Stole (song)

During recording their third album, Survivor (2001), Destiny's Child announced that members of the group would disband for a short period to produce solo albums in the coming years, which they hoped would boost interest to Destiny's Child.{{Cite news |last=van Horn|first=Teri |title=Destiny's Child Solo CDs Won't Compete With Group, Each Other|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1375022/20001208/destinys_child.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010714102243/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1375022/20001208/destinys_child.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 14, 2001 |work=MTV News |date=December 8, 2000 |accessdate=April 24, 2008}} With different types of music for each member to produce, Kelly Rowland and her bandmates Beyoncé Knowles and Michelle Williams were not intended to compete on the charts, and thus, Destiny's Child's management strategically planned to stagger every year each member's album.{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=Gil |title=Destiny's Child's Long Road To Fame (The Song Isn't Called Survivor For Nothing) |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504044/20050613/destinys_child.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050616030354/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1504044/20050613/destinys_child.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 2005 |work=MTV News |date=June 13, 2005 |accessdate=April 24, 2008}} Whilst Williams was the first to release a debut solo album, Heart to Yours (released in April 2002), the unexpected success of Rowland's collaboration with American rapper Nelly on the song "Dilemma" caused the label to advance the release date of her debut solo album, Simply Deep, to late 2002, replacing it with Knowles' solo debut Dangerously in Love (2003). As a result, Rowland was requested to rush the recording of the album within three weeks to get done, and as no time was left to produce any new material, "Stole"—as with many songs on the album—was selected out of Sony Music's song pool of demo tapes.{{Cite news|last=Moss |first=Corey |title=Nelly Hit Forces Change In Plans For Destiny's Child LPs |url=http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1456206/20020722/destinys_child.jhtml |work=MTV News |publisher=VH1 |date=July 22, 2002 |access-date=May 31, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022134409/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1456206/destinys-child-solo-lps-shift-dates.jhtml |archive-date=October 22, 2012 }}{{Cite news|first=Joanna |last=Chaundy |title=Kelly Rowland: Single Black Female |url=http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/100/kelly_rowland/ |work=Blues & Soul |date=July 2, 2007 |access-date=May 31, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705040558/http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/100/kelly_rowland |archive-date=July 5, 2012 }}

Image:Stole (song) sheet.jpg

"Stole", written and produced by Dane Deviller, Sean Hosein and Steve Kipner, is a midtempo pop rock ballad, which incorporates elements of R&B music. It is composed in the key of C major, and is in common time at ninety-six beats per minute.{{Cite web |title=Product Information on 'Stole'|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0045079|work=Musicnotes| date=September 3, 2003 |accessdate=July 8, 2008}} It is written in the common verse-chorus form and features four instruments: electric guitar, drums, guitar, and keyboards. Rowland's vocal range covers close to two octaves; she performs her highest pitch (D5) during the chorus, and her lowest pitch (E3) at the beginning of the verses. "Stole" is thematically a social commentary as well as a lament for unfulfilled potential.

"It tells a story about each of their lives and what they go through and how their lives were taken away from them," Rowland remarked in an interview with CNN's The Music Room,{{cite web|title=Kelly Rowland pursues her own destiny|work=CNN/Entertainment (The Music Room)|date=January 23, 2003|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/01/23/mroom.rowland/index.html|accessdate=March 26, 2008}} "I loved the song when I heard the lyrics and I hoped it would hopefully touch young people and inspire. I don't mean to sound preachy 'cos it's still got a great melody and a great musical feel behind it but it was just such a great song [...]."{{cite web|date=January 9, 2003|title=Kelly chatted on 9th January 2003|work=BBC|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/totp/artists/r/rowland_kelly/chat/page1.shtml|accessdate=July 8, 2008}}

