"You Bring Me Joy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. It was written by Blige, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey, and

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward "Chucky" Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American hip hop and R&B record producer. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's " Hitmen" team of in-ho ...

for her second studio album, '' My Life'' (1994), while overall music production was helmed by Combs and Thompson with the vocal tracks being produced by Jo-Jo. The song is built around a sample of "

It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me "It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next to Me" is a hit song by American singer Barry White. The song was written by Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford, and arranged by Barry White. Chart performance Released from his album '' Barry White Sings for ...

" (1977) by singer

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

. Due to the inclusion of the sample, Ekundayo Paris and Nelson Pigford are also credited as songwriters. "You Bring Me Joy" served as the third single from ''My Life'' and peaked at number 29 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 ...

, also topping the

Hot Dance Club Songs 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 t ...

Critical reception

Steve Baltin from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' wrote, "Without achieving the notoriety of a

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan ...

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, Blige has quickly become one of the surest bets on both the

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'' ( ...

and R&B singles charts, currently appearing twice on each chart. The latest single from her '' My Life'' album is sure to follow suit rapidly. Featuring a solid beat to accompnay Blige’s sweet vocals, the track is a natural at a plethora of formats." Jonathan Bernstein from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'' noted, "The same piano intro that gave " Real Love" its irresistible bounce reappears to serve the same purpose in "You Bring Me Joy"."

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 "You Bring Me Joy" was directed by

Marcus Raboy Marcus Raboy (born November 30, 1965) is an American film director, film and music video director. Since the early 1990s, Raboy has amassed a large number music video credits directing music videos for Mary J. Blige, Dixie Chicks, Rihanna, Lut ...

. It was shot at a big blue and red room from April 10–11, 1995 where Blige and other dancers do crazy dance moves. The video was later published on Blige'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 December 2019, and had generated more than 1.3 million views as of January 2023.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the ''My Life'' liner notes. *Mary J. Blige – lead vocals *LaTonya J. Blige – background vocals * Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey – background vocals *

– additional instruments *Bassy Bob Brockman – music programming, recording engineer, mixing *Nashiem Myrick – music programming, recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1995 singles Mary J. Blige songs Music videos directed by Marcus Raboy Songs written by Mary J. Blige Songs written by Sean Combs 1994 songs Uptown Records singles Songs written by Chucky Thompson {{1990s-US-single-stub