Songoftheday 4/11/22 - Every time I see you I get a bad vibe, just thinkin' of someone else in between your thighs...

 

 

"Separated" - Avant

from the album My Thoughts (2000)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #23 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 18

 

Today's song comes from R&B singer Avant, who grew up Myron Avant in Cleveland, Ohio, who graduated from that city's School for the Arts before blue-collar work. Avant was signed by basketball great Magic Johnson on his fledgling imprint for MCA Records after his song "Separated", which Avant originally released on his own, got Johnson's attention. Written by Avant with producer Steve Huff, the track has him addressing the woman he broke up with, who apparently cheated and left him. He's wallowing in the fact that they were so bonded before and now the titular "separated". It's basic, but it got the job done, and the R. Kelly-esque vibe clicked with the public...

 

 "Separated" became Avant's first crossover top-40 pop hit in May of 2000. The song was a big urban radio success, spending a week at #1 on Billboard magazine's R&B Singles chart (his first and only #1 there), and #6 on their older-skewing Adult R&B radio format list. Avant's debut album, My Thoughts, which came out in May as the single was peaking, stopped close to the Top-40 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and got to #6 on the R&B Albums list, almost spending a year on the chart and selling over a million copies. Both Avant and the album will return to the series.

(5/10)

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A remix of the track was done by R. Kelly protege Sparkle on the CD single that featured Kelly Rowland of Destiny's Child. It kind of adds a female voice to the story, but the story is different from the original song, with both of them angrily blaming the other of infidelity...

Next up is Avant performing "Separated" at Live At The Apollo in 2000...

and lastly, a more recent gig at Capitol Records...

Up tomorrow: These rockers are not upright.