"Stole" received generally mixed reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Jon O'Brien named the song one of the album's highlights along with "Can't Nobody", "Dilemma" and "Everytime You Walk Out That Door" and called it a "rock-tinged [...] emotive tale of school shootings and suicides."{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/simply-deep-r613495|title=Simply Deep – Kelly Rowland|website=AllMusic|accessdate=December 28, 2019}} Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian found that the "silky" song emphasized that Rowland's "speciality is the slightly funky party number with a moralising overtone."{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/feb/07/popandrock.artsfeatures1|title=Kelly Rowland: Simply Deep|last=Sullivan|first=Caroline|date=February 7, 2003|newspaper=The Guardian|accessdate=December 28, 2019}} Chuck Taylor from Billboard found that it was proving "that Rowland is willing to take a risk to prove a point [...] She will likely gain a whole new fan base with her combination of social commentary and impressive vocal talent."{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cw0EAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22SIMPLY+DEEP%22+stole&pg=PA24|title=Reviews & Previews - Spotlights|publisher=Billboard|first=Chuck|last=Taylor|accessdate=June 5, 2022|page=24|date=October 5, 2002}} British morning newspaper The Independent called "Stole" Simply Deep{{'}}s "strongest track [...] a lament for unfulfilled potential, especially that of smart kids victimised by dumb thug culture."{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-kelly-rowland-596924.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-kelly-rowland-596924.html |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Album: Kelly Rowland|date=February 7, 2003|newspaper=The Independent|accessdate=December 28, 2019}}

Lisa Verrico of The Times noted the song "tells stories of shattered dreams through a series of fictional characters, has a naggingly catchy chorus and [...] shows Rowland as a strong, smooth, versatile singer."{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article858930.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517040919/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article858930.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 17, 2011|title=Kelly Rowland: Simply Deep|first=Lisa|last=Verrico|date=January 31, 2003|newspaper=The Times|accessdate=December 28, 2019}} BBC Music editor Joy Dunbar found that the "Sade-influenced "Stole" which is about universal life experiences highlights Kelly's soulful, spine tingling singing voice."{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/qj63|title=The Release Of Kelly Rowland's Debut Album Simply Deep, Firmly Fixes The Spotlight On...|date=March 31, 2003|publisher=BBC Music|accessdate=December 28, 2019}} The Torch{{'}}s Frank DeBellis remarked that "Stole" is a "single that truly expresses Rowland’s talent and represents the sounds of the entire album."{{cite web|first=Frank|last=DeBellis|url=https://www.torchonline.com/uncategorized/2003/02/06/singer-steps-away-from-group-to-show-solo-talents/|title=Singer steps away from group to show solo talents|date=February 6, 2003|publisher=The Torch|accessdate=December 28, 2019}} Less impressed, Houston Chronicle journalist Michael D. Clark felt that "with minimalist vibrato, [...] "Stole" tells the tragic stories of characters who never realize their dreams of stardom. The drama unfolds at the pace of Xanax."{{cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/entertainment/music/article/Album-review-Simply-Deep-by-Kelly-Rowland-2097121.php|title=Album review: 'Simply Deep' by Kelly Rowland|date=October 27, 2002|publisher=Houston Chronicle|accessdate=December 28, 2019}} Vibe journalist Craig Seymour called "Stole" a "dreadfully overwrought first single."{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyUEAAAAMBAJ|title=Revolutions|first=Craig|last=Seymour|date=December 1, 2002|publisher=Vibe|accessdate=December 28, 2019}}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The song was initially released in the United States on September 9, 2002, once the popularity of "Dilemma" began to fade.{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2002/RR-2002-09-05.pdf|title=Going for Adds|magazine=Radio & Records|issue=1469|page=27|date=September 5, 2002|access-date=May 9, 2021}} On September 28, 2002, the song debuted at number seventy-six on the US Billboard Hot 100, with former still remaining on number-one.{{Cite magazine|title=The Billboard Hot 100 (2002-09-28)|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/search/detailed_chart_display.jsp?g=s&cd=Sep-28-2002&f=The_Billboard_Hot_100&model.chartId=3046965|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|accessdate=July 3, 2008|archive-date=May 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521195222/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/search/detailed_chart_display.jsp?g=s&cd=Sep-28-2002&f=The_Billboard_Hot_100&model.chartId=3046965|url-status=dead}} It took another nine weeks until the single reached its peak position at number twenty-seven on November 30, 2002.{{Cite magazine|title=The Billboard Hot 100 (2002-11-30)|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/search/detailed_chart_display.jsp?g=s&cd=Nov-30-2002&f=The_Billboard_Hot_100&model.chartId=3047661|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|accessdate=July 3, 2008|archive-date=May 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521195302/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/search/detailed_chart_display.jsp?g=s&cd=Nov-30-2002&f=The_Billboard_Hot_100&model.chartId=3047661|url-status=dead}} It would remain Rowland's highest-charting single as a leading solo artist on the US Hot 100 until the release of her 2011 single "Motivation" (featuring Lil Wayne). More successful on Billboard's component charts, "Stole" reached the top twenty on the Top 40 Tracks and the Mainstream Top 40 charts, while its remixes peaked at number twenty-four on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.{{Cite magazine|title=Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales (2002-11-30)|url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/search/detailed_chart_display.jsp?g=s&cd=Nov-30-2002&f=Hot_Dance_Music/Maxi-Singles_Sales&model.chartId=3047657|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|accessdate=July 8, 2008}}

