So Gone
Encyclopedia
"So Gone" is a song by American
R&B singer Monica
. It was written by rapper-producer Missy Elliott
, Kenneth Cunningham, and Jamahl Rye and co-produced by Elliott and duo Spike & Jamahl for Monica's fourth studio album After the Storm
(2003), incorporating a sample of the 1976 recording "You Are Number One," penned by Zyah Ahmonuel and performed by The Whispers
.
Following the less successful chart performances of previous singles "All Eyez on Me
" and "Too Hood
," the song was released on April 8, 2003 in the United States
as the album's leading single
. "So Gone" became Monica's biggest commercial success in years, reaching number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Dance Club Play
charts, becoming Monica's first chart topper since 1998's "The First Night
."
, commissioned by J Records
head and executive producer Clive Davis
after Missy Elliott's 2002 success with her own studio album Under Construction
and the delay of Monica's original third studio album All Eyez On Me
the year before. It was conceived during a studio session week in the Goldmind
recordings studios in Miami, Florida
in early 2003, with most of it being "done in probably three or four" hours. "'So Gone' takes you back to when people first heard me," Monica said in an interview with MTV News
. "It's got that feeling like no holds barred, not trying to cater to any one audience." Although So Gone was recorded for the U.S. re-release of "All Eyez on Me" in March 2003, It was later featured on the re-tooled "After the Storm" .
Lyrically, the "So Gone" protagonist sings about almost losing her mind over an unfaithful man. "The song is saying that I'm so gone that I'm not thinking straight," the singer told Jet Magazine. "I do that sometimes because I'm pretty hard. She [Missy Elliott] may have taken some of the real life from me and put it into song." The track features additional production by duo Spike & Jamahl, and while singer Tweet
and rapper Busta Rhymes
joined the recording sessions to provide vocals for a remix
version of the song, Elliott also proposed Monica to start rapping over the record - a venture, that would become "second nature" to her: "Missy kept telling me that I act like a rapper so she encouraged me to rap on "So Gone" and "Knock Knock
." She would put together rhythms."
for "So Gone" was shot by director Chris Robinson
, and produced by Dawn Rose for Partizan Entertainment. It was filmed in various locations throughout Miami, Florida
on April 1 and 2 2003. and features actor Derek Luke
(Antwone Fisher
) and producer Missy Elliott
, who makes a cameo appearance
in a handful of scenes.
The plot of the video follows the single's topic of alleged infidelity, showing Monica as wounded girlfriend, who believes having discovered her man's hidden secret. "The video is like [Luke] and I are in a relationship," Monica told in an interview with MTV News
. "In my mind I think he's cheating. As you see in the video, my mind's playing tricks on me. I've destroyed his home and all this stuff for no reason. I get arrested as you would in real life." The video ends with Monica being taken away in a police cruiser, introducing a cliffhanger, which leads to the video for the album's second single, "Knock Knock
."
The "So Gone" video premiered worldwide on April 23, 2003 at the end on BET
's Access Granted
. It charted well on several video-chart countdowns, including peak positions of number 2 on BET
's 106 & Park
, and of number 6 on MTV
's TRL
.
" chart. It, however, became Monica's tenth domestical top 10 hit of her career and her first top 10 single since "Angel of Mine
" in early 1999. "So Gone" stayed in the top forty for twenty weeks and was ranked thirty-ninth on the Hot 100 2003 year-end charts.
The song also spent five consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, becoming Monica's first chart topper since 1998's "The First Night
" and sixth number-one hit in total. It was ranked fourth on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 2003 year-end charts with spenting six weeks at number-one on the chart. The "Scum frog Club Mix" of the song also spend one week on top of the Hot Dance Club Play
chart. Outside North America
, "So Gone" received a limited vinyl
(12") release only, and as a result achieved minor success in non-U.S. markets. While it still reached moderately successful number 17 on the Canadian chart, it peaked at number 77 on the UK singles chart
only.
US CD single I
US CD single II
Official remixes/versions
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&B singer Monica
Monica (singer)
Monica Denise Brown , and professionally known as Monica, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in College Park, Georgia, Monica began performing as a child and became part of a traveling gospel choir, by the time she was ten...
. It was written by rapper-producer Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
, Kenneth Cunningham, and Jamahl Rye and co-produced by Elliott and duo Spike & Jamahl for Monica's fourth studio album After the Storm
After the Storm
After the Storm is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Monica, released June 17, 2003, on J Records. Conceived from her abandoned project All Eyez on Me , it was recorded during 2001 to 2003 at Doppler Studios, Patchwerk Studios, and SouthSide Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, Soulpower...
(2003), incorporating a sample of the 1976 recording "You Are Number One," penned by Zyah Ahmonuel and performed by The Whispers
The Whispers
The Whispers are a long-established R&B-dance vocal group from Los Angeles, California, with a consistent track record of hit records dating back to the late 1960s.-Career:...
