Sweetest Sin
Encyclopedia
"Sweetest Sin" is a song by American recording artist Jessica Simpson
. It was written by Dianne Warren
and produced by Ric Wake
for Simpson's third studio album
, In This Skin
(2003). It was released as the album's first single on June 22, 2003 through Columbia Records
. The R&B song, speaks about what would be the sweetest sin between a couple. "Sweetest Sin" received positive reviews from critics, with some calling it a catchy-tune and the ode to booty knocking. The song failed to chart into the United States' Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-four on Billboard
Bubbling Under Hot 100. Simpson performed the song on her Reality Tour Live
(2003). An accompanying music video, directed by Dean Paraskavopoulos, showed Simpson swaying on a beach and flirting with singer Nick Lachey
during the whole video.
and produced by Ric Wake
. According to the sheetmusic published at Music Notes by Real Songs (ASCAP), the R&B song is composed in the key of D major
and is set in time signature
of common time with a tempo
of 96 beats per minute. It has the sequence of C–D–B as its chord progression
. Simpson's vocals in the song span from the note of D4 to the high note of F5.
The recording process of "Sweetest Sin" was documented in an episode of Simpson's reality series, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Simpson originally recorded "Sweetest Sin" confidentially in a slightly remixed form and announced she was pleased with its progress. However, her superiors at Columbia Records
told her that she had made the song too "challenging"; in essence, they felt that potential listeners of the song would be alienated by singing they would not be able to duplicate. Simpson was filmed breaking into tears when she received the news. Later, she re-recorded her vocals with the assistance of her then-husband, Nick Lachey
, whom she brought along because she felt he was a good vocal producer.
said, "[Sweetest Sin], the catchy tune, penned by Diane Warren, is a glossy, ever-so-slightly over-produced affair." Clem Bastow of Stylus Magazine
noticed the song "is concerned with 'a picture of perfection... your skin upon my skin'." Abbey Goodman of MTV
said Simpson "maintains the good-girl image that made her popular" with the song, while Joe D'Angelo, also of MTV, called it "the ode to booty knocking." The song was also a Track Pick from the Allmusic review of In This Skin
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
, along with "Be", "I Had To Love You" and "With You
". On August 9, 2003, the song debuted at number forty on Billboard
Pop Songs, reaching number thirty-seven two weeks later. "Sweetest Sin" failed to make into the Hot 100 chart, peaking at number twenty-four on Bubbling Under Hot 100.
shots of Simpson dancing and looking at viewers. It cuts to Simpson swaying on a beach, and embracing Nick Lachey underneath a waterfall on the beach. Further scenes are presented, such as one in which Simpson lies on a bed by herself. The video continues with intercut footage of the previous scenes, until the final seconds of the song, when Simpson is joined by her husband, in which they move on their bed on the beach. The video ends when Lachey disappears, leaving the singer alone.
Simpson performed "Sweetest Sin" live at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey
. The performance, dedicated to Lachey, was recorded and later broadcasted on the second season of Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The song was also performed on 2003's Reality Tour Live
.
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
. It was written by Dianne Warren
Dianne Warren
Dianne Warren is a Canadian novelist, dramatist and short story writer, who lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.-Background:...
and produced by Ric Wake
Ric Wake
Ric Wake is a record producer who has won an Academy Award and two Grammy Awards. During his tenure as staff producer with Sony Music Entertainment he has worked with vocalists such as Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Barry Manilow, and Marc Anthony...
for Simpson's third studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, In This Skin
In This Skin
In This Skin is the third studio album by American pop singer Jessica Simpson. The album was released on August 19, 2003 in the United States by Columbia Records...
(2003). It was released as the album's first single on June 22, 2003 through Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. The R&B song, speaks about what would be the sweetest sin between a couple. "Sweetest Sin" received positive reviews from critics, with some calling it a catchy-tune and the ode to booty knocking. The song failed to chart into the United States' Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-four on 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...
Bubbling Under Hot 100. Simpson performed the song on her Reality Tour Live
Reality Tour (Jessica Simpson tour)
The Reality Tour is the second concert tour by American recording artist, Jessica Simpson. Predominately visiting the United States, the tour supported Simpson's third studio album, In This Skin. According to the singer, the title derives from her recent success on the reality TV series,...
