"Twisted" is a song by American singer

Keith Sweat Keith Sweat (born July 22, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and an early figure in the new jack swing musical movement. He is known for his collection of hits including " I Want Her", " Make It Last Forever", " I'll Give ...

, released as a single in June 1996. It was the first song released from his self-titled fifth album. R&B group

Kut Klose Kut Klose is an American R&B trio that formed in Atlanta, Georgia. The three female singers that made up the group were Athena Cage, Lavonn Battle and Tabitha Duncan. The girls were discovered by Keith Sweat who produced their debut album. The ...

and remix rapper Pretty Russ are also featured on the song. The radio version of "Twisted" omits Pretty Russ' rap before the final chorus, though some urban stations kept the rap verse. A second mix of the song, referred to as the Flavahood Sexual remix, features a different backbeat sampled from

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown (music style), Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player ...

's song "

Sexual Healing "Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, ''Midnight Love'' (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, followin ...

". "Flavahood" also saw significant airplay on radio but was never released on an album. Commercially, "Twisted" spent three weeks at No. 1 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 advertis ...

'' Hot R&B Singles chart and peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming Sweat's biggest hit. "Twisted" also peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard''

Rhythmic Top 40 The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and previously named Rhythmic Songs, Rhythmic Top 40 and CHR/Rhythmic) is an airplay chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on ...

, staying there for 14 consecutive weeks, the most amongst any song except TLC's " No Scrubs", which spent 15 weeks at the top position. Outside the US, "Twisted" topped 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 Mus ...

for six weeks and became a top-20 hit in Australia and the Netherlands. In 2012,

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

ranked the song at number 35 on their list of the "40 Greatest R&B Songs of the '90s".

Music video

A music video released for the song features Sweat as a homicide detective pursuing a female suspect who assassinated a police commissioner. The video was directed by Paul Hunter. Keith is a homicide detective first seen at a royal party but the party is interrupted when an unidentified killer shoots a man of Chinese royalty and steals diamonds from him. The killer escapes and is revealed to be a woman. Keith later arrests the woman but as he steps out of his car she manages to escape. As he returns to his apartment, the woman appears awaiting, with her handcuffs off and proceeds to seduce him. Keith is clearly "twisted" as he is unable to emotionally apprehend her. The woman is now on the run and had made her way to the roof of a building but on her way up the ladder she is stopped and Keith is called to the scene. (The music cuts out) Keith orders them not to shoot, but when he turns his back the woman draws a gun but before she can fire the weapon an unidentified cop shoots the woman. (The music is continued) Sweat looks on at her as she is left hanging from the ladder, dead. Flashbacks of their encounters occur while he stands watching her in the rain before the video ends. The music video premiered the week of June 9, 1996

Track listings

US CD single # "Twisted" (album version) # "Twisted" (Flavahood Sexual Remix) # "Twisted" (Sweat Shop Party Remix) # Album excerpts: "Chocolate Girl"/"Funky Dope Lovin'"/"Just a Touch" # "Twisted" (album version instrumental) # "Twisted" (a cappella) US cassette single :A. "Twisted" (radio version) :B. Album excerpts: "Chocolate Girl"/"Funky Dope Lovin'"/"Just a Touch" UK and Australian CD single # "Twisted" (radio version with rap) – 4:10 # "Twisted" (Flavahood Sexual remix) – 5:03 # "Twisted" (Sweat Shop Party remix edit w/o rap) – 4:12 # "Twisted" (Flavahood Sexual remix edit w/o rap) – 4:01 # "Twisted" (Flavahood Sexual instrumental) – 5:03 # "Twisted" (a cappella) – 4:33

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twisted (Song) 1990s ballads 1996 songs 1996 singles Contemporary R&B ballads Hip hop soul songs Keith Sweat songs Music videos directed by Paul Hunter (director) Number-one singles in New Zealand Songs written by Athena Cage Songs written by Keith Sweat Songs written by Marvin Gaye