"More Than a Woman" | ||||
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Single by Aaliyah | ||||
from the album Aaliyah | ||||
Released | November 13, 2001 | |||
Format | CD single, 12" | |||
Recorded |
Manhattan Center (New York City, New York) |
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Genre | Pop, electro, hip hop | |||
Length | 3:49 | |||
Label | Blackground, Virgin | |||
Writer(s) | Timbaland, Stephen Garrett | |||
Producer(s) | Timbaland | |||
Aaliyah singles chronology | ||||
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"More Than a Woman" is a song performed by American recording artist Aaliyah. It was written by Static Major and Timbaland, who produced the song for her self-titled 2001 album Aaliyah.
"More Than a Woman" was released as a single in November 2001 in the United States and January 2002 in the United Kingdom. Aaliyah performed the song on Live with Regis & Kelly on July 18, 2001 and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 25, 2001, which was her last performance before her death. "More Than a Woman" was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in the 45th Annual Grammy Awards.
During the recording of the album Static was producing "More Than a Woman" and the following day he had recorded the song's first version, following this Static kept going back and listening to the song saying ‘I can do something bigger and better to it’. The next day Static rewrote the whole song, Aaliyah wasn’t present at the studio at the time when Static did the first version, so she never heard the first version.
Complex journalist Lauren Nostro said "More Than a Woman" mixes "pop, electro, and a mesmerizing mid tempo hip-hop feel, which allowed Aaliyah's delicate vocals to take the spotlight". "i-D Magazine" journalist Emily Manning praised "More Than a Woman" for "its daring blend of pop and electronic influences". According to WhoSampled, it includes an uncredited sample of Mayada El Hennawy's 1993 song "Alouli Ansa".
Having invested in the commercial performance of Aaliyah's self-titled third album, Blackground Records and Virgin Records wanted a single with a high chart placement to help increase the album's sales. Its lead single "We Need a Resolution" had been released on April 13, but underperformed on radio and only reached number fifty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100. In August, Aaliyah shot a music video for "More Than a Woman" in Los Angeles and then travelled to the Bahamas to shoot a video for "Rock the Boat". But after its completion, she and several crew members who were returning to the United States died in a plane crash on August 25. Blackground executives were uncertain when they would release the album's next single and video.