"Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" is the lead

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released by Canadian

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 w ...

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

from her second

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 ...

'' One Wish'' (1998). It is Cox's most successful song, peaking at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for eight weeks, and spending a then-record 14 weeks at number one on the

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. In 2017, ''Billboard'' ranked the song at number five on its "Greatest of All Time Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs" chart. It is written and produced by Anthony "Shep" Crawford.

Commercial performance

The song reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the week of December 5, 1998, and remained there for eight consecutive weeks. It was held from the top spot by

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

and

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

's '

I'm Your Angel "I'm Your Angel" is a duet by Celine Dion and R. Kelly from Dion's ''These Are Special Times'' album and Kelly's '' R.'' album. It was released on 13 October 1998. The song was written and produced by R. Kelly. The single was very successful, re ...

' (for six weeks) and Brandy's '

Have You Ever? "Have You Ever?" is a song by American recording artist Brandy Norwood for her second studio album, ''Never Say Never (Brandy album), Never Say Never'' (1998). The song was written by Diane Warren, while production was handled by David Foster. I ...

' (for two weeks), making it one of the longest stays at number two in ''Billboard'' history. The song ranked at number nine on the ''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1999. The song reached number one on ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in the week of November 7, 1998, and remained there for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks. This record was tied by Mariah Carey in 2005 with her song "

We Belong Together "We Belong Together" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her 10th studio album, ''The Emancipation of Mimi'' (2005). The song was released on March 15, 2005, through Island Records, as the second single from the album. ...

", and then broken by

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

in 2006 with "

Be Without You "Be Without You" is a song by American recording artist Mary J. Blige. It was written by Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, Jason Perry, and Blige for her seventh studio album, '' The Breakthrough'' (2005). Production was helmed by Cox and Young ...

", which spent 15 weeks at number one. During this period, "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held four Hot 100 number-one singles out of the top position: "

Doo Wop (That Thing) "Doo Wop (That Thing)" is a song recorded by American recording artist Lauryn Hill for her debut solo studio album ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998). It was written and produced by Hill. The song was released as the lead single from ''Th ...

" by

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

(three weeks), " Lately" by

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

(two weeks), the aforementioned "Have You Ever?" (four weeks), and "

Angel of Mine "Angel of Mine" is a song by British R&B girl group Eternal from their first compilation album, ''Greatest Hits'' (1997). It was written by Rhett Lawrence and Travon Potts, produced by Lawrence, and released on 29 September 1997. The song bec ...

" by Monica (one week), as well as the number seven-peaking " Love Like This" by

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al ...

(three weeks). The song ranked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Year-End R&B/Hip-Hop Songs of 1999, and at number five on the Greatest of All Time Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was remixed by

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

producer

Hex Hector Hex Hector (born Héctor Ortiz on April 15, 1965) is an American music producer and remixer. He won a Grammy Award in 2001 for Best Remixer. He was born in Manhattan, New York, of a Puerto Rican mother and Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something ...

, and peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

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 week of October 24, 1998. As of 1999, the song has sold 1,900,000 copies in the United States and has been certified

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA).

Critical reception

Larry Flick of '' Billboard'' wrote, "Cox previews her second

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 ...

with a stirring old-school

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

that's perhaps the best vocal showcase she's ever had. The groove cruises at a languid, finger-poppin' jeep pace, giving her plenty of room to get down and dirty, vamping as if she's lived every syllable of the song's tale of a love fraught with drama. Justice prevailing, pop and R&B radio programmers will find this a refreshing change of pace from the saccharine ballads currently glutting the airwaves. And if they don't, they'll have

's wholly accessible uptempo dance reconstruction to embrace. It's easily among the best efforts of the young remixer's career. In all, this is a fine single hinting that Cox is about to pay off on all of the promise and hype generated by her first album two years ago."

Awards

* 1998:

Soul Train Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of '' Soul Train'', the ...

for Best R&B/Soul Single – Female * 1999: Soul Train Lady of Soul Award for Best R&B/Soul Song of the Year

Track listings

US CD and cassette single, European CD single # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" – 4:10 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (dance mix) – 4:13 US maxi-CD single # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (

's club mix) – 10:07 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (dance radio mix) – 4:13 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Hex's dub) – 6:17 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (original version) – 4:21 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (original version instrumental) – 4:21 US 12-inch single :A1. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Hex Hector's club mix) – 10:07 :A2. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (original version) – 4:21 :B1. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Hex's dub) – 6:17 :B2. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Hex's beats) – 4:02 :B3. "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (dance radio mix) – 4:13 UK CD1 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" ( Club 69 radio mix) – 3:49 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (album version) – 4:21 # " Sentimental" (album version) – 4:26 UK CD2 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Club 69 radio mix) – 3:49 # " It's Over Now" (Hex Retro-Future club mix) – 7:27 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Hex Hector dance radio mix) – 4:13 Australian CD single # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (original version) – 4:21 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Hex Hector's club mix) – 10:07 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (dance radio mix) – 4:13 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (Hex's dub) – 6:17 # "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" (original version instrumental) – 4:21

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Usage in media

The Hex Hector Dance Mix version of this song was featured on episode 6 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' (season 3) during the "Lip Sync for Your Legacy" between

BeBe Zahara Benet Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa (born March 20, 1980) better known by his stage name BeBe Zahara Benet, is a Cameroonian-American drag queen, drag performer, television personality, and musician best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 1), fir ...

and

BenDeLaCreme BenDeLaCreme (born September 24, 1981) is the stage persona of Benjamin H. Putnam, an American drag queen, burlesque performer, and actor based in Seattle, Washington. He is known for being a contestant on the sixth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Rac ...

. It was also featured on episode 3 of ''Canada's Drag Race: Canada Vs. The World'' during the lip sync of Victoria Scone and

Silky Nutmeg Ganache Reginald Homer Steele (born December 31, 1990), better known by the stage name Silky Nutmeg Ganache, is an American drag performer from Chicago, Illinois, who came to international attention in 2019 when she competed on the eleventh season of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nobody's Supposed To Be Here 1990s ballads 1998 singles 1998 songs Arista Records singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles Contemporary R&B ballads Deborah Cox songs Music videos directed by Darren Grant Songs written by Montell Jordan Songs written by Shep Crawford Soul ballads