"I Don't Want To" is a song recorded by American R&B singer

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...

for her second studio album, ''

Secrets Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

'' (1996). It was released as the third single from the album on March 11, 1997; in the United States it was released as a double A-side with " I Love Me Some Him". Written and produced by

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

, the 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 ...

describes the agony of a break-up. The song was well received by music critics, who were complimentary about Kelly's production. The single reached the top-ten in Iceland, Ireland and the United Kingdom, and the top-twenty in six countries, including Canada and the United States, where it shot to number 19 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number nine on 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 during the summer of 1997. While not as successful as the two preceding singles, it became her third consecutive chart-topper on the ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart in July 1997, following "

You're Makin' Me High "You're Makin' Me High" is the lead single from American singer Toni Braxton's second studio album, '' Secrets'' (1996). The mid-tempo song represents a joint collaboration between the Grammy Award-winning producer Babyface and Bryce Wilson. Th ...

" and "

Un-Break My Heart "Un-Break My Heart" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton for her second studio album, '' Secrets'' (1996). The song was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. It was released as the second single from the album on October 7, 1 ...

". 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 device ...

was shot during a hectic time in Braxton's career. After the commercial success from the preceding singles and co-headlining a tour with

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

, Braxton was exhausted. The time schedule for a video was roughly one day for director

Bille Woodruff Bille Woodruff is a director of film, television and music videos, noted for directing many videos for a number of R&B and hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. These artists include Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music videos since 1994, ...

. A simple video featured Braxton wandering around in a white room wearing a white tanktop, blue jeans and a built up shoe.

Composition

"I Don't Want To" was written and produced by

, who was also responsible for all instruments, background vocals and mixing. Braxton provided both lead and background vocals. It was recorded at Middle Ear Studio, Miami Beach, Florida. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, "I Don't Want To" is written in the key of B major with a moderate tempo of 109

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. Braxton's vocal range spans from the low note of F3 to the high note of G4. It follows in the chord progression of B–B9-G#7sus4-G#7–C#m-C#m(maj7)-C#m7-F#7. The midtempo R&B ballad talks about the agony of heartbreak. It also touches upon themes of loss and abstinence.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

praised

's composition, noting that he "demonstrate why

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considered neof the top songwriters in '90s R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

." Larry Flick of '' Billboard'' praised its groove, which according to him, "is masterfully woven by R. Kelly," adding: "He smartly keeps the musical melodrama to a minimum, opting instead for a smooth and subtle jeep-soul setting that leaves plenty of room for La B to flex her rich vocal range. A reviewer 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 ...

'' rated the song three out of five, complimenting it as "another surefire hit

" from the ''

'' album. The magazine's Alan Jones described it as "another stately ballad performed with grace and style. Braxton is A Real Singer, but prefers to take the most direct route between two notes, unlike many of her ability. Another monster hit." David Fricke of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' also praised Kelly, noting that "the unruffled

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

of the music, however, puts the focus squarely on Braxton, and she's up to it." He described the song as "a quiet groan of loss and abstinence." Ian Hyland from '' Sunday Mirror'' gave it eight out of ten, commenting, "Another aching soul-searcher from the most beautiful woman in America. It should be almost as successful as "

" but it's a bit too slow for a dance remix. Not that anyone cares about the song anyway - we just want to see her in that video." David Sinclair from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' declared it as a "plush

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...

" from the soul diva, and "a guaranteed smash."

Release and commercial performance

"I Don't Want To" was released as the album's third single on March 11, 1997. In the United States, the song was released as a double A-side with " I Love Me Some Him". On March 31, 1997, the song was released in the United Kingdom. Commercially, "I Don't Want To" proved to be moderately successful in the United States, reaching number nineteen on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while peaking at number nine on the ''Billboard''

chart. The song also became her third consecutive chart-topper on the ''Billboard''

chart in July 1997, following "

" and "

". In the United Kingdom, "I Don't Want To" became Braxton's third consecutive top-ten single from ''Secrets'', peaking at number nine. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 31, and two weeks later climbed to number 21, becoming its peak position. In Sweden, the song debuted at number 57, climbing to number 29 in the second week. Two weeks later, the song peaked at number 15, falling on the two following weeks until it climbed to its peak position once again. It later remained for further six weeks on the charts.

Music video

The accompanying

for the song was directed by

and shot on March 4, 1997. The video was filmed during a hectic time in Braxton's career, and after the commercial success from the preceding singles and co-headlining a tour with

, Braxton was exhausted and it was shot in one day. The video was considered simple, featuring Braxton wandering around in a white room wearing a white tanktop, blue jeans and a built up shoe. The original treatment for the video was a one-take version. Woodruff told MTV News that he shot multiple takes and at the end of the day, the best version would be picked. The video had Braxton walking around a house, trying on various wigs and scrubbing her feet in a bathtub. However, Braxton made a "creative decision to scrap the first shoot in favor of a simpler, non-bathroom video," after MTV News staff mentioned while interviewing Braxton that Jewel,

Tony Rich Antonio Jeffries (born November 19, 1971), better known as Tony Rich and The Tony Rich Project, is an American Grammy-award-winning Contemporary singer-songwriter best known for his hit single "Nobody Knows". Early career Rich was born in Det ...

, and

No Doubt No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, the ...

had recently used bathrooms as music video backdrops (in "

Who Will Save Your Soul "Who Will Save Your Soul" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jewel. It was the first song released from her first studio album, '' Pieces of You'' (1995), and became a hit in North America and Australasia, peaking at ...

", " Nobody Knows", and "

Just a Girl "Just a Girl" is a song by American band No Doubt for their third studio album, ''Tragic Kingdom'' (1995). Released as the record's lead single in the United States on September 21, 1995, it was written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, and prod ...

" respectively). The video for "I Don't Want To" was published on Braxton's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel in October 2009. It has amassed more than 32 million views as of September 2021.

Track listings and formats

* US double A-side CD single with "I Love Me Some Him" #"I Don't Want To" (Album Version) – 4:17 #" I Love Me Some Him" (Album Version) – 5:09 * US double A-side CD maxi single with "I Love Me Some Him" #"I Don't Want To" (Album Version) – 4:17 #"I Don't Want To" ( Frankie Knuckles Club Mix) – 10:57 #"I Don't Want To" (Instrumental) – 4:19 #"I Love Me Some Him" (Album Version) – 5:09 #"

" ( Billboard Award Show Version) – 4:12 * UK CD 1 #"I Don't Want To" (Album Version) – 4:15 #"I Don't Want To" (Frankie Knuckles Radio Edit) – 4:17 #"

" (Hot Ice Dancehall Mix featuring

Mad Cobra Ewart Everton Brown (born 31 March 1968), better known by his stage name Mad Cobra or simply Cobra, is a Jamaican dancehall musician.Huey, Steve " Mad Cobra Biography, AllMusic, retrieved 2010-01-31Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia ...

) – 4:50 #"I Don't Want To" (Franktified Club Mix) – 10:57 * UK CD 2 #"I Don't Want To" (Album Version) – 4:15 #"I Don't Want To" (Classic Club Mix) – 10:54 #"I Don't Want To" (Deep Jays Delight) – 9:02 * European CD single #"I Don't Want To" (Album Version) – 4:15 #"I Don't Want To" (Frankie Knuckles Radio Edit) – 4:17 #"I Don't Want To" (Franktified Club Mix) – 10:57

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 1990s ballads 1996 songs 1997 singles Music videos directed by Bille Woodruff Contemporary R&B ballads Toni Braxton songs Songs written by R. Kelly Song recordings produced by R. Kelly LaFace Records singles Songs about heartache