"Yesterday" is a song by American R&B singer–songwriter

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American Contemporary R&B, 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. ...

. The track is 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 her album, ''

Pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

'', released on May 4, 2010.

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

appears on the American version released to radio, "Troy Taylor Radio Edit". Outside North America, the original version of the song was released, which features only Braxton's vocals. The song was a moderate success on ''Billboards

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 ...

and peaked at number twelve. In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number 50 on the Official UK Singles top 100 Chart and at number 17 on R&B Singles top 40.

Background and release

The song was released on Braxton's official website on September 29, 2009, after four years in hiatus. It is Braxton's first single released under

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. In the United Kingdom, the song was supposed to be released on February 22, 2010, but ultimately the single release date was moved to May 3, 2010. "Yesterday" is Braxton's first single release in the UK since "

Hit the Freeway "Hit the Freeway" is a song by American recording artist Toni Braxton, released as the lead single from her fourth studio album, '' More Than a Woman'' (2002). The song, which features American rapper Loon, was written by Pharrell Williams and Lo ...

" in 2003, as ''

Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

'' was only available on import and no singles from the album were released there. A Spanish version of the track, titled "Ayer", was recorded with

Alexander Acha Raúl Alexander Acha Alemán (born January 25, 1985) is a Mexican singer-songwriter. Life The son of Mexican pop singer Emmanuel, Alexander Acha is also a pianist and a Berklee College of Music alum and born to a american mother Madison Anne J ...

but remains unreleased to this day.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. Nick Levine from

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

rated the song 3 out of 5 stars and favorably reviewed the solo version of the song, saying: "'Yesterday' shares a little too much of its DNA with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's '

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

' to satisfy fully, but raxtonsounds as seductive as ever crooning the surprisingly bitter lyrics - ("I don't love you, don't need you, can't stand you,") she insists on the middle 8. In fact, when she growls those last three words, it's almost like she never went away. Mark Edward Nero from

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, l ...

say, positively, "Arguably the best song on ''

'' is the passionately bitter break-up song 'Yesterday', but interestingly, the better of two versions of the song isn't included on the album's standard version". Andy Kellman from

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 databas ...

said: "'Yesterday' is a bitter breakup ballad in which the teeth-clenched 'I don’t love ya/Don’t need ya/Can’t stand ya no more' sounds very real". Mikael Wood from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' said: "Opener 'Yesterday' cribs its twinkly emo-soul texture (and some of its airy vocal melody) from

's '

Broken-Hearted Girl "Broken-Hearted Girl" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé for her third studio album '' I Am... Sasha Fierce'' (2008). Written by Beyoncé, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and production duo Stargate, it was initially a classic rhythm a ...

'".

Music video

There are two versions of the

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 promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Yesterday": one for the original solo version and one for the remix featuring

. Filming the video for the single started on October 8, 2009, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with 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 (singer), Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music video ...

(known for such classic Braxton videos as "

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, 19 ...

" and "

He Wasn't Man Enough "He Wasn't Man Enough" is a song by American R&B singer and songwriter Toni Braxton. It was written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, and Harvey Mason, Jr. for her third studio album, '' The Heat'' (2000), while p ...

"). Photos from the video were revealed on her official website on October 28 and show Braxton playing a piano, and Songz playing her boyfriend. The video premiered on ''

The Wendy Williams Show ''The Wendy Williams Show'' (often shortened to ''Wendy'') is an American syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show is distributed by Debmar-Me ...

'' on November 20, 2009. The video features singer

Brooke Hogan Brooke Ellen Bollea (born May 5, 1988), better known by her stage name Brooke Hogan, is an American television personality, singer, and actress. The daughter of professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, she at one point served as an on-screen personali ...

as well as basketball players

Shannon Brown Shannon Brown (born November 29, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He attended Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2003, and played college basketball for Michigan State ...

and

Ron Artest Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

from the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

. The video tells the story about a woman (Braxton) who discovers that her boyfriend (Brown) is cheating on her with another woman (Hogan).

Promotion

Braxton's promotion of the track commenced at the

Soul Train Music Awards The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and entertainment. It is produced by the makers of ''Soul Train'', the pro ...

of 2009, along with Songz. Braxton also promoted the single in the UK with performances on

GMTV GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...

on 11 May 2010,

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (previously known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV1 weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about ...

and '' The David Dickinson Show'' on 18 May 2010.

Chart performance

"Yesterday" debuted at number 96 on the U.S. ''

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 advertise ...

chart. On the issue dated January 2, 2010, the song made a massive 39-spot jump and has now peaked at number twelve, making it her highest chart performance since her 2000 single "

Just Be a Man About It "Just Be a Man About It" is a song by American singer Toni Braxton from her third studio album, '' The Heat'' (2000). It was released on June 20, 2000, as the album's second single. Background "Just Be a Man About It" is a telephone breakup song ...

", which peaked at number six. In the UK, "Yesterday" became Braxton's first hit single since the release of "

", peaking at number 50 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 ...

and at number seventeen on the

UK R&B Singles Chart The UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart and the UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums Chart (also known as The Official UK Hip Hop and R&B Charts, the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Singles and the Top 40 Hip Hop and RnB Albums, or simply the UK Urban Chart) are 40-posi ...

Formats and track listings

;U.S. iTunes digital EP # "Yesterday" (Remix featuring

) — 3:46 # "Yesterday" (Album Version) — 3:48 # "Yesterday" (Instrumental) — 3:48 ;U.S. Wal-Mart CD single # "Yesterday" (Remix featuring Trey Songz) — 3:46 # "Rewind" — 3:30 ;German digital single # "Yesterday" (Album Version) — 3:48 # "Yesterday" (Bimbo Jones Mix) — 7:05 # "Yesterday" (Fred Falke Mix) — 7:02 # "Yesterday" (

Dave Audé Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, Record producer, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club S ...

Club Mix) - 8:41 # "Yesterday" (Remix featuring Trey Songz) — 3:46 # "Yesterday" (Video) — 3:47 ;German CD single # "Yesterday" (Album Version) — 3:48 # "Yesterday" (Remix featuring Trey Songz) — 3:46 ;UK digital single # "Yesterday" (Album Version) — 3:48 ;UK iTunes digital single # "Yesterday" (Album Version) — 3:48 # "Rewind" — 3:30 ;UK iTunes digital remix single # "Yesterday" (Bimbo Jones Mix) — 7:05 # "Yesterday" (Fred Falke Mix) — 7:02 # "Yesterday" (Nu Addiction Mix) — 6:04 # "Yesterday" (Sticky Lovers Remix) — 4:58 # "Yesterday" (Remix featuring Trey Songz) — 3:46 ;UK 7Digital digital single # "Yesterday" (Album Version) — 3:48 # "Yesterday" (Cutmore Mix) — 6:18 ;UK 7" Vinyl # "Yesterday" (Sticky Lovers Remix) — 4:58 # "Yesterday" (Sticky Lovers Dub Mix) — 4:58

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Trey Songz 2000s ballads 2009 singles Music videos directed by Bille Woodruff Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads Song recordings produced by DJ Frank E Songs written by DJ Frank E Toni Braxton songs Trey Songz songs 2009 songs Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Toni Braxton