"Little Things"
Single by India Arie
from the album Voyage to India
ReleasedSeptember 10, 2002
Recorded2001
StudioAtlanta: Access Studios (recording), Patchwerk Studios (mixing)
Genre
Length3:29
LabelMotown
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Shannon Sanders
  • India Arie
India Arie singles chronology
"Brown Skin"
(2001)		 "Little Things"
(2002)		 "The Truth"
(2003)

"Little Things" is the first single released by American soul and R&B singer-songwriter India Arie from her second studio album Voyage to India. In 2003, the song won a Grammy award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance; the album also won, giving Arie her first two Grammy wins. Arie wrote the song with Hawk Wolinski, Shannon Sanders, Andre Fischer and Anthony Robertson—all of them musicians associated with the band Rufus. Arie produced the song with Sanders.

Arie began performing the song in her concerts starting in August 2002,[2][3] before the single was released on September 10,[4] preceding the album release by two weeks. The single entered the Billboard charts in mid-September 2002, and in October it peaked at number 33 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, staying on the chart for 33 weeks.[5] It peaked in November at number 89 on the Hot 100 chart.[6] At the end of 2002, Billboard listed the "Little Things" as the 41st most-played song on "Adult R&B" radio stations in the US during 2002.[7]

Arie said that the song was "about the lessons [she] learned last year" when she experienced difficulty balancing her career fame with her personal life.[8] The Washington Post praised the song as a "lilting paean to... life's simple pleasures".[9] The New York Times noticed that "Little Things" and "Slow Down" were the two "songs of self-encouragement" on Voyage to India.[10] The BBC observed that the song was similar to "Hollywood" from the 1977 Rufus album Ask Rufus, writing "the lift is discreet and in the best taste."[11]

Personnel

  • India Arie – lead and backing vocals, production
  • Shannon Sanders – keyboards, production
  • Ricky Quinones – guitar
  • Khari Simmons – bass
  • Forrest Robinson – drums
  • Kerisha Hicks – backing vocals
  • Tony Harrington – backing vocals
  • Avery Johnson – recording engineer

Charts

Chart (2002) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 89
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 33
UK Singles Chart 62

References

  1. ↑ "India.Arie Leads Image Awards Music Nominations". Billboard. 6 December 2002.
  2. ↑ "At the Pier, India.Arie's blues have strength". 23 August 2002.
  3. ↑ "India.Arie, PopMatters". 28 August 2002.
  4. ↑ "The Little Things - India.Arie | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  5. ↑ "India.Arie". Billboard.
  6. ↑ "The Hot 100". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-06-20.
  7. ↑ "Airplay Monitor". Billboard. December 20, 2002. p. 32.
  8. ↑ "India.Arie Shares Life Lessons on Voyage to India". MTV.
  9. ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/11/08/indiaarie-voyage-to-india-m/
  10. ↑ Decurtis, Anthony (22 September 2002). "A Soul Singer with a Vision of Beauty". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27.
  11. ↑ "BBC - Music - Review of India.Arie - Voyage to India".
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