Teenage Love Affair
Encyclopedia
"Teenage Love Affair" is a song by American R&B
and soul
singer–songwriter Alicia Keys
from her third studio album, As I Am
(2007). Written by Keys, Jack Splash, Matthew Kahane, and Harold Lilly, it was released as the album's third single
in March 2008.
The song is listed number twenty three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007 published by Rolling Stone
magazine.
from The Temprees
' 1972 song "(Girl) I Love You", written by Josephine Bridges, Carl Hampton, and Tom Nixon. The song ranked at number twenty-three on Rolling Stone
s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007, and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2008 BET J Virtual Awards. It impacted mainstream urban
radio on April 21, 2008. Keys performed the song on Late Show with David Letterman
on April 29, 2008.
Swizz Beatz
produced a remix
of "Teenage Love Affair" featuring LL Cool J
, using a sample from Slick Rick
's 1988 song "Teenage Love".
After failing to pick up sufficient airplay
in the UK, the physical single was canceled there and the song charted at number one hundred and ninety-nine.
for "Teenage Love Affair", directed by Chris Robinson
(with whom she had previously worked with on 2001's "Fallin'
" and 2003's "You Don't Know My Name
", among others), was filmed at Drew University
in Madison
, New Jersey
. Derek Luke
plays Keys' love interest, and Anthony Hamilton
, Jackie Long, Albert Daniels
, Tristan Wilds
, and Tanisha Scott make cameo appearances in the video as well. The video is based on Spike Lee
's 1988 film School Daze
, starring Laurence Fishburne
, Tisha Campbell-Martin
, and Kyme, among others. The video premiered across the U.S. on April 23, 2008 on MTV
's TRL
. That same day, Keys also appeared on BET
's 106 & Park
to premiere the video. BET placed the video at number forty on Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2008 while BET J placed it at number fourteen on the Soul Sessions Top 50 of 2008. Giancarlo Esposito
, the actor who portrayed Dean Big Brother Almighty in School Daze, makes a cameo appearance in the beginning of the video.
, a male college student at Britton College is giving a speech about an epidemic in Africa. Then Keys, a female college student, joins the audience. Luke turns and stares at Keys, but doesn't finish his speech. Then everyone turns to Keys, realizing that she was Luke's distraction, and Luke finishes his speech. Then Keys and her friends are walking and dancing down a sidewalk on the college campus. The next part of the video shows Keys and Luke having a secret meeting on a staircase. Keys gives him a note, which is an invitation to the Britton College Talent Show later the same day. After that, Luke and his friends are playing cards. One of his friends reminds him about the talent show and Luke tells his friends that he has better things to do. Later that evenving, Keys, in the talent show, is singing to the song with three back-up singers. Later that night, there is a pajama party at the college lounge. Luke who is at the party with his friends, is watching a female college student dance. Then Keys and two of her friends walk in with large overcoats. Luke notices Keys before she notices him. Once she has spot Luke, she notices that he is looking at the dancing girl. They both give each other "dirty" looks while Luke is feeling ashamed. Then Keys opens her coat, revealing her pajama party outfit (a golden silk nightgown
), and followed by her friends, they start to dance, while Keys starts dancing next to a male college student (Wilds
) who laughs at Luke. Later that night, Luke is headed to his room when he runs into Keys. And they begin a to start going out with each other. The end of the video takes us back to the beginning, where Keys and Luke
are having their phone conversation, which is shortened.
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer–songwriter Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
from her third studio album, As I Am
As I Am
As I Am is the third studio album by American recording artist Alicia Keys. It was released in the United States on November 13, 2007 by J Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at various recording studios during 2005 to 2007...
(2007). Written by Keys, Jack Splash, Matthew Kahane, and Harold Lilly, it was released as the album's third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in March 2008.
The song is listed number twenty three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007 published by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine.
Background and production
The track was produced by Keys and Splash and is based around a sampleSampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
from The Temprees
The Temprees
The Temprees were an American soul vocal trio from Memphis, Tennessee, most popular during the 1970s. The band released several albums under We Produce records, an offshoot of Stax Records...
' 1972 song "(Girl) I Love You", written by Josephine Bridges, Carl Hampton, and Tom Nixon. The song ranked at number twenty-three on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007, and was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2008 BET J Virtual Awards. It impacted mainstream urban
Mainstream Urban
Mainstream Urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an Urban Contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic...
radio on April 21, 2008. Keys performed the song on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
on April 29, 2008.
Swizz Beatz
Swizz Beatz
Kasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
produced 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 ....
of "Teenage Love Affair" featuring LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
, using a sample from Slick Rick
Slick Rick
Richard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...
's 1988 song "Teenage Love".
After failing to pick up sufficient airplay
Airplay
* Airplay is the amount of time a song is played on the radio.It may also refer to:* AirPlay, an audio & video streaming technology from Apple Inc.* Airplay , Foster & Graydon music project from 1980* Citroën C1, Citroën C1 Airplay...
in the UK, the physical single was canceled there and the song charted at number one hundred and ninety-nine.
Music video
According to Keys' official website and official fan club, 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 "Teenage Love Affair", directed by 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...
(with whom she had previously worked with on 2001's "Fallin'
Fallin'
"Fallin" is a song recorded, written, and produced by American recording artist Alicia Keys for her debut album, Songs in A Minor. Released to radio and music video outlets in 2001, it is generally considered her signature song. "Fallin'" became Keys' first number-one single in the United States...
" and 2003's "You Don't Know My Name
You Don't Know My Name
"You Don't Know My Name" is a song by American recording artist Alicia Keys from her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. Written by Keys, Kanye West, and Harold Lilly and produced by Keys and West, the track was released as the album's lead single in November 2003, and contains a sample...
", among others), was filmed at Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
in Madison
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
, 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...
. 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:...
plays Keys' love interest, and Anthony Hamilton
Anthony Hamilton (musician)
Anthony Hamilton is an American R&B, and soul singer-songwriter, and record producer who rose to fame with his platinum-selling second studio album Comin' from Where I'm From , which featured the singles "Comin' from Where I'm From" and "Charlene."-Life and career:Hamilton was born in Charlotte,...
, Jackie Long, Albert Daniels
Albert Daniels
Albert Daniels , also known as Albe Back, often stylized ALBe. Back, is an actor, artist, producer, poet, and rapper.- Early life :...
, Tristan Wilds
Tristan Wilds
Tristan Paul Mack Wilds is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Michael Lee on the HBO original drama series The Wire and as Dixon Wilson on the CW drama series 90210.-Life and career:...
, and Tanisha Scott make cameo appearances in the video as well. The video is based on Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's 1988 film School Daze
School Daze
School Daze is a 1988 American musical-drama film, written and directed by Spike Lee, and starring Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, and Tisha Campbell-Martin...
, starring Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
, Tisha Campbell-Martin
Tisha Campbell-Martin
Tisha Michelle Campbell-Martin is an American actress and singer, known for her starring roles in television series Martin and My Wife and Kids and now is starring in the new television series The Protector...
, and Kyme, among others. The video premiered across the U.S. on April 23, 2008 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...
. That same day, Keys also appeared 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 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...
to premiere the video. BET placed the video at number forty on Notarized: Top 100 Videos of 2008 while BET J placed it at number fourteen on the Soul Sessions Top 50 of 2008. Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-born American film and television actor and director.-Early life:Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. His mother was an opera and nightclub singer from Alabama, who once appeared on the same...
, the actor who portrayed Dean Big Brother Almighty in School Daze, makes a cameo appearance in the beginning of the video.
Synopsis
The music video starts off with Keys and Luke having a phone conversation. Then the video takes us back two weeks ago to when they first met. Two weeks prior, LukeDerek 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:...
, a male college student at Britton College is giving a speech about an epidemic in Africa. Then Keys, a female college student, joins the audience. Luke turns and stares at Keys, but doesn't finish his speech. Then everyone turns to Keys, realizing that she was Luke's distraction, and Luke finishes his speech. Then Keys and her friends are walking and dancing down a sidewalk on the college campus. The next part of the video shows Keys and Luke having a secret meeting on a staircase. Keys gives him a note, which is an invitation to the Britton College Talent Show later the same day. After that, Luke and his friends are playing cards. One of his friends reminds him about the talent show and Luke tells his friends that he has better things to do. Later that evenving, Keys, in the talent show, is singing to the song with three back-up singers. Later that night, there is a pajama party at the college lounge. Luke who is at the party with his friends, is watching a female college student dance. Then Keys and two of her friends walk in with large overcoats. Luke notices Keys before she notices him. Once she has spot Luke, she notices that he is looking at the dancing girl. They both give each other "dirty" looks while Luke is feeling ashamed. Then Keys opens her coat, revealing her pajama party outfit (a golden silk nightgown
Nightgown
A nightgown is a loosely hanging item of nightwear. Nowadays the term is almost exclusively applied to women's nightwear. A nightgown is typically made from cotton, silk, satin, or nylon...
), and followed by her friends, they start to dance, while Keys starts dancing next to a male college student (Wilds
Tristan Wilds
Tristan Paul Mack Wilds is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Michael Lee on the HBO original drama series The Wire and as Dixon Wilson on the CW drama series 90210.-Life and career:...
) who laughs at Luke. Later that night, Luke is headed to his room when he runs into Keys. And they begin a to start going out with each other. The end of the video takes us back to the beginning, where Keys and 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:...
are having their phone conversation, which is shortened.
Track listing
-
- U.S. promo CD single
- "Teenage Love Affair" (Album Version)
- "Teenage Love Affair" (Instrumental)
- "Teenage Love Affair" (Call Out Hook)
Chart positions
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
20 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
21 |
| Slovak Airplay Chart Rádio Top 100 Oficiálna Rádio Top 100 Oficiálna is the name of the Slovakian national airplay chart published by the IFPI Czech Republic on a weekly basis since the cancellation of the Slovakian national section on December 31, 2009.... |
95 |
| 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 ... |
199 |
| U.S. 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... |
54 |
| U.S. 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,... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
99 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. 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,... |
20 |
Production
- Alicia Keys – producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, vocal producer, vocal arrangement - Jack Splash – producer, arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - Ann Mincieli – engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Glenn Pittmann – assistant engineer
- Manny MarroquinManny MarroquinManny Marroquin, born 21 September 1971 in Guatemala, is a Grammy winning mixing engineer. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War....
– 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... - Jared Robbins – mix assistant