In Norway, it became Rowland's second top ten entry as a solo artist, debuting at number ten and peaking at number six the next week, and staying on the chart for nine weeks. In Switzerland, the single debuted on February 9, 2003, at number twenty-four and jumped to the twelfth position the next week, reaching a peak position of nine for a single week, and remaining on the chart for fifteen weeks. Scoring its highest-peaking position in Ireland and the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number three and two respectively, the song would remain Rowland's biggest-charting solo success Europe-wide until the release of her equally successful 2008 single "Work", excluding "Dilemma" and "When Love Takes Over" (with David Guetta). The song became Rowland's fifth best selling solo single in the United Kingdom with 210,000 copies being sold as of November 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/x-factor/kelly-rowland%E2%80%99s-official-top-10-coming-to-mtv |title=Unreality TV: The UK's BIGGEST Reality TV Blog |work=Unreality TV |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210200935/http://www.unrealitytv.co.uk/x-factor/kelly-rowland%E2%80%99s-official-top-10-coming-to-mtv/ |archive-date=December 10, 2011 }}

Image:Hamilton High - LAUSD - Los Angeles, California, U.S. - 2023 September 02.jpg in Los Angeles (pictured).]] A music video for "Stole" was filmed by Moroccan-American director Sanaa Hamri in Los Angeles, California in mid-2002 and depicts a group of students who have their lives stolen through teenager issues.{{Cite web|title=BET's Access Granted: Stole|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqFt73AHlf0 |work=Access Granted| date=June 13, 2013 |via=YouTube|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/fqFt73AHlf0 |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |url-status=live|accessdate=December 26, 2019}}{{cbignore}} With the song touching on the topic of school violence, portions of the visuals were shot at the Alexander Hamilton High School in the Castle Heights neighborhood within the Westside of Los Angeles. Production was helmed by Melissa Larsen for Anonymous Content, with Tina Knowles serving as Rowland's stylist.{{Cite news|title=Production information on "Stole" music video|url=http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=32036|work=MVD Base|accessdate=July 9, 2008}} Filming was tracked by BET series Access Granted. Rowland is seen wearing a shirt that has a picture of rapper The Notorious B.I.G. on the left side and another picture of rapper Tupac Shakur on the right side.

In the clip, Rowland is seen acting as an unseen character singing to the audience, while explaining what is going on. The first scene is of Jonathan, a young man getting up to go to school, then he goes downstairs to see his sister and distraught mother with a black eye, who had obviously been beaten by his father. Thoroughly depressed, he goes to school, walks into one of the bathroom stalls and shoots himself. Mary, a girl who is an aspiring actress and is alluded to have known Jonathan, walks by and hears the shooting, goes into the bathroom, finds his body and calls the police. Rowland explains that after his death many of his classmates mentioned either never talking to the boy or treating him like an outsider. Another sequence of the video shows Mary going to a doctor's appointment and finding out that she is pregnant. As the song explains, that unexpectedly ends her once promising dream of movie stardom. Next we see a group of young boys on a basketball court, one boy in particular, Greg, who, as Rowland explains, dreamed of becoming a star basketball player. Then the boys glance over at a group of their classmates, obviously not on good terms, then Greg is shot and dies. Mary is later seen with her newborn child, writing "Think before you act" on a class mural dedicated to the two deceased boys.

