Love Again (Brandy and Daniel Caesar song)

"Love Again" is a song by American recording artist Brandy and Canadian recording artist Daniel Caesar from Caesar's second album Case Study 01 and Brandy's seventh album B7. It was released to streaming and digital outlets as a single on July 5, 2019.

"Love Again"
Single by Brandy and Daniel Caesar
from the album Case Study 01 and B7
Released	July 5, 2019
Recorded	2018
Genre	R&B
Length	3:34
Label	Brand Nu Golden Child eOne
Songwriter(s)	Brandy Norwood Ashton Simmonds Jordan Evans Matthew Burnett Mathew Leon Darhyl Camper, Jr. Edward Blackmon
Producer(s)	Evans Burnett
Brandy singles chronology
"I Could Be Wrong" (2018) "Love Again" (2019) "Freedom Rings" (2019)
Daniel Caesar singles chronology
"Who Hurt You?" (2018) "Love Again" (2019) "Peaches" (2021)

Background

In 2018, it was revealed that Daniel Caesar and Brandy Norwood were in the recording studio together.^[1] Both Norwood and Caesar were working on their respective albums at the time, and rumors of a duet began to arise. On June 28, 2019, Caesar released his second album Case Study 01, which featured the song. Norwood recorded a solo version of the song and released it as an online lyric video on June 19, 2020, as promotion for her seventh studio album, B7.^[2]

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. Gil Kaufman from Billboard noted that the song "perfectly blends Brandy's signature breathy, sultry vocals and Caesar's soulful singing."^[3] The Daily Californian praised the song in its review of Caesar's album, comparing it to Caesar's duet with R&B singer H.E.R., calling the song "sweet and sanguine," while noting that vocally "Caesar's siren cadence melds delectably into Brandy's low, riff-filled croons."^[4] Robin Murray for Clash Music also praised the song, calling it the "perfect collaboration" and a "neat balance between raw youth and experience."^[5] Holly Gordon of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation also gave the song a positive review, calling it a "slow burn of an earworm that is begging for a smooth set of repeats."^[6]

In a dissatisfied review of Caesar's album, Vice gave the song a positive review, specifically praising Brandy's vocals and contribution, noting Brandy's "growling passion," saying that she sounds "as youthful as she did [on albums like 1998's Never Say Never]. Overall, Vice concluded that the song "is a great reminder for anyone who had ever discounted her legacy in R&B".^[7] Now regarded the song "one of the simplest songs on the album," but also referred to it as "one of the best [songs on the album]."^[8]

Release and impact

"Love Again" debuted on June 28, 2019, with worldwide premiere on iHeartRadio, playing on the hour every on the hour.^{[citation needed]} Following its release, the song debuted at number 24 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and was the most added song at Urban AC radio format for three consecutive weeks.^{[citation needed]} Internationally, it debuted at number 95 on the Canadian Hot 100, and at number 15 on the New Zealand Hot 40 Singles chart.^[9] The song was then released as a single via digital download and streaming on July 5, 2019.

Music video

An official lyric video was released on August 20, 2019. The visual was created by Charles Johnson Jr.^[10][11]

Accolades

"Love Again" received a nomination for Best R&B Performance at the 62nd Grammy Awards. It lost to Anderson Paak and André 3000's "Come Home" (2019).^[12]

Credits and personnel

Credits lifted from the liner notes of B7.^[13]

Riley Bell – mixing, mastering Edward Blackmon – writer Paul Boutin – recording engineer Matthew Burnett – writer, producer, instruments, programming Daniel Caesar – performer, writer Darhyl Camper, Jr. – writer, additional keyboards

Jordan Evans – writer, producer, instruments, programming Morning Estrada – recording engineer Matthew Leon – writer Brandy Norwood – performer, writer Gabriel Placentia – assistant engineer

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "Love Again" Chart (2019) Peak position New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[9] 15 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14] 95 US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[15] 24 US Adult R&B Songs (Billboard)[16] 1 US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (Billboard)[17] 21 US Rolling Stone Top 100[18] 98

Year-end charts 2019 year-end chart performance for "Love Again" Chart (2019) Position US Adult R&B Songs (Billboard)[19] 20 2020 year-end chart performance for "Love Again" Chart (2020) Position US Adult R&B Songs (Billboard)[20] 44

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[21]	Gold	40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[22]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, release format, label, and reference

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	July 5, 2019	digital download streaming	Brand Nu, Inc. eOne Golden Child Recordings	[23]

References

1. Folk, Antwane (April 24, 2018). "Brandy and Daniel Caesar Hit the Studio". Ratedrnb.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
2. "Brandy - Love Again (Lyric Video)". YouTube. June 19, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
3. "Brandy Teams with Daniel Caesar For Super Chill 'Love Again': Listen". Billboard.
4. Staff, Maisy Menzies | Senior (July 7, 2019). "Daniel Caesar might still have it, but not on 'CASE STUDY 01'". The Daily Californian.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
5. "R&B Legend Brandy Releases New Daniel Caesar Team Up 'Love Again'". Clash Magazine. 5 July 2019.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2019-07-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. Corry, Kristin (June 28, 2019). "It Will Take More Than a Brandy Feature to Forget Daniel Caesar's Dumb Misstep".
8. Trapunski, Richard (June 28, 2019). "Review: Daniel Caesar is still figuring things out on Case Study 01". NOW Magazine.
9. "Hot 40 Singles – 8 July 2019". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
10. "Love Again (Brandy & Daniel Caesar) Lyric video". YouTube. August 20, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
11. "Brandy & Daniel Caesar Get Their Message Across In The 'Love Again' Lyric Video". Soul Bounce. August 22, 2019. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
12. Anderson, Trevor (November 22, 2019). "Brandy Earns Career First as Daniel Caesar Duet 'Love Again' Tops Adult R&B Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
13. B7 (booklet). Brandy. Brand Nu Inc, eOne. 2020.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
14. "Brandy Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
15. "Brandy Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
16. "Brandy Chart History (Adult R&B Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
17. "Brandy Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
18. "Top 100 Songs". Rolling Stone. January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
19. "2019 Year End Chart: Adult R&B Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
20. "Adult R&B Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
21. "Canadian single certifications – Daniel Caesar – Love Again". Music Canada. May 25, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
22. "American single certifications – Brand – Love Again". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
23. "Love Again - Single". iTunes (Apple). Retrieved May 9, 2020.