Hold On (En Vogue song)

"Hold On"
Single by En Vogue
from the album Born to Sing
B-side	"Lies"
Released	February 23, 1990 (airplay) March 5, 1990 (Cassette/CD single)
Format	7", 12", CD single
Recorded	August — September 1989[1]
Genre	R&B, new jack swing
Length	5:04
Label	Atlantic
Writer(s)	Thomas McElroy, Denzil Foster, En Vogue (Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson), with William "Smokey" Robinson, James Brown, Fred Wesley, John Starks. (uncredited)
Producer(s)	Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy
En Vogue singles chronology
"Hold On" (1990) "Lies" (1990)

"Hold On" is a song by American recording group En Vogue released in 1990. It is the first single from their debut album, Born to Sing. The song was produced by producing duo Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy and composed by all members of En Vogue, Thomas and Foster.

Production

The song opens with an a cappella rendition of the Motown standard "Who's Lovin' You", written by Smokey Robinson and originally recorded by his group, The Miracles. It features lead vocals by Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis vocals on the introduction. The song also contains a guitar sample from "The Payback" by James Brown.

Commercial performance

Following its release, the single peaked to #1 one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles,^[2] #2 on Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on Billboards Hot Dance chart.^[3] "Hold On" was also a huge hit in several countries, reaching the top five or top 10; #5 in the UK, #5 in New Zealand, #6 in Germany, #10 in the Netherlands. and #12 in Austrian.

In 1990, the single became one of the biggest hits in the US and overseas. "Hold On" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Year-End chart for 1990 as the top R&B hit,^[4] and as the No. 8 pop hit on the Billboard Year-End chart.

En Vogue performed the song at the 2008 BET Awards with Alicia Keys. In 2007, the song's chorus was used and performed by Pharrell on Jay-Z's song "Blue Magic" The song was also sampled in the Terminator X song "Buck Whylin'.

Formats and tracklistings

• US 12" Vinyl Single

1. "Hold On" (Album version) – 5:18
2. "Hold On" (Instrumental) – 3:56
3. "Hold On" (Dub Version) – 3:59

• UK CD Single

1. "Hold On" (Tuff Jam's Radio Mix) – 4:04
2. "Hold On" (C-Swing's Jerk Mix Radio Edit) – 4:00
3. "Hold On" (Tuff Jam's Classic Garage Mix) – 6:17

• US CD Single

1. "Hold On" – 5:07
2. "Lies" – 3:59

Personnel

• Executive-Producer – David Lombard, Denzil Foster
• Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Vocals [Dialogues] – Cindy Herron, Dawn Robinson, Maxine Jones, Terry Ellis
• Lyrics By – En Vogue, Thomas McElroy, Denzil Foster*
• Music By, Keyboards, Drum Programming [Drum Machine Programming] – Thomas McElroy, Denzil Foster*
• Keyboards [Remix Version] – Mark Fisher
• Remix, Producer – Karl "Tuff Enuff" Brown, Matt "Jam" Lamont
• Saxophone – Grover Washington, Jr.
• Vocals – En Vogue
• Vocals [Dialogues] – Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy
• Producer, Arranged By – Thomas McElroy And Denzil Foster

Tracks & credits from Single liner notes^[5]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Australian Singles[6] 64 Austrian Singles Chart[7] 12 Canada RPM Top Singles[8] 51 Belgium Singles Chart[9] 25 Irish Singles Charts 18 New Zealand Singles Chart[10] 5 Dutch Singles Chart[11] 10 Swiss Singles Chart[12] 26 German Singles Chart[13] 6 UK Singles Chart[14] 5 US Billboard Hot 100[15] 2 US Hot R&B Singles (Billboard)[15] 1 US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[15] 1

Year-end charts Year-end chart (1990) Position US Billboard Hot 100[16] 8 US Billboard Hot R&B Singles 1 Certifications Region Certification United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Album / Track	Result
1990	Billboard Music Award	R&B Single of the Year	"Hold On"	Won
1991	Grammy Award	Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group	"Hold On"	Nomination
1991	Soul Train Music Award	Best Single by a Duo/Group	"Hold On"	Won

See also

• R&B number-one hits of 1990 (USA)
• List of number-one year-end R&B singles (U.S.)
• Number-one dance hits of 1990

References

1. "WebVoyage Record View 1". Cocatalog.loc.gov. 1989-10-02. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
2. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 189.
3. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 90.
4. "Year End Charts - Year-end Singles - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2007-11-10. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
5. "En Vogue Hold On" US Single at Discogs
6. AUS Charts > En Vogue. ARIA Charts.
7. "AUT Charts > En Vogue". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
8. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved July 4, 2016.
9. "BEL Charts > En Vogue". Ultratop. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
10. "NZ Charts > En Vogue". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
11. "NLD Charts > En Vogue". MegaCharts. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
12. "SWI Charts > En Vogue". Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2011-12-18.
13. "GER Charts > En Vogue". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
14. "UK Charts > En Vogue". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2011-08-16.
15. "Artist Chart History - En Vogue". Billboard.
16. "Billboard Top 100 - 1990". Retrieved 2009-09-15.
17. RIAA. US Certifications > En Vogue Singles. Retrieved, 2016-10-10

External links

• "Hold On" US CD Single at Discogs