| Forever More | |
| Cover: | Forever More-Puff Johnson.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Puff Johnson |
| Album: | Miracle |
| Length: | 5:05 |
| Label: | |
| Producer: | Narada Michael Walden |
| Next Title: | Over and Over |
| Next Year: | 1996 |
"Forever More" is a song by American singer Puff Johnson, released on April 30, 1996, as the first single from her only studio album, Miracle (1996). The ballad[1] was written by Johnson along with Sally Jo Dakota and Narada Michael Walden, while production was helmed by the latter, with Louis Biancaniello credited as associate producer.
Larry Flick from Billboard remarked that Johnson "effortlessly glides through this pop-sweetened R&B ballad", produced "with recognizable flair" by Walden. He added, "The song itself is a tad predictable but pleasantly executed. It is easy to imagine love-struck young girls swaying and singing along to this."[2] A reviewer from Music Week rated it four out of five, writing, "Columbia's smooth soul diva follows up her huge Over & Over with another seductive, Whitney-esque smoocher, which she penned with Narada Michael Walden and Jermaine Dupri. Radio will lap it up."[3] The magazine's Alan Jones commented, "Puff Johnson is a fine vocalist, rather like Whitney Houston without the frills, and this image is even more strongly evoked by Puff's majestic new single Forever More, which was co-authored by Narada Michael Walden, architect of many of Whitney's early career triumphs. It is a sonically soothing and memorable R&B ballad, lovingly embraced by Puff's tender vocals. It's one of those records that could hang around for a long time."[4]
In the United States, "Forever More" peaked at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 31 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number 22 on the Rhythmic Songs chart. "Forever More" charted the highest in New Zealand, where it peaked at number five on the New Zealand Singles Chart. Elsewhere, the song became a top-30 hit in both Australia and the United Kingdom, peaking at number 29 in both countries. It also charted in the Netherlands, peaking at number 91.
The song's accompanying music video was directed by Greg Masuak.[5] On his website, Masuak writes that the video was heavily edited to become a strictly African-American love story, although it was intended to be a multi-racial tribute to love.[6] In parts of the music video, Puff is seeing playing with an elephant.
Notes
Credits lifted from the liner notes of Miracle.[7]
| Chart (1996) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] | 41 | |
| US Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover (Billboard)[9] | 91 |
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | April 9, 1996 | Rhythmic contemporary radio | Work | [10] | |
| April 30, 1996 | CD | [11] | |||
| May 7, 1996 | Contemporary hit radio | [12] | |||
| Japan | June 21, 1996 | Mini-CD | Sony | [13] | |
| United Kingdom | March 31, 1997 | Columbia | [14] |