Please

"Please" is a song by American recording artist Toni Braxton. It was written by Scott Storch, Makeba Riddick, Vincent Herbert, and Kameron Houff for her fifth studio album, Libra (2005), while production was chiefly helmed by Storch. One out of several songs on the album to feature a more hard-edged production, "Please" is a spare, mid-tempo R&B and hip hop song with a heavy bottom and zippy strings. Lyrically, it talks about how to handle a temptation in a relationship. The track was released as the album's lead single to US rhythmic and urban AC radio formats on May 30, 2005. While "Please" reached number thirty-six on Billboards Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, it failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but instead reached number four on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, making it one of Braxton's lowest-charting singles yet. "Please" was the only single from Libra for which a music video, directed by Chris Robinson, was shot. Background In September 2002, while gearing up for the release of her album More Than a Woman, Braxton discovered she was pregnant with her second child and she was subsequently forced to cancel many scheduled performances due to complications. Executives at Arista Records were reportedly frustrated with the timing of her second pregnancy since it prevented her from doing the extensive promotion for More Than A Woman, and though Braxton asked to push the album's release to 2003, the label refused. