Pretty Wings
Encyclopedia
"Pretty Wings" is a single by American singer-songwriter Maxwell
's fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night
. It was written and produced by Maxwell and Hod David.
The song won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
and was nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards
for Song of the Year
and Best R&B Song
.
as "a bittersweet love song about meeting the right girl at the wrong time". The single is his first in seven years (previous single being the cover of Kate Bush
's "This Woman's Work
" in 2002). On further details of the song, Maxwell also told Billboard Magazine: "I met this girl who I still respect very much, and although it didn't work out, I got lots of inspiration from it. This track speaks of my time with her. The official remix features Brooklyn emcee Israel The ILLa Real."
The lyrics of the song express "pretty wings" as a double entendre
; "If I can't have you, let love set you free to fly your pretty wings around."
on May 1 via Maxwell's own youtube account and has so far received over 7 million views. The music video takes place in a dim household and some scenes of the video shows three separate women in their beds sleeping. Maxwell served as an Incubus who is in bed with the women in their own scenes. In the final couple minutes of the video the women all levitate above their beds after reaching a state of euphoria by the Incubus. The final shot is Maxwell leaving one of the bedrooms of one of the three women. The music video was also ranked at #9 on BET
's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.
" in 1999). It has been number one for fourteen consecutive weeks tying for second place for the record held by Deborah Cox
's "Nobody Supposed to Be Here," Mariah Carey
's "We Belong Together," and Jamie Foxx
's "Blame It
." In the modern R&B/Hip-Hop chart era, Mary J. Blige
's "Be Without You
" holds the longevity record at number one with fifteen consecutive weeks.
Maxwell (musician)
Maxwell , is an American R&B, funk and neo soul musician. He played an important role in the development of the soul sub-genre, neo-soul.-Early life:...
's fourth studio album BLACKsummers'night
BLACKsummers'night
BLACKsummers'night is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Maxwell, released July 7, 2009 on Columbia Records. It is the follow-up to his third album Now...
. It was written and produced by Maxwell and Hod David.
The song won the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes:*In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male...
and was nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards
52nd Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, two days prior to the Grammy telecast. Only ten of the 109 awards were received during the broadcast...
for Song of the Year
Song of the Year
Song of the Year may refer to:* Dove Award for Song of the Year* Grammis Song of the Year* Grammy Award for Song of the Year* Latin Grammy Award for Song of the Year* Singing News Fan Awards for Song of the Year...
and Best R&B Song
Grammy Award for Best R&B Song
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song has been awarded since 1959. From 1969 to 2000 it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song, from 1962 to 1968 it was known as Best Rhythm & Blues Recording, and from 1959-1961 as Best Rhythm & Blues Performance...
.
Background
Maxwell described "Pretty Wings" to MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
as "a bittersweet love song about meeting the right girl at the wrong time". The single is his first in seven years (previous single being the cover of Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
's "This Woman's Work
This Woman's Work (song)
12" and CD single -Chart performance:"This Woman's Work" was released on 20 November 1989 and reached a peak position of #25 in the UK Singles Chart. Fifteen years after its original release, in 2005, the song peaked at #3 in the UK Official Download Chart, due to it being featured in the Tamzin...
" in 2002). On further details of the song, Maxwell also told Billboard Magazine: "I met this girl who I still respect very much, and although it didn't work out, I got lots of inspiration from it. This track speaks of my time with her. The official remix features Brooklyn emcee Israel The ILLa Real."
The lyrics of the song express "pretty wings" as a double entendre
Double entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
; "If I can't have you, let love set you free to fly your pretty wings around."
Music video
The music video was first released on YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
on May 1 via Maxwell's own youtube account and has so far received over 7 million views. The music video takes place in a dim household and some scenes of the video shows three separate women in their beds sleeping. Maxwell served as an Incubus who is in bed with the women in their own scenes. In the final couple minutes of the video the women all levitate above their beds after reaching a state of euphoria by the Incubus. The final shot is Maxwell leaving one of the bedrooms of one of the three women. The music video was also ranked at #9 on BET
Black Entertainment Television
Black Entertainment Television is an American, Viacom-owned cable network based in Washington, D.C.. Currently viewed in more than 90 million homes worldwide, it is the most prominent television network targeting young Black-American audiences. The network was launched on January 25, 1980, by its...
's Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown.
Chart performance
The song ended up becoming a crossover hit in the US. It reached the top forty on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart making it Maxwell's first song in ten years to do so (last song being "FortunateFortunate
"Fortunate" is a neo soul song from the 1999 motion picture Life and was released on the film's soundtrack. The song was composed by R. Kelly and recorded by Maxwell. "Fortunate" was awarded Best R&B Single of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards and Best R&B/Soul Single at Soul Train Awards...
" in 1999). It has been number one for fourteen consecutive weeks tying for second place for the record held by Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox
Deborah Cox is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter and actress. Her 1998 song "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here" held the record for longest-running number one single on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart , a record held for nearly eight years. She has achieved ten number-one hits on...
's "Nobody Supposed to Be Here," Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's "We Belong Together," and Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
's "Blame It
Blame It
"Blame It" is a song by American singer Jamie Foxx, released as the second official single from his third studio album, Intuition. It features singer T-Pain and was written by Christopher "Deep" Henderson, Nate Walker, James T. Brown, John Conte Jr., and Brandon Melanchon and produced by...
." In the modern R&B/Hip-Hop chart era, Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
's "Be Without You
Be Without You
"Be Without You" is an R&B song written by American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Blige's seventh studio album The Breakthrough. It was released as the album's lead single in late 2005. It was produced by Cox and released as the album's first...
" holds the longevity record at number one with fifteen consecutive weeks.
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
33 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
1 |
End of year charts
| Charts (2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
99 |
External links
- "Pretty Wings" at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...