"No Letting Go" is a song by Jamaican

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin. Origin Although artists have been mixing reggae with other genres from as ...

artist

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 ...

. The song was written by Wonder and Steven "Lenky" Marsden, and produced by Marsden. It was included on Wonder's 2003

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 ...

'' No Holding Back'' and was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the album. The single was released worldwide on 21 January 2003 and charted at a peak position of number three in 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 ...

. It also peaked at number 11 in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States. It remains Wonder's most successful single to date. “I had been working with him arsdenfor years when he was playing live music so when he switched over to music production, I transitioned with him. I actually gave him my first two door

Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

. I signed over the title to him and everything, and he gave me my most successful hit. The song was one of the many hits from the jumpy

handclap A clap is the percussive sound made by striking together two flat surfaces, as in the body parts of humans or animals. Humans clap with the palms of their hands, often quickly and repeatedly to express appreciation or approval (see applause), ...

riddim Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the ...

known as the

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 ...

, that was also produced by Marsden.

Content

According to Wayne Wonder, the song is about a girl that he once knew but he doesn't mention her name. He said in an interview with

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in 2003 "I just wrote this song bout a girlwithout calling her name in the song because she always said to me, 'You are always

alling Alling () is a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia ...

these other girls' names.' I said, 'I don’t have to call your name, I'll just write a song and you can appreciate it.'" He was also amazed by the success that the song had achieved, saying "Everybody loves it, which is surprising to me. When I'm writing, I don’t think bout whether the songwill be a big hit."

Remix

The official remix features rappers

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

& Queen Duchess. The remix also uses more of the

beat.

Music video

The music video was directed by Director X, and filmed in

Ocho Rios Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in the ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, in December 2002. Wonder said that "It took us 24 hours o shoot.. It was raining in the morning and the shoot was supposed to start at like 6:30 a.m. and it never really got started until about maybe 8 o'clock... The video, to me, was a success; the dances, everyone enjoying themselves on the stage, there was no bad vibe."

Track listings

US CD single # "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22 # "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:43 European enhanced CD single # "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:25 # "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:44 # "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:40 # "No Letting Go" (Video) US 12-inch vinyl :A1. "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22 :B1. "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:43 :B2. "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:43 German 12-inch vinyl :A1. "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22 :A2. "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix) - 3:41 :B1. "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:22 :B2. "No Letting Go" (Alternate mix instrumental) - 3:41 US 12-inch vinyl (Remix) :A1. "No Letting Go (Remix)" (Club Mix featuring LL Cool J & Queen Duchess) - 3:29 :A2. "No Letting Go (Remix)" (Radio Mix featuring LL Cool J & Queen Duchess) - 3:16 :A3. "No Letting Go (Remix)" (Remix Instrumental) - 3:45 :B1. "No Letting Go" (Album version) - 3:22 :B2. "No Letting Go" (Instrumental) - 3:32

Reception

'' Blender magazine's'' called the song "a fetching love song that paired his onder'saccented tenor with rough, digital funk".

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

were critical of the album but called this song "mesmerizing".

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Dirty Werk version

In 2019, the American house/remix duo

Dirty Werk Steve Smooth is an American Electronic dance music, EDM/House music, house DJ, musician, record producer and remixer. He is known for having 15 + number one songs / remixes on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club Songs chart. He has done remixes for art ...

released an electro dance version of "No Letting Go", which is more of a cover that is mixed with portions taken from the original. The updated version gave Dirty Werk its second number one on ''Billboard''s

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart in the issue dated 2 November 2019.

Track listing

Remixes EP # "No Letting Go" (Dirty Werk House Remix) – 3:12 # "No Letting Go" (Kue Radio Mix) – 3:44 # "No Letting Go" (Alex Acosta Peak Hour Remix) – 3:21 # "No Letting Go" (Lemi Vice Remix) – 3:34 # "No Letting Go" (Dave Matthias Remix) – 3:03 # "No Letting Go" ( Perry Twins Remix) – 3:23

Charts

References

* {{Authority control 2003 singles 2019 singles Electro house songs Reggae fusion songs Song recordings produced by Steven "Lenky" Marsden Songs written by Steven "Lenky" Marsden Wayne Wonder songs