| "Almost Doesn't Count" | ||||
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| Single by Brandy | ||||
| from the album Never Say Never | ||||
| Released | March 23, 1999 | |||
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| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
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| Brandy singles chronology | ||||
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"Almost Doesn't Count" is a song by American singer Brandy Norwood. It was written by Shelly Peiken and Guy Roche and recorded by Norwood for her second studio album, Never Say Never (1998). Atlantic Records consulted Fred Jerkins III to recut the song to be more consistent with the overall sound of the album. He would subsequently share production credit along with Roche. A pop and R&B-ballad combining elements of country, it incorporates Latin flavored riffs. The song's lyrics are based on an on-again, off-again relationship that Peiken had experienced during her college years.
The song was released as the fourth overall single from Never Say Never on March 23, 1999. "Almost Doesn't Count" received a positive response from most music critics, who called it one of the album highlights, with major praise for Norwood's vocal performance. A commercial success, "Almost Doesn't Count" hit the top twenty in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and on the US Billboard Hot 100. It earned Norwood her third Best Female R&B Vocal Performance nomination at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards and was awarded a BMI Pop Award in 2000.
The accompanying music video for "Almost Doesn't Count," filmed by Kevin Bray in the Lancaster area, depicts Norwood as an unnoticed wedding guest in the backyard of an expressway hotel, following the breakdown of her car in the Mojave Desert. Norwood performed the song in the 1999 made-for-television musical drama film Double Platinum, directed by Robert Allan Ackerman, and starring Diana Ross and herself. She included the song in the set-list of various live shows and future tours, including the Never Say Never World Tour, the Human World Tour and the Slayana World Tour.