| "Sleeping with the One I Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Fantasia | ||||
| from the album The Definition Of... | ||||
| Released | May 26, 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2015 | |||
| Studio | Kennedy Compound (Hollywood) and Faircraft Studios (Brentwood) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:03 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | R. Kelly | |||
| Producer(s) | R. Kelly | |||
| Fantasia singles chronology | ||||
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"Sleeping with the One I Love" is a song recorded by American recording artist Fantasia for her fifth studio album, The Definition Of... (2016). Written and produced by R. Kelly, it was released on May 26, 2016 as the album's second single. Fantasia recorded the track as a way to expand her "rock soul" sound, which she had introduced on her previous release Side Effects of You (2013). She also used the song, and the album as a whole, to assert more creative control over her career.
A soul and blues ballad, its lyrics revolve around a woman's search for love, while being torn between her boyfriend and her lover. Media outlets had varying interpretations of the song's genre and content, with several attributing it as an example of soul and blues and describing it as containing jazz influences. Inspired by her past, Fantasia recorded the track to express her gratitude for getting through her past, negative relationships to grow as a person and form a more healthy romance. Commentators compared "Sleeping with the One I Love" to Ben E. King's 1963 single "I (Who Have Nothing)", James Brown's 1966 song "It's a Man's Man's Man's World", and Shirley Bassey's music, while Fantasia herself found similarities with her own 2005 single "Free Yourself".
Critics responded positively to "Sleeping with the One I Love", praising Fantasia's vocals and her collaboration with R. Kelly. It peaked at number seven on the Adult R&B Songs Billboard chart for the week of July 2, 2017. It was Fantasia tenth top-ten entry, and the second of the album's two top 20 singles, with "No Time for It" (2016) being the first. Fantasia performed the song during a July 28, 2016 concert broadcast on BET and the Fantasia & Anthony Hamilton: Live in Concert. A music video, directed by Derek Blanks, was released on June 26, 2016. Inspired by the American comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, the visual features Fantasia playing various characters in their pursuit of love while incarcerated. It received positive feedback from media outlets.