"Weak" is a song by American R&B vocal trio

SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B g ...

for their debut 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 ...

, '' It's About Time'' (1992). It was written and produced by

Brian Alexander Morgan Brian Alexander Morgan is an American record producer from Wichita, Kansas, United States, best known for his work writing and producing with the R&B group SWV. Career In his early 20s, Morgan recorded a demo tape with his childhood friend LaChe ...

, who composed the lyrics based on a young person falling in love for the first time. Morgan originally wrote the song for Charlie Wilson, but he later decided to give the song to SWV. Morgan revealed that

Coko Cheryl Elizabeth Gamble (formerly Clemons; born June 13, 1970), better known by her stage name Coko, is an American singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer of the R&B vocal trio Sisters With Voices (SWV). Aside from her R&B career, Gamble ...

did not like the song and gave him attitude during the recording of the single. "Weak" was released as the third

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 ...

from the album, following the commercial success of "

I'm So into You "I'm So into You" is a song recorded by American R&B vocal trio SWV for their debut studio album, '' It's About Time'' (1992). Written and produced by Brian Alexander Morgan, the song was released in January 1993 as the second single from the ...

". It topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks in July 1993, ending the two-month-long reign of

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

's " That's the Way Love Goes". It sold over one million copies domestically and was awarded a

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". Platinu ...

certification from 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). It also topped the ''Billboard''

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 for two weeks. Outside the US, the single reached number six on the New Zealand Singles Charts, number 33 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 ...

, number 42 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart and number 94 on the Australian Singles Chart. ''Billboard'' named the song number 72 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' described "Weak" as a "lush

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 ...

Track listing and formats

* Germany CD maxi single # "Weak" (R-N-B Mix) – 4:44 # "Weak" (Bam Jam Extended Jeep Mix) – 6:00 # "SMV" (In the House) – 2:58 # "

" – 4:38 * US CD maxi single # "Weak" (Radio Edit) – 4:21 # "Weak" (Bam Jam Jeep Mix) – 4:35 # "Weak" (R-N-B Radio Mix) – 4:39 # "Weak" (Bam Jam Extended Jeep Mix) – 4:54 # "Weak" (Down Mix) – 4:34 # "Weak" (Album Version) – 4:51

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1990s ballads 1992 songs 1993 singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles RCA Records singles Songs written by Brian Alexander Morgan SWV songs