Please (Toni Braxton song)

Background

In September 2002, while preparing for the release of More Than a Woman, Braxton became pregnant with her second child and had to cancel many performances due to complications. Arista Records executives were reportedly frustrated by the timing, as it limited promotion for the album. Released in November 2002, More Than a Woman sold poorly and produced no hit single. Braxton attributed this to insufficient promotion arranged by Arista due to her pregnancy, and asked her manager Barry Hankerson to secure her release from future recording obligations with the label.

In March 2003, she announced she was leaving Arista for Hankerson's Blackground Records, distributed by Universal. She began recording her Blackground debut with her then-husband Keri Lewis, completing about seven or eight songs for Libra. Blackground requested significant changes, leading to additional sessions with producers including Scott Storch to give the album a harder edge.

Composition and lyrics

"Please" was written by Scott Storch, Makeba Riddick, Kameron Houff, and Vincent Herbert, with Storch handling production. Vocal production was overseen by Keri Lewis, and background vocals were provided by Braxton's younger sister Tamar, Riddick, Kim Johnson, and Keri Hilson. Musically, it is an upbeat R&B and hip-hop song about handling temptation in a relationship. Braxton opens with the lines, "I know you watching all over here, trying to find a way to come into my situation, because you should know that it is so good to be cool."

Release and reception

In May 2005, MTV News reported a new Braxton single produced by Scott Storch. "Please" was released to US rhythmic and urban AC radio formats on May 30, 2005. A promotional CD was issued in 2005, but Blackground and Universal Records produced no physical CD single for the track; a different promo CD was released in Europe. Braxton promoted the song with performances on The Ellen Show alongside her sisters, the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and Live with Regis and Kelly.

She later performed it on her 2006 Libra Tour and 2013 Summer Tour in a medley with "Take This Ring." Critical reception was mixed: The Baltimore Sun noted it "hasn't exactly been a runaway hit," Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine called it "forgettable," while Allmusic's Andy Kellman selected it as a standout track. Commercially, it peaked at number 36 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming Braxton's lowest-charting lead single at the time.