"Rocket" is a song by American recording group

En Vogue En Vogue is an American vocal girl group whose original lineup consisted of singers Terry Ellis, Dawn Robinson, Cindy Herron, and Maxine Jones. Formed in Oakland, California, in 1989, En Vogue reached No. 2 on the US Hot 100 with the single ...

. It was written by singer-songwriter

Ne-Yo Shaffer Chimere Smith (born October 18, 1979), known professionally as Ne-Yo, is an American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and record producer. He gained fame for his songwriting abilities when he penned Mario's 2004 hit " Let Me Love You ...

and recorded for their seventh studio album '' Electric Café'' (2018), while production was handled by Curtis "Sauce" Wilson. The R&B song served as the album's

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 ...

and was released on December 1, 2017 through En Vogue Records and

eOne Music MNRK Music Group (pronounced "monarch", formerly known as Koch Records and eOne Music) is a New York City-based independent record label and music management company. It was formed in 2009 from the music assets of Koch Entertainment, which had ...

. In the United States, the song peaked at number eight on ''Billboard''s

Adult R&B Songs The Adult R&B Songs chart (formerly called Adult R&B Airplay) is an airplay chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on urban adult contemporary radio stations, whose playl ...

chart, becoming En Vogue's first top 10 hit in twenty years.

Background

"Rocket" was written by R&B singer

and produced by his frequent collaborator Curtis "Sauce" Wilson. While En Vogue reteamed with their founders Denzil Foster and

Thomas McElroy Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy are an American R&B record production and songwriting duo, releasing recordings under the names Foster & McElroy and Fmob. They have written and produced songs for musicians such as Club Nouveau, Tony! Toni! T ...

to work on the majority of their seventh studio album '' Electric Café'' (2018), the duo suggested them to record additional tracks. Band member

Terry Ellis Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...

commented in a 2018 interview: "While sourcing music for our record, they heard that particular track and thought it would be great for us and he called us and said 'Hey, I found this great track for you guys. You’ve got to record it.' And we heard it and we were like 'Oh my gosh! Let’s get in there!" On their decision to release the song as the album's first single, she further elaborated: "It was so different yet it was still giving you those En Vogue signature harmonies. And simply because it was a great song. A really a great song and you know, we've never really released a ballad before as a first single. So, we just thought it would be different."

Critical reception

The song earned generally positive reviews from music critics. ''

Soul Bounce ''Soul Bounce'' is an American daily Internet publication devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on R&B and soul. However, the range of musical genres covered extends to gospel, hip hop and ...

'' critic Ken Hamm described "Rocket" as "contemporary ..sexy little number ..about reaching a mutual climax with your lover using the metaphor of space travel ..The ladies easily take the listener there with their celestial voices."

PennState The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State be ...

's '' CommRadio'' editor Scott Perdue found that the song "has a more sensual and seductive sound, very much reminiscent of En Vogue’s earlier work" and displayed "a more powerful performance from the trio." ''Spectrum Culture''s Dominic Griffin named "Rocket" an "assured, silky jam

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

some truly stirring vocal harmonies" as well as obe the "album's most exciting songs." Caroline Sullivan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' considered "Rocket" a "lush, straight-up sex jam," while

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

editor Andy Kellman called the song a "coasting bliss-out" and ranked it among his favorite tracks on parent album ''Electric Café''.

Chart performance

"Rocket" debuted at number 28 on the US ''Billboard''

in the week ending January 21, 2018, making it the group's first entry on the list since " Ooh Boy" reached number 22 in 2004. For the week ending May 3, 2018, the song reached number 10 on chart, becoming the En Vogue's first top 10 hit on the Adult R&B Songs chart since "

Don't Let Go (Love) "Don't Let Go (Love)" is a song by American R&B group En Vogue. It was written by Ivan Matias, Andrea Martin, and Marqueze Etheridge, and produced by Organized Noize for the ''Set It Off'' soundtrack (1996), also appearing on the group's third a ...

" spent six weeks in the top 10 in February and March 1997 as well as the band's first top ten on any ''Billboard'' airplay chart since June and July 1997, when " Whatever" hit the top 10 on the

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (previously known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay) is a chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the top R&B and hip hop songs in the United States, based on audience impressions from a panel of radio stations monitored ...

and

Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

charts. "Rocket" also reached number 31 on the US

chart and was eventually ranked 25th on ''Billboard''s US Adult R&B Songs year-end chart.

Music video

An accompanying music video for "Rocket," directed by Damien Sandoval, was released online on January 22, 2018. Filmed in the

El Mirage Lake El Mirage Lake is a dry lake bed in the northwestern Victor Valley of the central Mojave Desert, within San Bernardino County, California. The lake is located about west-northwest of the town of Adelanto and north of Highway 18 in San Bernar ...

bed in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, the clip features several shots of

Rhona Bennett Rhona Lynn Bennett (born May 10, 1976), also known as Miss R&B, is an American singer and actress best known for her recurring role as Nicole on ''The Jamie Foxx Show''. She is currently a member of contemporary R&B female group En Vogue. Bennet ...

, and

Cindy Herron Cynthia Ann Herron (born September 26, 1961), professionally known as Cindy Herron and sometimes credited as Cindy Herron–Braggs is an American singer and actress. Herron is best known as a founding member of the R&B/pop group En Vogue, one of ...

performing in front of a digitally altered

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

. Ellis called the video "a step into the future", describing its look as "futuristic meets sexy". Herron further commented: "We got there just before sun-up. It was freezing. We got into hair and makeup, and then we got out there, and the sun was hot. It was a really great experience and something new for us. Damien, the director, used a drone. He was just standing there playing with it like a kid, but he was getting these amazing shots. We’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, video-making has changed.’"

Track listings

Digital single # "Rocket" – 3:51

Credits and personnel

*Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing engineer *

– vocalist *

– writing *

– vocalist * Curtis "Sauce" Wilson – producer, writer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{En Vogue 2014 songs En Vogue songs 2010s ballads Songs written by Ne-Yo Contemporary R&B ballads