“Yesterday” by Toni Braxton (ft. Trey Songz)
Toni Braxton shows her emotions post-breakup after catching her partner cheating on her in “Yesterday”.
It’s truly heart-breaking when one catches their partner in an affair, especially when they choose not to be upfront about it when asked. There are many ways to find out about it such as the lingering of another person’s perfume on their clothes, visible regret on their face and how they act while lying to cover it up.
And this is exactly what Braxton has found from her partner, which made her realize what he has been up to.
However, she gave him “the benefit of the doubt” as like in any relationship, a level of trust is always established. In this case, it was given to the addressee despite the doubts the narrator had.
In the end, he proved her doubts right by committing the sin of cheating on her.
As the adage goes, “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”, the addressee realises their mistake a little too late (one would think it’s probably because they’ve been caught).
Accordingly, Braxton leaves his sorry a-s immediately because she knows she deserves better. Knowing he has messed up big time, Braxton’s lover desperately begs and apologizes in hopes of restoring the relationship, but it is apparently too late for that now because in Braxton’s eyes, he is “so yesterday” – a phrase she repeats again and again in the chorus.
When was “Yesterday” released?
“Yesterday” was the official lead single from Toni’s seventh album, which goes by the title “Pulse”. The song itself was launched as such via Atlantic Records on 29th September, 2009.
Credits for “Yesterday”
Braxton was one of the co-writers of “Yesterday”. She shares song writing credits with four other writers. They are in the persons of:
- Jerome Armstrong
- Terrence Battle
- Michael White
- Justin Franks (aka DJ Frank E)
Remix and Covers
There are officially two different versions of this song. There is the solo version (which is handled solely by Braxton). And there is the remix version (which features Trey Songz). Each version has its own music video. The music video for the remix version features Braxton’s collaborator, Trey, portraying the role of her boyfriend who cheats on her.
One of the most popular interpretations of “Yesterday” was done by English singer Conor Maynard alongside Lily Springall in 2010. The YouTube video of their cover went on to generate millions of views across the globe.
