Make Me a Song

For the off-Broadway show, see Make Me a Song (musical).

For the song by Eleanor Friedberger, see Rebound (Eleanor Friedberger album).

"Make Me a Song" is a song by American singer Kiley Dean. It was written by Candice Nelson, Walter "Lil Walt" Millsap and Timbaland for her unreleased debut album Simple Girl, while production was helmed by the latter, with additional production by Scott Storch. A rhythmic and lyrical push and pull in which Dean describes her journey to the studio to find the perfect melody and beat, the song references "Rock the Boat" (2001) by American R&B singer Aaliyah. Released as Dean's debut single, "Make Me a Song" peaked at number 99 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[1]

"Make Me a Song"
Single by Kiley Dean
Released	May 6, 2003
Recorded	Westlake Studios
Length	3:16
Label	Beatclub Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Candice Nelson Eric Seats Kiley Dean Rapture Stewart Stephen Garrett Tim Mosley Walter Millsap
Producer(s)	Timbaland
Kiley Dean singles chronology
"Make Me a Song" (2003) "Who Will I Run To?" (2003)

Background

"Make Me a Song" was written by Candice Nelson, Walter "Lil Walt" Millsap and Timbaland for Kiley Dean's unreleased debut album Simple Girl.^[2] Production was overseen by the latter, while additional production was provided by Scott Storch.^[2] The song contains a sample from singer Aaliyah's 2001 song "Rock the Boat." Due to the inclusion of the sample, Stephen "Static Major" Garrett, Eric Seats, and Rapture Stewart are also credited as songwriters. It also references to Aaliyah's "Young Nation", Missy Elliott's "Get Ur Freak On", Tweet's "Call Me" and Bubba Sparxxx's "Hootnanny".^[1]

Music video

In the music video for "Make Me a Song," Dean goes throughout her day in the studio. Two versions of the video were released: a TV version and an internet version.^{[citation needed]} American photographer Matthew Rolston directed one version.^[3] Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Bubba Sparxxx and Brandy make cameo appearances in the video.

Track listing

CD single^[4]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Make Me a Song" (radio edit)	3:16
2.	"Make Me a Song" (instrumental)	4:06

Credits and personnel

Kiley Dean – backing vocals, lead vocals, writer Jimmy Douglass – recording engineer Aaron Fessel – recording engineer Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering Stephen Garrett – writer Tim "Timbaland" Mosley – backing vocals, producer, writer

Candice Nelson – writer Eric Seats – writer Rapture Stewart – writer Scott Storch – co-producer Anthony Zeller – recording engineer assistant

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Make Me a Song"

Chart (2003)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot 100[1]	99
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[5]	54

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Make Me a Song"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	May 6, 2003	CD single	Beatclub Interscope	[6]

References

1. "Kiley Dean Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
2. Make Me a Song (booklet). Kiley Dean. Beat Club Records, Interscope Records. 2003.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. "Make Me a Song (CD, Single)". IMDb. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
4. "Matthew Rolston – Credits". cdandlp.com. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
5. "Kiley Dean Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
6. "Make Me A Song by Kiley Dean". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 7, 2023.