Runaway Love (En Vogue song)

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"Runaway Love"
Single by En Vogue
from the album Runaway Love
ReleasedSeptember 27, 1993 (1993-09-27)
Genre
Length4:59
LabelEastWest
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Thomas McElroy
  • Denzil Foster
En Vogue singles chronology
"Love Don't Love You"
(1993) 		"Runaway Love"
(1993) 		"What Is Love"
(1993)
Music video
"Runaway Love" on YouTube

"Runaway Love" is a song by American R&B/pop group En Vogue, released in September 1993 by EastWest as the first single from the group's extended play (EP) Runaway Love. After the huge success of their second album, Funky Divas (1992), the single was released. It was written and produced by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster. Group members Cindy Herron and Terry Ellis share lead vocals, Dawn Robinson leads on the bridge, and spoken intro is by Maxine Jones. Elroy and Foster contributed vocals and spoken rap, their known as the alias FMob group. In the US, the song reached numbers 51 and 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100.

Reception[edit]

Commercial reception[edit]

The single was released to radio in late August 1993 and was immediately added to airplay rotation, debuting on the US Hot 100 Airplay at #31 the week of September 4, 1993. The physical single was not released until almost two months later, after maximum airplay had been reached, resulting in the failure of the single to peak within the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. In Europe, it debuted and peaked at number 83 in its first week on the Eurochart Hot 100 on 16 October 1993,[1] after charting in the UK, where it peaked at number 36. On the UK Dance Singles chart, it was more successful, reaching number ten,[2] as well as peaking at number nine on the European Dance Radio Chart.[3] "Runaway Love" was also a top-30 hit in Canada,[4] a top-50 hit in the Netherlands,[5] and a top-70 hit in Australia.[6]

Failure of the single to chart higher was possibly due to "Runaway Love" initially being available only on the EP. The EP had been released shortly after the single was issued and was considered an album not a single. However, the single manage to peak within the Top 20 on US Pop and US R&B airplay.[7]

Critical reception[edit]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic complimented the song as "great".[8] Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that here, the group are "stretching out nicely over a cool midtempo groove, juiced with the same quasi-hip-hop/funk flavors that fueled 'Hold On' and 'My Lovin''." He felt that those "warm and distinctive harmonies feel like a welcome visit from an old friend, while multiple lead vocals are appropriately diva-like, without an overload of hype."[9] Troy J. Augusto from Cash Box said it's a "comfortably groovin' song, seemingly familiar the first time you hear it, features all four Vogue'rs doing what they do best—melting hearts." He added, "Super confident vocals, En Vogue's bread and butter, will propel "Runaway Love" to the top of all the appropriate charts and playlists. Don't miss this one."[10] James Earl Hardy from Entertainment Weekly found that the song "prove [that] these divas have more in common with the Emotions and the Sweet Inspirations than with the Supremes."[11]

Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report complimented the writers for continuing to "demonstrate their production genius".[12] Another Gavin Report editor, Kelly Woo, called the song "a masterpiece of harmony and tight production that captures the energy of their earlier works. Their vocal performance is incomparable and uncompromising-perfection!"[13] Push from Melody Maker wrote, "The limp swingbeat swivel of "Runaway Love" [...] is drearier than watching Skelmersdale United take on Glossop Town on a wet Wednesday evening."[14] Pan-European magazine Music & Media remarked that, with "one foot in history and the other one in the swingbeat era, these girls are moving closer to becoming the Pointer Sisters of our time."[15] Ralph Tee from Music Week's RM Dance Update stated that the group "have never sounded sweeter than on this stylish, lilting two stepper with harmonies to send shivers down the spine."[16] Another RM editor, James Hamilton, described it as a "funkily wukka-wukked mumbling and cooing slinky roller".[17] James Hunter from Vibe complimented the groove's "gorgeus skating harmonies".[18]

Formats and track listings[edit]

Personnel[edit]

  • Backing Vocals – Maxine Jones
  • Guitar – Marlon McClain
  • Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Cindy Herron, Dawn Robinson, Terry Ellis
  • Keyboards, Drum Programming – Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy
  • Mixed, Engineer – Ken Kessie
  • Production coordinator – Angela Skinner, Marie McElroy
  • Producer, Executive-Producer – Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster

Charts[edit]

Chart (1993–1994) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[6] 62
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4] 24
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[20] 4
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[1] 83
Europe (European Dance Radio)[3] 9
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[21] 11
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[5] 46
UK Singles (OCC)[22] 36
UK Dance (Music Week)[2] 10
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[23] 27
US Billboard Hot 100[24] 51
US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[25]
with "What Is Love" 		17
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 15
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[27] 19
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[28] 14
US Cash Box Top 100[29] 43

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom September 27, 1993
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
 EastWest [30]
Japan October 25, 1993 Mini-CD [31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 42. October 16, 1993. p. 21. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. October 9, 1993. p. 28. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "European Dance Radio" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 47. November 20, 1993. p. 26. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Top RPM Singles: Issue 2291." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "En Vogue feat. FMob – Runaway Love" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  7. ^ En Vogue > US Airplay Chart history. Billboard
  8. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "En Vogue – Runaway Love". AllMusic. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  9. ^ Flick, Larry (August 28, 1993). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 63. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Augusto, Troy J. (September 4, 1993). "Pop Singles: Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 11. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Hardy, James Earl (September 24, 1993). "Runaway Love". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Sholin, Dave. "Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  13. ^ Woo, Kelly (August 20, 1993). "Urban: New Releases" (PDF). Gavin Report. p. 18. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  14. ^ Push (September 25, 1993). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 31. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  15. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 10, no. 41. October 9, 1993. p. 10. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  16. ^ Tee, Ralph (October 2, 1993). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 6. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  17. ^ Hamilton, James (October 2, 1993). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). p. 7. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  18. ^ Hunter, James (October 1, 1993). "Single File". Vibe. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  19. ^ En Vogue Runaway Love UK CD Single at EIL
  20. ^ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 2301." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  21. ^ "En Vogue – Runaway Love" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  23. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). October 9, 1993. p. 4. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  24. ^ "En Vogue Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  25. ^ "En Vogue Chart History (Dance Singles Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  26. ^ "En Vogue Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  27. ^ "En Vogue Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  28. ^ "En Vogue Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  29. ^ "Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. LVII, no. 9. October 23, 1993. p. 8. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  30. ^ "Single Releases". Music Week. September 25, 1993. p. 25. Misprinted as September 20.
  31. ^ "ランナウェイ・ラブ | アン・ヴォーグ" [Runaway Love | En Vogue] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved December 12, 2023.

External links[edit]

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