charts discussion Bigger R&B Classic: Don’t Let Go vs Ex-Factor vs Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here

[GoodGuyGoneGhetto]

Which of these smash-hit R&B anthems from 1997-1998 is the bigger classic?

 

  

 

Spoiler

@Armani? @Planet Mars @Devin @Thinking Of You @naval23 @Not Like The Movies @Karla Cabello @Katamari  @dabunique @yamiyuuuu @slw84 @Ger-55 

 

[Katamari]

in terms of boppage i have to give it deborah 

 

but ex-factor is more impactful 

 

i dont listen to too much en vogue tbh  

[Armani?]

Ex Factor wins

 

My person fave from these - Nobody's Supposed To Be Here

[bidet]

Ex-factor is the best one out of the three (Lauryn's best song as well) but I feel like Don't let go is more memorable 

[Devin]

Don’t Let Go is the most memorable here. 
 

But Deborah Cox whew HOW DID YOU GET HERE 

[Karla Cabello]

ex factor is bigger ww 

[Mariya Takeuchi]

NSTBH > DLG > EF

[Thinking Of You]

Nobody Is Supposed To Be Here, clearly. Other than it being stuck at #2 on the Hot 100 for months, it was #1 on black radio for four months straight  It held that record for 10+ years O think. It’s clearly still the biggest classic in the community today too. 

[Thinking Of You]

Oh and fun fact, Montell wrote the song and gave it Patti first and she hated it. Deborah took it, it became a big hit, and Patti was so upset   With Ron Isley, Aretha, and all of the old heads making a successful comeback in the late-90s, it probably would’ve been a Top 5 hit for Patti too. 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Thinking Of You

[yamiyuuuu]

Ugh, I love Nobody's Supposed To Be Here 

I think En Vogue wins this one though

[Blue Skies]

14 minutes ago, Mariya Takeuchi said:

NSTBH > DLG > EF

[EarStyle]

Deborah Cox prob had the most lasting power and young kids can prob sing the song word for word with TikTok challenges and stuff being popular over the years, but personally Ex Factor > 

[dabunique]

I’m sorry but I love all these ladies but I will go with my heart and da one I stan hardcore 

 

da number one R&B song of da 90’s

 

with a killer dance remix

 

Nobody Supposed To Be Here by Canadian legend - Deborah Cox 

[naval23]

Nobody's Suppsoed to Be Here is a Canadian classic 

 

The fact that it was blocked for WEEKS 

 

I love this Canadian classic by her too

 

 

[dabunique]

X Factor is a classic

 

funny no one would accuse this legend of not bein a rapper cuz she sings and sings very very well

 

En Vogue has better songs but ugh how I wanted it to hit number one 

[Ger]

2 hours ago, Katamari said:

i dont listen to too much en vogue tbh  

None does tbh.

[Taste of Honey]

Ex-Factor is the bigger classic.

 

Now with that out of the way, on a song for song basis Nobody Supposed To Be Here any day. Like, who says ballads can’t be fun? Cause I enjoy and get my life every single time.  

Edited April 21, 2022 by Taste of Honey

[GoodGuyGoneGhetto]

2 hours ago, Thinking Of You said:

Oh and fun fact, Montell wrote the song and gave it Patti first and she hated it. Deborah took it, it became a big hit, and Patti was so upset   With Ron Isley, Aretha, and all of the old heads making a successful comeback in the late-90s, it probably would’ve been a Top 5 hit for Patti too. 

• Aretha Franklin had “A Rose Is Still A Rose” in 1998. 

 

• Ron Isley had “Friend Of Mine” in 1998. 

 

• Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan had “Missing You” in 1997.

 

 

I love Ms. Labelle but she was always quite stubborn when being offered songs and turned down several of what became hits for others. She was offered “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” in 1991 for the “Burnin” album but turned it down as she disliked it. Diana Ross took it and it became a global smash.
 

Diana Warren asked her to sing on “Music Of My Heart” with N’Sync but she turned that down also and Gloria Estefan sang it instead. It hit #2 on the Hot 100 hit and was nominated for a GRAMMY and OSCAR.

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by GoodGuyGoneGhetto

[Planet Mars]

21 minutes ago, GoodGuyGoneGhetto said:

• Aretha Franklin had “A Rose Is Still A Rose” in 1998. 

 

• Ron Isley had “Friend Of Mine” in 1998. 

 

• Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan had “Missing You” in 1997.

 

 

I love Ms. Labelle but she was always quite stubborn when being offered songs and turned down several of what became hits for others. She was offered “When You Tell Me That You Love Me” in 1991 for the “Burnin” album but turned it down as she disliked it. Diana Ross took it and it became a global smash.
 

Diana Warren asked her to sing on “Music Of My Heart” with N’Sync but she turned that down also and Gloria Estefan sang it instead. It hit #2 on the Hot 100 hit and was nominated for a GRAMMY and OSCAR.

 

She also passed on I Feel Good All Over which became a Stephanie Mills classic

[Planet Mars]

Don't Let Go Love was the biggest of the 3, it was huge in Europe and Oceania as well. Nobody's Supposed to be Here however is THAT song, an eternal bop

[slw84]

Don't let go was the bigger global hit at that moment

Ex factor was not the biggest hit of Lauryn's era: That thing was BUT Ex factor has more impact than the two songs combined.

Nobody's supposed to be here IS the bigger hit of the three, though.

 

They kind of have a three way tie for different reasons.

 

In the moment, Nobody was bigger in the black community

Globally Don't let go takes it

decades later, Ex factor showed it's influence and impact.

 

Chile, the way it IS TOO easy to find gems in the 90s #FindR&B classicsfromthe2010schallenge

I can think of three that can go up but not much more after that.

[PopMusicJunkie]

“Don’t Let Go (Love)”.

 

All of those songs are classics but this one just hits differently.  

[Soda Pop Queen]

all 3 are classic and significant to the 90s R&B landscape. In regards to what's bigger, commercially:

 

Spotify stats: 

Ex-Factor - 139,080,084 streams

Don't Let Go (Love) - 79,502,555 streams + the Radio Edit - 8,325,019 streams

Nobody's Supposed To Be Here - 25,050,429 streams + Dance mixes - > 6,000,000 streams 

 

Charts: 

Ex-Factor

US - #27

US R&B - #7 

UK - #4

UK R&B - #1 

 

Don't Let Go (Love)

US - #2 

US R&B - #1

UK - #5

UK R&B - #1

 

Nobody's Supposed To Be Here

US - #2

US R&B - #1

UK - #55

UK R&B - #5

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Soda Pop Queen

[www]

ex factor. followed by dont let go.

[Bey_Rihstan]

The other 2 were bigger, ex factor is the biggest classic tho 

 

it’s still covered and sampled often in modern music