"Try Again" is a song recorded by American singer Aaliyah for the soundtrack to Romeo Must Die (2000). After its initial release, it appeared as a bonus track on international editions of Aaliyah's eponymous third and final studio album (2001). Written by Static Major and Timbaland, with the latter producing it, it was released to Rhythmic contemporary radio stations by Blackground and Virgin Records on March 21, 2000. Musically, it is an R&B, electro, dance-pop, and trip hop song. It also includes influences from hip hop, EDM, and acid House. The intro contains an interpolation from Eric B. & Rakim's song "I Know You Got Soul" (1987). Lyrically, the narrator (Aaliyah) encourages a potential partner not to give up when she initially rejects his advances.
The song received critical acclaim from music critics for its innovative futuristic production. In retrospective reviews, critics have credited the song for helping "smuggle the innovative techniques of electronic dance music onto the American pop charts." In 2001, Aaliyah earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the song. Aside from its critical success, the song enjoyed commercial success as well. In the United States, it peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first single to reach number one based solely on airplay. Internationally, "Try Again" peaked within the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
An accompanying music video for "Try Again" was directed by Wayne Isham. It is a dance-heavy video that combines futuristic elements with re-created stunt scenes from the movie. In addition, Aaliyah's co-star Jet Li and producer Timbaland appear in the video. After its release, the video received acclaim from the music industry, winning Best Female Video and Best Video from a Film at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. The video also was nominated for Best R&B Clip and Maximum Vision Video at the 2000 Billboard Music Video Awards. In 2001, the video earned a nomination for Outstanding Music Video at the NAACP Image Awards. Throughout the years, critics have praised the video for its fashion and choreography, with many deeming Aaliyah's look iconic.
Background and production
In 1999, Aaliyah landed her first movie role in Romeo Must Die (2000), a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Aaliyah starred opposite martial artist Jet Li, playing a couple who fall in love amid their warring families. It grossed US$18.6 million in its first weekend, reaching number two at the box office. In addition to acting, Aaliyah served as an executive producer of the film soundtrack, to which she contributed four songs, including "Try Again". Aaliyah revealed that the production team "actually talked about the soundtrack before we even shot the movie".
"Try Again" was recorded at Sound on Sound Studios in New York City and was originally written as an inspirational song. According to engineer Jimmy Douglass, it was "written to inspire young people, but Barry [Hankerson] heard it and told them, 'It's got to be about love'." After all the changes were made to the song, the melody and hook remained the same but the lyrics became love-themed. It was written by Stephen "Static Major" Garrett and Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley, and produced by the latter.
Timbaland created the beat by accident while playing around with a keyboard. In an interview he stated, "I was playing with this keyboard," he began. "And it was a mistake, and my engineer Jimmy Douglass caught it. I said, 'Jimmy did you catch that lil rhythm?, [and] he said, 'I sure did. So [after] he caught it and played it back, I put the beat on it. I said, 'Ooo, chop it right there,' and he chopped it right there." During the production stages of the song, Rapper Jay-Z was one of the few people to hear it and he declared that it was going to be a hit. "When Jay-Z came in the studio, he was like, 'Oh my God,' and that's when I was like, 'Yeah, we got one,'" he said with a smirk, says Timbaland.