Top 10 Amerie Songs

Photo: Media police, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Before becoming an actress, author, singer, and songwriter, Amerie Nicholson often moved around as a child due to her father’s career in the U.S. military. The move was global, which included residing in her mother’s home nation of Korea, as well as the countries of America and Germany. At one point, Amerie had enrolled in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) in hopes to take advantage of its college program but dropped out not long before embarking on a recording career that would officially start in 2001.

Amerie Discography

So far, Amerie has recorded and released four studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), a pair of compilation albums, and a mixtape. She also has fifteen singles to her credit, where most of them received success, namely on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Top 10 Amerie Songs

#10 – I Just Died

The snap of the fingers, plus the soulful vocals Amerie delivers, ranging from low tone to higher-pitched, is what made the single “I Just Died,” one of those playful little songs that may not have been music chart hit material at the timing of its release, but is still good enough to swing to its fast-paced, yet easy listening beat. The song came from Amerie’s debut album, All I Have, which was released on July 30, 2002.

#9 – All I Have

The title track from Amerie’s 2002 debut album, All I Have, is a soft, romantic performance by Amerie and her beautiful range of melodic vocals. The soulful delivery, from start to finish, featured Amerie’s voice at its R&B best. All I Have, as a single, serves as a bit of a throwback song that could just as easily be part of the Motown scene when it was at its peak.

#8 – Touch

“Touch” is the leading track from the album with the same name, which was released as Amerie’s second studio album on April 26, 2005. On the European Hot 100 Singles Chart, Touch peaked at number sixty-six while on the US Billboard Hot 100, it appeared at number ninety-five. On the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart, it peaked at number three, and on the UK Singles Chart at number nineteen. The popularity of the song reached the European fan base more so than it did among North Americans at the timing of its release, but they have since warmed up to it, thanks to a number of remixes that seem to cater to more to the dance club scene.

#7 – Gotta Work

Amerie’s third studio album, Because I Love It, was released on May 11, 2007. The single, “Gotta Work,” was the second of two singles that would realize chart success as it peaked as high as number twenty-one on the UK Singles Chart and at number thirty on the Irish Singles Chart. Sample music from Emma Franklin’s 1969 song, Soul Sister, was featured in the single, along with a brassy, go-go style delivery that seems like it came from a juiced-up orchestra.

#6 – Talkin’ to Me

In 2002, “Talkin’ to Me” was the second of two singles released from Amerie’s debut album, All I Have. On the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, it peaked at number eighteen and charted as high as number fifty-one on the US Billboard Hot 100. Sensual, synth-heavy, and melodic guitar riffs add to the romantic appeal to this song, which made it such an appealing R&B track.

#5 – Why Don’t We Fall in Love

The first single for Marie was “Why Don’t We Fall in Love,” which was the leading track from her debut album, All I Have. In the UK, it was released first in 2001, then in the US in 2002. The CBS soap opera, The Young & The Restless, has also used the song as one of their promos and has been used on the American version of the video game, Donkey Konga 2. On the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, Why Don’t We Fall in Love peaked at number nine and charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number twenty-three. It also appeared on the UK Singles Chart at number forty.

#4 – Take Control

“Take Control” came from Amerie’s third studio album, Because I Love It, which was released in 2007. On the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, it peaked at number sixty-six. The song performed better on the charts as on the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart at number five and was charted at number twenty-five on the Eurochart Top 100 Singles. The easy-listening vocals that are Amerie’s trademark lead into a mix of can’t resist but dance to a song that served as a favorite among the clubs that cater to R&B style music.

#3 – Paradise (featuring LL Cool J)

In 2002, “Paradise” was released as a single from LL Cool J’s ninth studio album, 10, In 2003, it appeared on the soundtrack to the motion picture, Deliver Us from Eva. Originally, LL Cool J’s costar from the movie, Gabrielle Union, was to record the song with him, but Amerie was chosen instead. The song charted globally and peaked at its highest number fourteen on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at number eighteen on the UK Singles Chart. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it charted at number thirty-six.

#2 – I Don’t Care (featuring Ricky Martin and Fat Joe)

Ricky Martin’s eighth studio album, Life, was released in 2005, which featured the single, “I Don’t Care.” The combined talent of Martin’s Latino edge with Fat Joe’s hip-hop style and Amerie’s R&B influence made this song a preferred choice by the Olympics Committee for its 2006 Winter Olympics closing ceremony. A globally charted success, I Don’t Care peaked as high as number three on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart and at number sixty-five on the US Billboard Hot 100.

#1 – 1 Thing

In 2005, “1 Thing” became Amerie’s most successful hit of all time. It was also the first time she would have a single reach number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On the US Billboard, it peaked at number eight. 1 Thing came from Amerie’s second studio album, Touch, which was released on April 26, 2005. It is also the only romantic single associated with the 2005 romantic comedy film, Hitch. The 1970’s song, Oh, Calcutta! had some of its funk installed into Amerie’s single, whose vocals added a sexual vibe that helped earn it positive reviews from both the fans and the critics.