Gone (Nelly song)
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"Gone" is a song by American recording artist Nelly, taken from his sixth studio album, ''
5.0 ''5.0'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Nelly. It was released through Universal Motown Records ( Universal Music Group) and Derrty (Universal Music Group) on November 12, 2010.
''. Featuring additional lead vocals from American recording artist
Kelly Rowland Kelendria Trene Rowland (born February 11, 1981) is an American singer, actress, and television personality. She rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. During the gr ...
, "Gone" is the
sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to Nelly's 2002 worldwide number one single "
Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dist ...
", also featuring Rowland. It was written by Eric Goudy II, Nelly, Earl Hood and co-written and produced by
Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...
&
Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, ...
as a continuum to the love story outlined in "Dilemma". "Gone" was initially known as "Dilemma p.2" but the title was changed and Nelly stopped referring to the song as "Dilemma" sequel for fear that it would not match people's expectations and through his desire for "Gone" to be recognised as a separate recording. The predominantly R&B-
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 ...
contains elements of
pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...
and was sent to U.S. Urban/Urban AC radio stations on January 4, 2011. It was sent to top 40/mainstream stations on January 19, 2011 and serves as the third single from ''5.0''. Critics generally praised "Gone" for reusing the best elements of "Dilemma" and recapturing the same sentiments though there was some negative reception towards the relevance of the sequel duet and lack of distinction in the song's R&B feel.


Background and inspiration

"Gone" is a ballad written by Eric Goudy II, Nelly, Earl Hood,
Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...
and
Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, ...
as the sequel to Nelly and Rowland's 2002 duet "
Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dist ...
". Initially known as its working title, "DL Part 2", "Gone" extends the story of the duo's earlier single "Dilemma". Nelly told Jayson Rodriguez, from MTV, that "Gone" was not just a sequel. He said It was recorded in May–June 2010 during studio sessions where Rowland and Nelly were recording the urban remix of the song " Commander", lead single of Rowland's third album, '' Here I Am''. '' Rap-Up'' magazine described it as the "smooth sequel" which picks up "where 'Dilemma' left off", catering to both R&B and pop audiences. MTV revealed that the song would be a future single, but would not hit airwaves yet due to Nelly's success with " Just a Dream", the lead single from his sixth album, ''
5.0 ''5.0'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Nelly. It was released through Universal Motown Records ( Universal Music Group) and Derrty (Universal Music Group) on November 12, 2010.
''. The single cover from "Gone" was unveiled on January 19, 2011.


Composition

"Gone" is a mid-tempo R&B-
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 ...
produced by
Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...
and
Jim Jonsin James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), professionally known as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer, songwriter, businessman and DJ from South Florida. Jonsin has collaborated with numerous artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, ...
. On December 26, 2009, some studio footage of the recording of "Gone" was released through Rap-Up.com. Later in an MTV interview, Nelly was keen to stress that he didn't see "Gone" as a sequel to "Dilemma". He said "It can never be 'Dilemma,' but we wanted to extend the story. It's continuing the story a little bit more, seeing her Kelly)again." Scott Schetler from AOL Radio Blog noted that in "Gone", Rowland and Nelly address each other by their first names, just as they did in their 2002 duet, "Dilemma". Bill Ohms from ''Lumino Magazine'' said Nelly's vocal styling on "Gone" was "ballad-like singing/rapping", while Tolu Akinsanya from Soulculture.co.uk noted that "Gone" uses the same key elements of production as "Dilemma". At one point Nelly directly references the lyrics from "Dilemma" when he says "remember that chick that used to live right up the block from me?".


Critical reception

AOL Radio's Scott Schetler called "Gone" another "stellar duet" from Rowland and Nelly. Tolu Akinsanya from Soulculture.co.uk agreed with the comparisons to "
Dilemma A dilemma ( grc-gre, δίλημμα "double proposition") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but dist ...
" by saying that "' one uses all the key elements that made the ' ilemma a hit, and does not fail. This track could easily be a chart-topper." Mariel Concepcion from '' Billboard'' said that no Nelly album would be complete with the emo track, "Gone". Ken Capobianco from ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' called "Gone" the melodic companion to "Dilemma". Robbie Daw from Idolator was less impressed. Though he praised the idea of the duet he said "This new slow groove is harmless enough, and even boasts a similar beat to its predecessor. But overall, we can’t help feeling that, since they bothered, these two should have come up with something a little better than a pale retread." Jesse Cataldo from Slant Magazine also had criticism for the song saying that its featured "R&B vocals sink steadily toward irrelevance".


Chart performance

On January 21, 2011, "Gone" was the second most added single to
Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...
radio and third most added to Top 40/Mainstream and
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 ...
stations. The single racked up a total of forty-five adds in the two-day period since release. For the charts issued on February 5, 2011, "Gone" made its U.S.
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 ...
debut at number seventy-nine and has currently peaked at number fifty-nine. In terms of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the song completely missed the chart, becoming a failure mainstream and only being moderately successful on the R&B charts.


Music video

On January 6, 2011, Nelly said on his Twitter, "new Nelly single... "Gone" featuring Kelly Rowland video coming very soon 5.0", the song is set to be released as the third official single from the album. In February 2011, it was revealed that
Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...
had been booked to shoot the video. Klasfeld has previously worked with both artists, on Nelly's "
Country Grammar ''Country Grammar'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and singer Nelly. It was released on June 27, 2000, by Universal Records. The production on the album was handled by Jason "Jay E" Epperson, with additional production by C-Love, ...
" and "
Ride wit Me "Ride wit Me" is a song by American rapper Nelly featuring City Spud. It was released on February 13, 2001, as the third single from Nelly's debut studio album, ''Country Grammar'' (2000). "Ride wit Me" peaked at number three on the ''Billboar ...
," as well as working with Rowland on Destiny's Child's "
Lose My Breath "Lose My Breath" is a song recorded by American group Destiny's Child for their fourth and last studio album '' Destiny Fulfilled'' (2004). It was written by Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, Rodney Jerkins, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jer ...
". The shoot is set to take place in Mexico. The video began production on February 8, 2011 on sandy beach in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Photos uploaded to '' Rap-Up.''com show Rowland wearing a low-cut shimmering black dress while Nelly wears a button down black jacket. A snippet of the video was shown on Monday, March 7 during the premiere of Nelly's episode of
Behind the Music ''Behind the Music'' is a documentary television series on VH1. Each episode profiles and interviews a popular musical artist or group. The program examines the beginning of their career, their road to success, and the hardships they may have ...
.


Charts


Radio and release history


References

{{authority control 2011 singles Nelly songs Kelly Rowland songs Contemporary R&B ballads Songs written by Rico Love Songs written by Jim Jonsin Song recordings produced by Jim Jonsin Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Universal Motown Records singles Songs written by Nelly 2010 songs Song recordings produced by Rico Love Songs written by Earl Hood Songs written by Eric Goudy 2010s ballads