"On Bended Knee" is a song by American R&B group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan M ...

for the

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label. The song, which was written and produced by

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

, was released in November 1994 as the second single from their second album, '' II'' (1994). The song reached number one on the US ''

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 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

chart and number two on the ''Billboard''

Hot Singles Sales This is a compendium of the best-selling music singles. The criterion for inclusion is to sell at least ten million copies worldwide. The singles listed here were cited by reliable sources from various media, such as digital journalism, news ...

chart on December 3, 1994. It stayed at number one for a total of six weeks. The single is notable for having replaced the previous Boyz II Men single, "

I'll Make Love to You "I'll Make Love to You" is a 1994 number-one hit single by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. The song, which was written by Babyface, was the lead single from their second album, '' II'' (1994). It was a commercial success, sp ...

", as the top song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. This was the first time that an act had replaced itself at number one since

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, when "

I Want to Hold Your Hand "I Want to Hold Your Hand" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, and recorded on 17 October 1963, it was the first Beatles record to be made using four-track equipment. With advance orders ...

", "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock band the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record i ...

", and "

Can't Buy Me Love "Can't Buy Me Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in March 1964 as the A-side of their sixth single. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was included o ...

" monopolized the top of the chart for a total of 14 weeks. In the lyrics of the song, the speaker begs "on bended knee" for his ex-lover to come back to him, and apologizes for his wrongdoing.

Critical reception

Gerald Martinez from ''

New Sunday Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

'' wrote that the song, along with its predecessor "

", "tries to recapture the magic of " End Of The Road", and they come close. Big production numbers with solid hooks, they should be flooding our airwaves for the next few months." Paul Evans from ''

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 ...

'' declared it as a "lush swoon-and-croon" ballad "of the kind the Boyz' hard-core fans demand."Evans, Paul (December 29, 1994-January 12, 1995). "The year in recordings". ''

''. Issue 698/699.

Music video

The accompanying

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 ...

for "On Bended Knee", directed by

Lionel C. Martin Lionel C. Martin is an American music video director, film director and VJ (media personality), VJ from Queens, Queens, New York. While he is known primarily as a music video director, he has also film director, directed the films ''Def Jam's How ...

, featured the band members and their breakup and eventual reconciliation with four famous actresses:

Kim Fields Kim Victoria Fields-Morgan ( Fields, formerly Freeman; born May 12, 1969) is an American actress and director. Fields is best known for her roles as Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey on the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–1988), and as Regine Hu ...

Renée Jones Renée Jones (born October 15, 1958) is a former American dramatic actress. Jones is best known for playing Lexie Carver on NBC's long-running soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', a role she began in 1993. She has been nominated five times for ...

Lark Voorhies Lark Voorhies (born Lark Holloway; March 25, 1974) is an American actress, singer, spokeswoman and model. Voorhies rose to fame playing Lisa Marie Turtle on the NBC sitcom ''Saved by the Bell'' (1989–1993). Voorhies was nominated for the Youn ...

, and

Victoria Rowell Victoria Lynn Rowell (born May 10, 1959) is an American actress. She began her career as a ballet dancer and model before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film ''Leonard Part 6''. In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of the CBS daytime soa ...

. The video begins with Wanya's girlfriend (Voorhies) in the car with him, accusing him of looking at another woman at the grocery store, and she gets out of the car, leaving Wanya alone. He eventually finds her sitting on bleachers where they make up. Shawn meets a girl (Rowell) with a dog at the park and falls in love with her after just meeting her. Michael gets into a fight with his girlfriend (Jones) on his birthday and he's shown alone, drawing a picture of her, but then she comes back to him. Nathan is shown concentrating more on writing music than spending time with his girlfriend (Fields), which frustrates her so she writes a breakup note on his mirror and leaves him, but she eventually returns to him. The band appears singing on the subway and in the rain. The video was filmed in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. It includes footage from Audubon Park, a streetcar, and the French Quarter.

Track listing

* US maxi-CD # "On Bended Knee" (human rhythm remix) – 5:29 # "On Bended Knee" (swingamix) – 5:26 # "On Bended Knee" (LP version) – 5:29 # "On Bended Knee" (human rhythm remix instrumental) – 5:29 # "I'll Make Love to You" (remix – sexy version) – 4:33 * US vinyl, 12", promo *A1 "On Bended Knee" (human rhythm remix edit) – 4:18 *A2 "On Bended Knee" (human rhythm remix) – 5:28 *A3 "On Bended Knee" (swingamix) – 5:26 *B1 "On Bended Knee" (swingamix edit) – 4:24 *B2 "On Bended Knee" (LP version) – 5:29 *B3 "On Bended Knee" (human rhythm remix instrumental) – 5:29 *B4 "On Bended Knee" (a capella) – 5:05 * France vinyl, 12", promo *A "On Bended Knee" (album version) – 5:29 *B1 "On Bended Knee" (radio edit) – 4:33 *B2 "Thank You" (untouchable mix) – 5:48 * Germany single # "On Bended Knee" (radio edit) – 4:33 # "End of the Road" (pop edit) – 3:39 * Europe maxi-CD # "On Bended Knee" (radio edit) – 4:33 # "On Bended Knee" (LP version) – 5:29 # "End of the Road" (pop edit) – 3:39 # "Al Final del Camino" ("End of the Road" – Spanish version) – 5:50

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1994 singles 1994 songs Boyz II Men songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Contemporary R&B ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Motown singles