Riddle (song)

"Riddle" is a song recorded by American R&B group En Vogue. It was written by Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, along with band members Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, and Terry Ellis, for their fourth studio album Masterpiece Theater (2000), while production was helmed by Foster & McElroy. An angry mid-tempo song about a sneaking, cheating lover, "Riddle" is built around a clapping game motif, and interpolates the band's 1992 song "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)." Lyrically, it has the protagonist revealing her feelings about discovering that her love interest is having an affair with someone else over the course of the week.

"Riddle"
Single by En Vogue
from the album Masterpiece Theatre
Released	March 22, 2000
Length	4:04
Label	Elektra
Songwriter(s)	Denzil Foster Thomas McElroy Cindy Herron Maxine Jones Terry Ellis
Producer(s)	Foster & McElroy
En Vogue singles chronology
"No Fool No More" (1998) "Riddle" (2000) "Losin' My Mind" (2004)
Audio
"Riddle" on YouTube

En Vogue performed "Riddle" on several shows, including The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. "Riddle" was the last single to feature Maxine Jones before she left to make more time for her family. In 2008, all four original members reunited to perform at a music award show. The group also performed it at several shows during their "20th Anniversary Tour" in 2009, with Dawn Robinson reuniting with Cindy, Terry and Maxine with Dawn performing the second half of Maxine's verse.

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Riddle" received a mixed to positive reception from music critics. In his reviews of parent album Masterpiece Theater, Michael Paoletta from Billboard declared the song a "percolating single which unfolds like a direct descendant of the trio's past hits.^[1] His colleague Chuck Taylor felt that "Riddle" was another smash track from the band, thought he noted that while it "does have the group's signature sound, it also seems dated." He compared "Riddle" with the band's 1992 single "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" whose instrumentation is interpolated near the end of the song.^[2]

Chart performance

Norwegian record producing and songwriting team Stargate, composed of Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel Storleer Eriksen, was consulted to produce a radio edit of "Riddle," which contains even more elements of "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)".^[2] Additional remixes were provided by Tricky Stewart and Maurice Joshua.^[3] Commercially, though, the song failed to become a hit in the United States. "Riddle" was more popular overseas, reaching top 30 in the United Kingdom, while entering the top thirty in the Benelux states.

Music video

An accompanying music video was directed by Len Wiseman.^[4]

Track listings

All tracks written by Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, and Terry Ellis.

UK CD maxi single^[3]

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Riddle" (StarGate Radio Mix)	Foster & McElroy Stargate[a]	4:15
2.	"Riddle" (Red Zone Remix Edit)	Foster & McElroy Tricky Stewart[a]	4:08
3.	"Riddle" (Club Remix Edit)	Foster & McElroy Maurice Joshua[a]	4:00
4.	"Riddle" (Radio Edit)	Foster & McElroy	4:11

US 12" single

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Riddle" (Album Version)	Foster & McElroy	4:04
2.	"Riddle" (Radio Edit)	Foster & McElroy	4:11
3.	"Riddle" (Red Zone Remix Edit)	Foster & McElroy Stewart[a]	4:08
4.	"Riddle" (Red Zone Remix Instrumental)	Foster & McElroy Stewart[a]	4:11
5.	"Riddle" (Extended Club Remix)	Foster & McElroy Joshua[a]	4:15
6.	"Riddle" (Club Remix Instrumental)	Foster & McElroy Joshua[a]	4:08
7.	"Riddle" (Album Version Instrumental)	Foster & McElroy	4:04
8.	"Riddle" (Album Version Acapella)	Foster & McElroy	4:03

Notes

• ^{^[a]} denotes additional producer(s)

Personnel

Steve Counter – recording engineer James Early – guitar Terry Ellis – vocalist, writer Denzil Foster – instruments, producer, writer

Cindy Herron – vocalist, writer Maxine Jones – vocalist, writer Ken Kessie – mixing engineer Thomas McElroy – instruments, producer, writer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2000) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[5] 125 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 15 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 24 Croatia (HRT)[8] 1 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles)[9] 35 France (SNEP)[10] 22 Germany (GfK)[11] 62 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 28 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 28 Scotland (OCC)[14] 63 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 56 UK Singles (OCC)[16] 33 UK Dance (OCC)[17] 20 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[18] 8 US Billboard Hot 100[19] 92 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] 95 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[21] 35 US Rhythmic (Billboard)[22] 32

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[23] 77 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[24] 86

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Riddle"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label	Ref.
United States	March 22, 2000	CD single	Elektra	[25]
Germany	May 1, 2000	CD single maxi single		[11]
New Zealand	June 12, 2000	CD single cassette single		[26]
United Kingdom	June 19, 2000	12-inch single CD single cassette single	[27]

References

1. Paoletta, Michael (May 27, 2000). "Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
2. Taylor, Chuck (March 22, 2000). "Reviews & Previews". Billboard. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
3. En Vogue - "Riddle" UK Single at Discogs
4. "Len Wiseman | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
5. "En Vogue ARIA chart history". ARIA. Retrieved July 20, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
6. "En Vogue – Riddle" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
7. "En Vogue – Riddle" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
8. "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on July 6, 2000. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
9. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 29. July 15, 2000. p. 7. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
10. "En Vogue – Riddle" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
11. "En Vogue – Riddle" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – En Vogue" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
13. "En Vogue – Riddle" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
14. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
15. "En Vogue – Riddle". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
17. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
18. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
19. "En Vogue Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 02-03.
20. "En Vogue Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 02-03.
21. "En Vogue Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
22. "En Vogue Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
23. "Jaaroverzichten 2000" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
24. "Rapports annuels 2000" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
25. "Riddle – En Vogue". Amazon (US). Retrieved August 25, 2022.
26. "New Releases". netcd.co.nz. June 12, 2000. Archived from the original on June 15, 2000. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
27. "New Releases – For Week Starting June 19, 2000: Singles". Music Week. June 17, 2000. p. 23.