“More Than a Woman” by Aaliyah

On “More Than a Woman”, Aaliyah is addressing someone whom she is very attracted to romantically. There is a slight sexual undertone, as in her fantasizing about what she will do to him in the sack if given the opportunity. But that fits into the overall theme of the tune, which is she exclaiming that she will be “more than a woman”, i.e. a very-exceptional lover overall, if the two of them actually do hookup.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Aaliyah's More Than a Woman at Lyrics.org.

Facts about “More Than a Woman”

“More Than a Woman” was written by Timbaland and Static Major (1974-2008), both of whom collaborated extensively with Aaliyah. Timbaland also produced the track.

The song can be found on Aaliyah’s final album, which was named after herself. It was released as part of the overall project on 7 July 2001. This was just about a month and-a-half before the songstress passed away. And shortly thereafter Virgin Records and Blackground Records also issued this track as the second single from “Aaliyah”.

Aaliyah did get a couple of opportunities to perform “More Than a Woman” before live audiences prior to her passing. In fact according to history this was the final song she performed live. The said performance took place on 25 July 2001 via “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”.

The music video to this track was directed by Dave Meyers. It proved to be quite a hit, winning a 2002 MOBO Award for Best Video. Also the song itself was nominated for a Grammy in 2003.

Interesting to note is that DJ Mark Ronson makes an appearance on the video. And the clip itself was shot in Los Angeles.

When “More Than a Woman” was issued as a single, it marked the first Aaliyah song which was actually issued after her death. And it performed very well, most-notably topping the UK Singles Chart and also being certified Silver across the pond. Generally speaking it charted in almost 15 nations and in the process made 5 US-based Billboard lists, peaking at number 25 on the Hot 100 itself.

It has been noted that this song samples a track named “Alouli Ansa” (1993) by a Syrian vocalist named Mayada El Hennawy. This is despite the fact that said work is not officially credited on “More Than a Woman”.

Aaliyah’s “Aaliyah” Album

Aaliyah’s self-named album, “Aaliyah” was released on July 17 of 2001. It was released as the singer’s third and final studio album. The album is also known as the “The Red Album” due to the color of its packaging.

It was released through the following record labels:

  • Blackground Records
  • Virgin Records

Aside from “More Than a Woman”, the album had two other singles, namely “Rock the Boat” and “We Need a Resolution”.

On the singer’s return to the US from the Bahamas after a video shoot for the song, “Rock the Boat”, she died in a plane crash. She was just 22 years old.

2 Responses

  1. Anonymous says:

    What does “new bones in your closet” mean in more than a woman?

    • Anonymous says:

      I assume its referring to the expression ‘a skeleton in the closet’, a concealed shameful secret. The person the song is singing to must have a new shameful secret that they want to keep hidden. This is just a guess, as I don’t know the actual reason for the words in the song.

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