.
Following the less successful chart performances of previous singles "All Eyez on Me
All Eyez on Me (song)
"All Eyez on Me" is a dance-pop song written by American R&B singer Monica, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels for her original third studio album, All Eyez on Me . It was produced by Jerkins, incorporating excerpts of Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "P.Y.T...
" and "Too Hood
Too Hood
"Too Hood" is a song by American singer Monica. It was written by Bryan Michael Cox, Harold Lilly, Jermaine Dupri and Monica, and was produced by guest rapper Dupri, featuring additional production by Cox for the singer for her original third studio album All Eyez on Me...
," the song was released on April 8, 2003 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as the album's leading single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
. "So Gone" became Monica's biggest commercial success in years, reaching number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
charts, becoming Monica's first chart topper since 1998's "The First Night
The First Night
"The First Night" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written by Jermaine Dupri, Tamara Savage, Marilyn McLeod, Pam Sawyer and produced by rapper-producer Jermaine Dupri, incorporating a sample of Diana Ross's 1976 recording "Love Hangover," penned by Marilyn McLeod and Pam...
."
Writing and recording
"So Gone" was one out of three new Elliott-produced additions to partially re-worked After the StormAfter the Storm
After the Storm is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Monica, released June 17, 2003, on J Records. Conceived from her abandoned project All Eyez on Me , it was recorded during 2001 to 2003 at Doppler Studios, Patchwerk Studios, and SouthSide Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, Soulpower...
, commissioned by J Records
J Records
J Records was an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment, and was distributed through the RCA Music Group.-Company history:...
head and executive producer Clive Davis
Clive Davis
Clive Davis is an American record producer and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975...
after Missy Elliott's 2002 success with her own studio album Under Construction
Under Construction
Under Construction is the fourth studio album by American rapper Missy Elliott, released by The Goldmind Inc. and Elektra Records on November 12, 2002 in the United States...
and the delay of Monica's original third studio album All Eyez On Me
All Eyez on Me (Monica album)
All Eyez on Me is the third studio album by American singer Monica. Named after its leading single, the album was released by J Records on October 21, 2002 in Japan only, featuring production by Dallas Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins, and Soulshock & Karlin among...
the year before. It was conceived during a studio session week in the Goldmind
GoldMind
GoldMind is a half-hour television series starring mentalist Haim Goldenberg. Is it produced in Toronto, Canada by WestWind Pictures for CanWest.GoldMind premiered on TVtropolis in March 2009....
recordings studios in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
in early 2003, with most of it being "done in probably three or four" hours. "'So Gone' takes you back to when people first heard me," Monica said in an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
. "It's got that feeling like no holds barred, not trying to cater to any one audience." Although So Gone was recorded for the U.S. re-release of "All Eyez on Me" in March 2003, It was later featured on the re-tooled "After the Storm" .
Lyrically, the "So Gone" protagonist sings about almost losing her mind over an unfaithful man. "The song is saying that I'm so gone that I'm not thinking straight," the singer told Jet Magazine. "I do that sometimes because I'm pretty hard. She [Missy Elliott] may have taken some of the real life from me and put it into song." The track features additional production by duo Spike & Jamahl, and while singer Tweet
Tweet (singer)
Tweet is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter.-Early years:The youngest child of Tom and Shirley Keys, Tweet was born in Rochester, New York on January 21, 1972, and grew up singing in the church along with her parents and her four older siblings...
and rapper Busta Rhymes
Busta Rhymes
Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
joined the recording sessions to provide vocals for a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
version of the song, Elliott also proposed Monica to start rapping over the record - a venture, that would become "second nature" to her: "Missy kept telling me that I act like a rapper so she encouraged me to rap on "So Gone" and "Knock Knock
Knock Knock (song)
"Knock Knock" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written and produced by Missy Elliott for Monica's fourth studio album After the Storm and contains excerpts from 1976's "It's a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love" as written by Lee Hatim and performed by The Masqueraders...
." She would put together rhythms."
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "So Gone" was shot by director Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson (director)
Chris Robinson is an American film director working mostly with music videos and commercials. He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the grammy nominated...
, and produced by Dawn Rose for Partizan Entertainment. It was filmed in various locations throughout Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
on April 1 and 2 2003. and features actor Derek Luke
Derek Luke
Derek Luke is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher, directed and produced by Denzel Washington.-Early life:...
(Antwone Fisher
Antwone Fisher
Antwone Quenton Fisher is an American director, screenwriter, author and film producer. His 2001 autobiographical book Finding Fish is a New York Times Best Seller...
) and producer Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
, who makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in a handful of scenes.
