Heaven (Jay Z song)

"Heaven" is a song recorded by American rapper Jay-Z from his twelfth studio album Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013) featuring American recording artist Justin Timberlake. The song was written by Jay-Z, The-Dream, members of R.E.M., Adrian Younge, Timbaland, and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon while the production was handled by the latter two. During the song, Jay-Z touches on subjects of religious allegory and an interrogation of organized religion. The song has since peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles.

Background

On "Heaven", Jay-Z questions the meaning of religion and once again shoots down rumors that he is part of the secret organization Illuminati. He explained the song in a promotional video for Samsung saying,

The song indulges in religious allegory, and is one of the few songs on Magna Carta Holy Grail that touch upon existential and spiritual themes. Throughout the song he ponders faith, superstition and free thinking.

The songs features Jay-Z rapping a lyric of rock band, R.E.M.'s 1991 single "Losing My Religion". Following the album's release, former frontman of R.E.M. Michael Stipe told NME that he's "thrilled" and it was a "great honor", that Jay-Z included the lyrics in one of his songs.

Heaven (Los Lonely Boys song)

"Heaven" is the title of a popular song from 2004 by the American Tejano/Chicano rock band Los Lonely Boys. The song was written by brothers Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza, who comprise the foundation of the band, and it appears on their multi-platinum self-titled album.

Reception

Released as a single in mid-2004, "Heaven" reached the Top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at 16 in August. Later that year, the song began a sixteen week run at number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in October. It was also a minor hit at country radio, where it peaked at number 46.

AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek describes the song as "infectious" and draws comparisons to the music of Freddie King, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Los Lobos. He states that "Heaven" is "a single in the old sense of the word: killer hook, easy groove, a slippery but unmistakable bridge with a beautiful vocal to boot -- all coming in under four minutes."

Awards

The success of "Heaven" led to two Grammy Award nominations and one win for the band at the 47th Grammy Awards, held in early 2005. The song won in the category Best Pop Performance by a Duo group, while Los Lonely Boys were nominated in the category Best New Artist, losing out to Maroon 5.

Heaven (BeBe & CeCe Winans album)

Heaven is the third album released by brother and sister duo BeBe & CeCe Winans and their second released on Capitol Records. It was number one on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart.

Smooth jazz musician Lonnie Liston Smith covered the title song from his 1990 album, Love Goddess

Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams, featuring fellow singer Carl Thomas also covered the title song in the closing track from her 2002 solo debut, Heart to Yours.

Track listing

Charts

Singles

References

Platnum

Platnum are a British three-piece bassline vocal group from Manchester, UK, consisting of male vocalist Aaron Evers and female vocalists Mina Poli and Michelle McKenna. The trio are best known for providing the vocals on H "Two" O's 2008 single, "What's It Gonna Be?", which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart in February 2008. Platnum, who formed around 2004, have worked with DJs Jamie Duggan and Q as well as producers Virgo, H "Two" O and Nastee Boi.

The groups highly anticipated second single, "Love Shy (Thinking About You)" was released on 29 September 2008 and they have also started work on their debut album which became a mixtape. They were touring, supporting N-Dubz, in the UK in Autumn 2009.

Formation and early success

The group formed for a local talent show. The selected name for the new band was Urban Superstars, in around 2004. They did not win the competition, they then used their entry track Over the Heartache to showcase their talents to established members of the UK Bassline scene. The track proved popular, and a remix, by DJ Jamie Duggan, was awarded Bassline Heaven's Tune of the Year Award in 2006, In actual fact, Damien Thompson (A.K.A D-Tox) engineered and co-produced the track, but was not credited, as he was signed to the Reflective record label at the time. Nocturnal Records released the track on vinyl, in the same year. The track also had major interest from Ministry Of Sound, with the prospect of a major release, but an agreement could not be made between the singers and producers as to whose name would be credited first in the title. The group have met many other singers and producers such as Sacha and S.U.D.