"Angel" is a song by Jamaican reggae artist Shaggy featuring Barbadian singer Rayvon. It is the second single from Shaggy's fifth studio album, Hot Shot (2000). The song interpolates the 1967 song "Angel of the Morning" and also samples the bassline of the 1973 song "The Joker" by American rock band Steve Miller Band. It was released to radio on 9 January 2001 as the follow-up to Shaggy's international number-one hit, "It Wasn't Me". "Angel" also proved to be successful, reaching number one in 12 countries, including Australia, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Composition The song interpolates the melody of the 1967 song "Angel of the Morning", written and composed by American songwriter Chip Taylor, that has been recorded numerous times and has been a hit single for various artists, including American singers Merrilee Rush and Juice Newton and also samples from the 1973 song "The Joker" by American rock band Steve Miller Band.
Commercial reception The song debuted at number 81 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending 30 December 2000. The song first entered the top 40 at number 39 on the week ending 20 January 2001. It peaked at number one on the chart week of 31 March 2001, for one week. According to Billboard writer Silvio Pietroluongo, "Angel" beat Crazy Town's "Butterfly" to number one by a margin of two points, which was the smallest gap between two singles since the magazine began having its charts stored digitally in 1985. It was also the second song to reach number one without a retail release, after Aaliyah's "Try Again" (2000), although physical formats would later be issued in the United States on 24 April 2001. "Angel" was the 17th-most-successful song of 2001 in the US and has sold 1,494,000 digital copies in the US as of April 2016.
Internationally, the song reached number one in Australia, Austria, Flanders, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, topping the Eurochart Hot 100 as well. In Australia, it peaked atop the ARIA Singles Chart for eight weeks, finishing fourth on the Australian year-end chart for 2001. It was also an enduring hit in Ireland, where it is the 20th-highest-selling single of all time.
Music video
The music video was directed by Cameron Casey. It features Shaggy and Rayvon relaxing in a private plane and driving around in luxury cars.
Track listings
US maxi-CD and Japanese CD single "Angel" (album version) "Angel" (remix) "Angel" (instrumental) "Angel" (live)
US 7-inch single A. "Angel" – 3:55 B. "Chica Bonita" – 4:02
US 12-inch single A1. "Angel" (album version) – 3:55 B1. "Angel" (Dance Hall remix) – 3:51 B2. "Angel" (Dance Hall remix instrumental) – 3:51
Australian and European maxi-CD single "Angel" (radio edit) — 3:31 "Angel" (Seabreeze mix) — 3:46 "It Wasn't Me" (Crash & Burn remix featuring Rikrok) — 5:37 "Angel" (enhanced video)
European CD single "Angel" (radio edit) — 3:31 "Angel" (Seabreeze mix) — 3:46
UK CD single "Angel" (radio edit) "Angel" (Crash & Burn remix) "Angel" (Seabreeze mix) "Angel" (video)
UK 12-inch single A1. "Angel" (Crash & Burn remix) AA1. "Angel" (Seabreeze mix) AA2. "Angel" (radio edit)
UK cassette single "Angel" (radio edit) "Angel" (Crash & Burn remix) "Angel" (Seabreeze mix)
Credits and personnel Credits are taken from the Hot Shot album booklet.
Studios Recorded at Big Yard Studios (Jamaica), Ranch Recording Studios (Valley Stream, New York), and HC&F Studio (Freeport, New York) Mixed at Ranch Recording Studios (Valley Stream, New York) Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)
Personnel
Steve Miller – writing Ahmet Ertegun – writing Eddie Curtis – writing Chip Taylor – writing Gordon Dukes – background vocals Robert Zapata – guitar Phillip George Henry – guitar Carlos Sanchez – keyboard Shaun "Sting" Pizzonia – drums, production, recording, mixing Chris Gehringer – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (2001)PeakpositionCanada CHR (Nielsen BDS)1Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)1Hungary (Mahasz)2Poland (Music & Media)2Portugal (AFP)1Romania (Romanian Top 100)25 Chart (2025)PeakpositionRomania Airplay (TopHit)95
Year-end charts Chart (2001)PositionAustralia (ARIA)4Australian Urban (ARIA)2Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)5Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)5Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)27Canada Radio (Nielsen BDS)15Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)9France (SNEP)44Germany (Media Control)9Ireland (IRMA)3Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)9Netherlands (Single Top 100)4New Zealand (RIANZ)34Romania (Romanian Top 100)80Sweden (Hitlistan)5Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)4UK Singles (OCC)8US Billboard Hot 10017US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)3US Rhythmic Top 40 (Billboard)7
Decade-end charts Chart (2000–2009)PositionAustralia (ARIA)64Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)34Netherlands (Single Top 100)23
All-time charts ChartPositionIreland (IRMA)20
Certifications and sales
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United States9 January 2001Rhythmic contemporary radioMCA30 January 2001Contemporary hit radio24 April 2001Maxi-CDJapan28 April 2001CDUniversal Music JapanAustralia28 May 2001MCAUnited Kingdom
Later versions German singer Max Raabe and Palast Orchester covered the song in a big band style, for his 2001 album, Super Hits 2. In 2001, the parody song "You Ripped Off Angel (of the Morning)" was released by Adam Posegate and received airplay on the Dr. Demento Show. R&B artist Bei Maejor did a version of this song sampling the chorus and the beat. It appeared on his mixtape Upsideown2. For the 20th anniversary re-recording of Hot Shot, Rayvon's part is performed by Sting instead.
See also
List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 2001 List of best-selling singles and albums of 2001 in Ireland List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2000s
References