{{tracklist

| headline = US CD single

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Stole

| note1 = Pop Edit

| writer1 = {{hlist|Dane Deviller|Sean Hosein|Steve Kipner}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| length1 = 3:55

| title2 = Stole

| note2 = D. Elliott Dreambrotha Mix

| writer2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Damon Elliott{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length2 = 3:55

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = International CD single

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Stole

| note1 = Album Version

| writer1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| length1 = 4:10

| title2 = Stole

| note2 = Pop Edit

| writer2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| length2 = 3:56

| title3 = Stole

| note3 = D. Elliott Dreambrotha Mix

| writer3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Elliott{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length3 = 3:57

| title4 = Stole

| note4 = H&D Nu Soul Mix

| writer4 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Hula & Dejion{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length4 = 3:04

| title5 = Stole

| note5 = Maurice's Nu Soul Mix

| writer5 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Maurice Joshua{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length5 = 7:41

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = European CD single

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Stole

| note1 = Album Version

| writer1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| length1 = 4:10

| title2 = Stole

| note2 = The Gladiator Remix

| writer2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Ron G.{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length2 = 3:56

| title3 = Stole

| note3 = D. Elliott Dreambrotha Mix

| writer3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Elliott{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length3 = 3:57

| title4 = Stole

| note4 = Maurice's Nu Soul Mix

| writer4 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Joshua{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length4 = 7:41

| title5 = Stole

| note5 = Bear Who? Nu DnB Mix

| writer5 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Bear Who{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length5 = 7:05

| title6 = Stole

| note6 = Music video

| length6 = 3:56

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = UK 12-inch promo

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Stole

| note1 = H&D Nu Soul Mix

| writer1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Hula & Dejion{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length1 = 3:04

| title2 = Stole

| note2 = Album Version

| writer2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| length2 = 4:10

| title3 = Stole

| note3 = Azza New Soul Mix

| writer3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Azza Singers{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length3 = 4:32

| title4 = Stole

| note4 = D. Elliott Dreambrotha Mix

| writer4 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Elliott{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length4 = 3:57

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = UK CD1 single

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Stole

| note1 = Album Version

| writer1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| length1 = 4:10

| title2 = Stole

| note2 = Azza New Soul Mix

| writer2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Singers{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length2 = 4:32

| title3 = Stole

| note3 = featuring Solange Knowles

| writer3 = {{hlist|Troy Johnson|Solange Knowles}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Johnson|Knowles}}

| length3 = 3:22

| title4 = Stole

| note4 = Music video

| length4 = 3:56

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = UK CD2 single (The Club Remixes)

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title1 = Stole

| note1 = Album Version

| writer1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Colin Bassett|Tony Bean}}

| length1 = 4:10

| title2 = Stole

| note2 = H&D Nu Soul Mix

| writer2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Hula & Dejion{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length2 = 3:04

| title3 = Stole

| note3 = The Gladiator Remix

| writer3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|Deviller|Hosein|Kipner|Ron G.{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length3 = 3:56

}}

Notes

• {{sup|{{note|a|a}}}} denotes additional producer

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Simply Deep.{{cite AV media notes |title=Simply Deep|others=Kelly Rowland |date=2002|type=liner notes |publisher=Columbia Records}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• Dane Deviller – writing, production, programming, arrangement, guitar
• Sherree Ford – backing vocals, vocal arrangement
• Sean Hosein – writing, production, programming, arrangement
• Steve Kipner – writing, production, programming, arrangement

{{col-2}}

• Kelly Rowland – lead vocals
• Spider – engineering
• Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing
• Ethan Willoughby – mixing assistance

{{col-end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Stole"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=2002|certyear=2003|refname="singlesAus"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Kelly Rowland|title=Stole|award=Gold|relyear=2002|certyear=2016|certmonth=6|certday=16|source=radioscope|access-date=February 9, 2025|refname="singlesNZ"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Kelly Rowland|title=Stole|award=Silver|id=10799-3288-1|salesamount=293,000|salesref={{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/kelly-rowlands-official-top-10-biggest-songs__29487/|title=Kelly Rowland's Official Top 10 biggest songs |last=Copsey|first=Rob|date=April 17, 2020|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=April 17, 2020}}|access-date=May 9, 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Kelly Rowland}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2002 singles

Category:2003 singles

Category:Kelly Rowland songs

Category:Music videos directed by Sanaa Hamri

Category:Songs about suicide

Category:Songs written by Steve Kipner

Category:Songs written by Dane Deviller

Category:Songs written by Sean Hosein

Category:2002 songs

Category:Columbia Records singles

Category:Songs about bullying

Category:Songs about loneliness

Category:Songs about teenagers

Category:American pop rock songs

Category:Contemporary R&B ballads