(2003). An accompanying music video, directed by Dean Paraskavopoulos, showed Simpson swaying on a beach and flirting with singer Nick Lachey
Nick Lachey
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Lachey is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and television personality. Lachey rose to fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. He later starred in the reality television series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released...
during the whole video.
Background and composition
"Sweetest Sin" was written by Diane WarrenDiane Warren
Diane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
and produced by Ric Wake
Ric Wake
Ric Wake is a record producer who has won an Academy Award and two Grammy Awards. During his tenure as staff producer with Sony Music Entertainment he has worked with vocalists such as Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson, Barry Manilow, and Marc Anthony...
. According to the sheetmusic published at Music Notes by Real Songs (ASCAP), the R&B song is composed in the key of D major
D major
D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....
and is set in time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
of common time with a tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 96 beats per minute. It has the sequence of C–D–B as its chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. Simpson's vocals in the song span from the note of D4 to the high note of F5.
The recording process of "Sweetest Sin" was documented in an episode of Simpson's reality series, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Simpson originally recorded "Sweetest Sin" confidentially in a slightly remixed form and announced she was pleased with its progress. However, her superiors at Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
told her that she had made the song too "challenging"; in essence, they felt that potential listeners of the song would be alienated by singing they would not be able to duplicate. Simpson was filmed breaking into tears when she received the news. Later, she re-recorded her vocals with the assistance of her then-husband, Nick Lachey
Nick Lachey
Nicholas Scott "Nick" Lachey is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and television personality. Lachey rose to fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. He later starred in the reality television series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released...
, whom she brought along because she felt he was a good vocal producer.
Reception
Sal Cinquemani of Slant MagazineSlant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
said, "[Sweetest Sin], the catchy tune, penned by Diane Warren, is a glossy, ever-so-slightly over-produced affair." Clem Bastow of Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
noticed the song "is concerned with 'a picture of perfection... your skin upon my skin'." Abbey Goodman of 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....
said Simpson "maintains the good-girl image that made her popular" with the song, while Joe D'Angelo, also of MTV, called it "the ode to booty knocking." The song was also a Track Pick from the Allmusic review of In This Skin
In This Skin
In This Skin is the third studio album by American pop singer Jessica Simpson. The album was released on August 19, 2003 in the United States by Columbia Records...
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
, along with "Be", "I Had To Love You" and "With You
With You (Jessica Simpson song)
"With You" is a song by American recording artist Jessica Simpson released as the second single from her third studio album In This Skin. Released in 2003, through Columbia Records. Billy Mann and Andy Marvel produced the song and co-wrote it with Simpson....
". On August 9, 2003, the song debuted at number forty on 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...
Pop Songs, reaching number thirty-seven two weeks later. "Sweetest Sin" failed to make into the Hot 100 chart, peaking at number twenty-four on Bubbling Under Hot 100.
Music video and live performances
The music video, directed by Dean Paraskavopoulos, starts with black-and-whiteBlack-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
shots of Simpson dancing and looking at viewers. It cuts to Simpson swaying on a beach, and embracing Nick Lachey underneath a waterfall on the beach. Further scenes are presented, such as one in which Simpson lies on a bed by herself. The video continues with intercut footage of the previous scenes, until the final seconds of the song, when Simpson is joined by her husband, in which they move on their bed on the beach. The video ends when Lachey disappears, leaving the singer alone.
Simpson performed "Sweetest Sin" live at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The performance, dedicated to Lachey, was recorded and later broadcasted on the second season of Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The song was also performed on 2003's Reality Tour Live
Reality Tour (Jessica Simpson tour)
The Reality Tour is the second concert tour by American recording artist, Jessica Simpson. Predominately visiting the United States, the tour supported Simpson's third studio album, In This Skin. According to the singer, the title derives from her recent success on the reality TV series,...
.
Track listings
- CD single
- "Sweetest Sin" (Single Version) - 3:04
- "In This Skin" - 4:19
- DVD single
- "With You" (Music Video) - 3:12
- "Sweetest Sin" (Music Video) - 3:02
- Junior Vasquez Remixes
- "Sweetest Sin" (Junior's Original Sin) - 9:39
- "Sweetest Sin" (Junior's Tribapella) - 8:56
- "Sweetest Sin" (Junior's World Mixshow Version) - 6:33
Charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 (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... ) |
24 |
| US Pop Songs (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... ) |
37 |