"Everything" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by

Jimmy Jam & 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 ...

for Blige's third album, ''

Share My World ''Share My World'' is the third studio album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released by MCA on Earth Day, April 22, 1997. The album became Blige's first to open at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Moreover, it is her ...

'' (1997). The song contains samples from "

You Are Everything "You Are Everything" is a soul song written by Thom Bell and Linda Creed and originally recorded by the Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics. The Stylistics version An R&B ballad, it was the sixth track from their 1971 debut self-titled albu ...

" (1971) by American soul group

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American, Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith and James Dunn. All ...

and "

The Payback ''The Payback'' is the 37th studio album by American musician James Brown. The album was released in December 1973, by Polydor Records. It was originally scheduled to become the soundtrack for the blaxploitation film ''Hell Up in Harlem'', but w ...

" (1973) by American singer

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

, also incorporating elements from " Sukiyaki" (1961) by Japanese singer

Kyu Sakamoto was a Japanese singer and actor. He was best known outside Japan for his international hit song "Ue o Muite Arukō" (known as " Sukiyaki" in English-speaking markets), which was sung in Japanese and sold over 13 million copies. It reached numbe ...

. Due to the inclusion of the samples, Brown, Hachidai Nakamura, Rokusuke Ei,

Linda Creed Linda Diane Creed (December 6, 1948 – April 10, 1986), also known by her married name Linda Epstein, was an American songwriter and lyricist who teamed up with Thom Bell to produce some of the most successful Philadelphia soul groups of the 1 ...

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

John Starks John Levell Starks (born August 10, 1965) is an American former professional basketball shooting guard. Starks was listed at 6'5" and 190 pounds during his NBA playing career. Although he was undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft after attending four ...

, and

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...

are also credited as songwriters.

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

released the song as the third single from ''Share My World'' in August 1997. "Everything" reached number twenty-four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number five on the US

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 ...

. It also peaked at number six 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 ...

, becoming Blige's first top ten hit in the UK, and entered the top ten in the Netherlands and the top twenty in New Zealand. An accompanying music video, directed by

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Ade ...

, was filmed in

Kauai, Hawaii Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

in June 1997.

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 adverti ...

'' stated in his review of "Everything", that Blige "is in typically solid diva form on this romantic jeep cruiser, which is fueled by a prominent sample of "

" by the

Stylistics Stylistics, a branch of applied linguistics, is the study and interpretation of texts of all types and/or spoken language in regard to their linguistic and tonal style, where style is the particular variety of language used by different individu ...

, as well as a snippet from

's "

"." He noted that producers Jam and Lewis "do an exemplary job of letting Blige breathe freely as an artist (which she does with delicious soul), while also injecting their own signature

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

/ R&B flavor." Jonathan Bernstein from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' felt that "she unleashes equal joy" on the song. Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' declared it as a "wonderful Jam & Lewis creation" and "a spartan urban contemporary track, which provides emphatic proof of Blige's singing ability." Ralph Tee from the magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update concluded, "For me this is the standout song from ''

'', the familiarity factor in the music and Mary's best vocal yet having a lot to do with it." 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 ...

'' opined that Blige "mixes sweetness and power". Laura Jamison from ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

'' also noted that "Everything" quotes Stylistics' song, adding that it "draws you in with its sheer familiarity."

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

for the song was directed by American director

and shot in

in June 1997. The video blends

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

n style against the lush jungles, cliffs and black sand beaches of the island.

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Share My World'' liner notes. *

– writer (sample) * Mary J. Blige – executive producer, vocals *

– writer (sample) *

– writer (sample) * Rokusuke Ei – writer (sample) *

James Harris III 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 ...

– producer, writer * Terry Lewis – producer, writer * Hachidai Nakamura – writer (sample) *

– writer (sample) * Steve Stoute – producer *

– writer (sample) Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark- writer (sample)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Everything (Mary J. Blige Song) 1997 singles 1997 songs Mary J. Blige songs MCA Records singles Music videos directed by Hype Williams Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Songs with music by Hachidai Nakamura Songs written by Fred Wesley Songs written by James Brown Songs written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis Songs written by John "Jabo" Starks Songs written by Linda Creed Songs written by Thom Bell 1990s ballads