The plot of the video follows the single's topic of alleged infidelity, showing Monica as wounded girlfriend, who believes having discovered her man's hidden secret. "The video is like [Luke] and I are in a relationship," Monica told in an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
. "In my mind I think he's cheating. As you see in the video, my mind's playing tricks on me. I've destroyed his home and all this stuff for no reason. I get arrested as you would in real life." The video ends with Monica being taken away in a police cruiser, introducing a cliffhanger, which leads to the video for the album's second single, "Knock Knock
Knock Knock (song)
"Knock Knock" is a song by American recording artist Monica. It was written and produced by Missy Elliott for Monica's fourth studio album After the Storm and contains excerpts from 1976's "It's a Terrible Thing to Waste Your Love" as written by Lee Hatim and performed by The Masqueraders...
."
The "So Gone" video premiered worldwide on April 23, 2003 at the end on BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's Access Granted
Access Granted
Access Granted is an American television series that features an in depth look at the planning and production of R&B and hip hop music videos. Each week, a different artist and their new music video are featured, with the video premiering at the end of the episode. The series began airing in 2001...
. It charted well on several video-chart countdowns, including peak positions of number 2 on BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's 106 & Park
106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
, and of number 6 on MTV
MTV
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....
's TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
.
Chart performance
"So Gone" was one of Monica's biggest commercial successes in years, debuting at number 66 and reaching number 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The song's relatively high peak position on the Hot 100 contrasted with the chart performance of most of the singer's previous singles released between 1999 and 2003, some of which had failed to chart on the Hot 100 or even its "bubbling underBubbling Under Hot 100 Singles
The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
" chart. It, however, became Monica's tenth domestical top 10 hit of her career and her first top 10 single since "Angel of Mine
Angel of Mine
"Angel of Mine" is an R&B ballad written by Rhett Lawrence and Travon Potts, produced by Rhett Lawrence for British R&B girl group Eternal's Greatest Hits album in 1997. The song became the group's fourteenth top ten hit on the UK singles chart peaking at #4 and spent a total of 13 weeks in the...
" in early 1999. "So Gone" stayed in the top forty for twenty weeks and was ranked thirty-ninth on the Hot 100 2003 year-end charts.
The song also spent five consecutive weeks at number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, becoming Monica's first chart topper since 1998's "The First Night
The First Night
"The First Night" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written by Jermaine Dupri, Tamara Savage, Marilyn McLeod, Pam Sawyer and produced by rapper-producer Jermaine Dupri, incorporating a sample of Diana Ross's 1976 recording "Love Hangover," penned by Marilyn McLeod and Pam...
" and sixth number-one hit in total. It was ranked fourth on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles 2003 year-end charts with spenting six weeks at number-one on the chart. The "Scum frog Club Mix" of the song also spend one week on top of the Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
chart. Outside North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, "So Gone" received a limited vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
(12") release only, and as a result achieved minor success in non-U.S. markets. While it still reached moderately successful number 17 on the Canadian chart, it peaked at number 77 on the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
only.
Formats and tracklistings
These are the formats and track listings of major single-releases of "So Gone".US CD single I
- "So Gone" (radio edit)
- "So Gone" (album version)
- "So Gone" (remix; featuring Busta RhymesBusta RhymesTrevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
) - "So Gone" (Part II)
- "U Should've Known BetterU Should've Known Better"U Should've Known Better" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written by Monica, Jermaine Dupri and Harold Lilly and produced by Dupri for her original third studio album, All Eyez on Me , featuring additional production by Bryan Michael Cox...
"
US CD single II
- "So Gone" (album version)
- "All Eyez on MeAll Eyez on Me (song)"All Eyez on Me" is a dance-pop song written by American R&B singer Monica, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels for her original third studio album, All Eyez on Me . It was produced by Jerkins, incorporating excerpts of Michael Jackson's 1983 hit "P.Y.T...
" (urban radio edit)
Official remixes/versions
- "So Gone" (remix; featuring Busta RhymesBusta RhymesTrevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...
& Tweet) - "So Gone" (Remix; featuring Missy ElliottMissy ElliottMelissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
) - "So Gone" (Smach Your Dub mix)
- "So Gone" (full vocal edit mix)
- "So Gone" (Scum frog club mix)
Credits and personnel
- Lead vocals: Monica Arnold
- Background vocals: Monica Arnold
- Additional vocals: TweetTweet (singer)Tweet is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter.-Early years:The youngest child of Tom and Shirley Keys, Tweet was born in Rochester, New York on January 21, 1972, and grew up singing in the church along with her parents and her four older siblings...
- Vocal production - Monica Arnold, Missy ElliottMissy ElliottMelissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
- Assisted by Marcella Araica, and Javier Valeverde
- MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Scott Kieklak - MasteredMaster recordingA multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
by Tom Coyne - Recorded by Demacio Castellon at Hit Factory Criteria, Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
Weekly charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|
End of year charts
| Chart (2003) | 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... |
39 |
| US 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,... (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... ) |
4 |
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
April 8, 2003 |
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
September 2, 2003 |
| Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
October 21, 2003 |