"So Many Ways" is a song by American vocal group

the Braxtons The Braxtons are an American musical quintet consisting of singer Toni Braxton and her younger sisters, Traci Braxton, Towanda Braxton, Trina Braxton, and Tamar Braxton. Despite being commercially unsuccessful, the group's first single, " Good ...

, released on July 23, 1996 as the lead single from their debut album, ''

So Many Ways ''So Many Ways'' is the debut album by American R&B vocal group The Braxtons. Released on August 6, 1996, the album produced four singles; " So Many Ways", " Only Love", " The Boss" – which peaked at number-one in the ''Billboard'' Dance Cha ...

'' (1996). The song was written by Carl-So-Lowe,

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

and produced by Dupri. It was also featured on the ''

High School High ''High School High'' is a 1996 American comedy film about an inner city high school in the Los Angeles, California area, starring Jon Lovitz, Tia Carrere, Mekhi Phifer, Louise Fletcher, Malinda Williams, and Brian Hooks. It is a spoof of movies ...

'' soundtrack (1996). The song charted at 83 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and 22 on the ''Billboard''

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 p ...

. It also reached the top 40 in the UK, charting at 32 and in New Zealand, the song charted at 17.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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 ...

'' viewed the song as an "instantly memorable chugger". He added, "Fortunately, the Braxtons' smokey

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

tones are cast within a markedly more raw and streetwise musical setting than are the more sophisticated and mature

Toni Toni, Toñi or Tóni is a unisex given name. In Spanish, Italian, Croatian and Finnish, it is a masculine given name used as a short form of the names derived from Antonius like Antonio, Ante or Anttoni. In Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegia ...

's recordings." Peter Miro from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' wrote, "What could be better than one entrancing Braxton, but three of them? There's a certain, original aura rising from this soulful, sirenesque chorus Toni's seasoned siblings generate on the title track to their forthcoming LP. Sounding full enough to befour women, The Braxtons seem capable of winning hearts and filling the void left by

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 "Hol ...

and

Jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

. Deft-handed producer Dupri makes his foreground subject stand out with an infectious rhythm track and background touches ideal for girl-group profiling. Urban radio can heartily pipe this song aboard on July 2."

Commercial performance

On August 10, 1996, "So Many Ways" charted at #52 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. On August 17, 1996, the song peaked at #31 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart remaining 11 weeks on the chart. On August 17, 1996, the song peaked at 22 on US R&B/Hip-Hop Songs the song remained on the chart for 19 weeks. On October 5, 1996, "So Many Ways" debuted at #83 on the

Billboard 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 ...

marking it their first time charting in the Billboard Hot 100. The song spent eight weeks in the chart before leaving the chart in December 1996. On October 20, 1996, the song debuted at #34 on the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official New Zealand Music Chart ( mi, Te Papa Tātai Waiata Matua o Aotearoa) is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The Music ...

. In its second week the song moved on up 13 places to #21. In its third week the song dropped 10 places to #31. In its fourth week the song moved on up 6 places to #25. In its fifth week the song moved up 7 places to #18. In its sixth week the song moved up 1 place to its peak in the chart at #17. The song charted at #27, #31 and #39 in its seventh, eighth and ninth week. The song moved up 5 places to #34 and remained for four weeks before falling to #48 on January 19, 1997 and later leaving the Top 50 spending a total of 14 weeks on the chart. On February 1, 1997 the song debuted at #32 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 ...

. The song spent a total of two weeks on the chart at numbers 58 respectively before leaving the Top 75 on February 8, 1997 becoming their first top 40 in the UK.

Live performances and promotion

On November 16, 1996 "So Many Ways" was performed on Soul Train. The song was performed on Sky News in 1996. The song was performed at The Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards with rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

in 1996.

Music video

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 ...

was produced to promote the single, featuring The Braxtons with Trina and Tamar wearing a white two piece and Towanda wearing a white dress. The length of the video at 3 minutes and 55 seconds. The video starts with The Braxtons dancing on a stage and performing in a white room featuring a male lead. Later on the sisters are seen in wearing dresses.

Track listings and formats

* US vinyl single #"So Many Ways" (Extended Mix) – 5:17 #"So Many Ways" (Extended Instrumental Mix) – 5:18 #"So Many Ways" (A Cappella) – 3:51 #"So Many Ways" (T.V. Track) – 3:55 * US CD promo single #"So Many Ways" (Trina's Mix) – 4:34 #"So Many Ways" (The Braxtons Mix) – 4:40 #"So Many Ways" (Towanda's Mix) – 4:04 #"So Many Ways" (Tamar's Mix) – 4:25 #"So Many Ways" (Album Version) – 3:54 * UK vinyl promo single #A1 "So Many Ways" (Trina's Mix) (LP Version) – 5:20 #A2 "So Many Ways" (The Braxtons Mix) – 5:37 #A3 "So Many Ways" (Tamar's Mix) – 4:58 #B1 "The Boss" (Masters At Work Album Mix) – 9:41 #B1 "The Boss" (Kenlou Radio Mix) – 4:13 * UK, Europe CD maxi-single #"So Many Ways" (Album Version) – 3:55 #"So Many Ways" (Trina's Mix Extended) – 5:20 #"So Many Ways" (Feat. Jay-Z Extended) – 5:37 #"So Many Ways" (Tamar's Mix Extended) – 4:57 #"So Many Ways" (Instrumental) – 5:17 #"So Many Ways" (L.P. Version) – 5:14 * US cassette single #A1"So Many Ways" (Album Version) – 3:55 #A2"So Many Ways" (Instrumental) – 5:17 #B1"So Many Ways" (Album Version) – 3:55 #B2"So Many Ways" (Instrumental) – 5:17 * Europe vinyl single #A1"So Many Ways" (Album Version) – 3:55 #A2"So Many Ways" (Instrumental) – 5:17 #B1"So Many Ways" (Trina's Mix Extended) – 5:20 #B2"So Many Ways" (Feat. Jay-Z Extended) – 5:37 #B3"So Many Ways" (Tamar's Mix Extended) – 4:57

Charts

References

{{The Braxtons 1996 songs 1996 singles American contemporary R&B songs Songs written by Jermaine Dupri Atlantic Records singles