and Eddie Perez, and features a prominent

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

reggae riddim called "

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

" written by Steven "Lenky" Marsden, although it is slightly altered from the original riddim. Belgian artist

Luc van Acker Luc Van Acker is a Belgian singer, songwriter, and music producer. He began writing and releasing solo material in 1982, contributed guitar on Shriekback's 1984 album ''Jam Science'', and collaborated with Anna Domino on the track " Zanna" for h ...

made allegations that the song resembles " Zanna," a song he wrote. However, in an interview he said Belgian anti-piracy agency

SABAM SABAM is one of the Belgian associations of authors, composers and publishers. The bilingual acronym stands for "Société d'Auteurs Belge – Belgische Auteurs Maatschappij". Their headquarters is located at 75–77 rue d'Arlon in Brussels. S ...

advised him not to waste money on a lawsuit.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

of "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" was directed by Nzingha Stewart and it features American actor

J.D. Williams J.D. Williams (born May 22, 1978) is an American actor known for his starring roles in the HBO television programs '' Oz'' as Kenny Wangler, ''The Wire'' as Bodie Broadus and ''Pootie Tang'' as Froggy, ''Surviving Family'' (2012) as Bobby, ''Th ...

as Lumidee's love interest.

Chart performance

"Never Leave You (Uh Ooh, Uh Ooh)" debuted at number sixty-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Due to the increase of radio plays for the song, it later ascended up the chart from number ten to number five, before peaking at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted and peaked at number two 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 ...

on August 3, 2003 – for the week ending date August 9, 2003 – beaten to the summit by

Blu Cantrell Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb; March 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Cantrell rose to fame in 2001, with the release of her debut single, "Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...

and

's " Breathe". The song reached the top spot on ''

''s

European Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, after it jumped from number three to the top of the charts in the Netherlands and number seven to the top of the charts in Germany."Np Stopping Blu On U.K. Chart".
''Billboard''. Retrieved July 11, 2011.

Track listings

;Maxi single

Personnel

* Lumidee – lead vocals, background vocals * DJ Tedsmooth – producer * Trendsetta – producer,

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, programming, mixing, engineering,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Stevie J. – engineering, mixing * Jamie "S.S" Garcia – mixing assistant

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2003 songs 2003 debut singles Lumidee songs Fabolous songs Busta Rhymes songs Ivy Queen songs Universal Records singles Songs written by Lumidee Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Italy Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Number-one singles in Switzerland Songs written by Steven "Lenky" Marsden Songs written by Fabolous