"Let It Flow" is a song 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 ...

. Written and produced by Babyface, the song was originally recorded for, and included on, the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

to the 1995 motion picture '' Waiting to Exhale''. "Let It Flow" was released as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with " You're Makin' Me High", the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from Braxton's second studio album, '' Secrets'' (1996). At the time the single was issued, "Let It Flow" was already receiving strong radio

airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

in the United States, and the two tracks eventually topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

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 ...

charts.

Music video

The music video for "Let It Flow" directed by

Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on black ...

features water imagery throughout. Toni is shown singing while surrounded by men painted blue facing away from her, and this is interspersed with shots of the men behind and in front of screens of water flowing. Toni is also shown singing while sitting on a white float in the middle of a still body of water.

Reception

The double-A side single debuted at number seven on the Hot 100 and number two on the Hot R&B Singles chart, the issue dated June 8, 1996, becoming her highest-debuting single. It eventually topped the Hot 100 chart for a week, and the Hot R&B Singles chart for two weeks, which was her first number one single on both charts. Due to its staying power on the Hot R&B Singles chart, it was the #1 R&B Single on the 1996's ''Billboard'' year-end charts. The single sold over 1,500,000 copies in the United States and was certified Platinum by the RIAA on July 17, 1996. Just as soon as the soundtrack was released, the song received critical acclaim, being chosen as one of the best tracks on the album by critics.

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

, the music critic of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', called it "small pop coup" and added "Braxton snaps out the words with a choked intensity, her dark, grainy contralto conveying a potent mixture of fury and sensuality."

Personnel and credits

Credits adapted from album liner notes.Toni Braxton – Secrets (CD liner notes) - LaFace Records 73008-26020-2 *

: lead vocals, background vocals *

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Kenneth Brian Edmonds (born April 10, 1959), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 12 Grammy A ...

: writer, producer, keyboards, guitar, programming * Reggie Griffin: guitar * Brad Gilderman: recording * Jon Gass: mixing * Paul Boutin, Larry Schalit, Robbes Stieglietz, Kyle Bess: assistant engineers * Randy Walker: midi programming * Ivy Skoff: production coordinator

Music video

Reception

Personnel and credits

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

References

See also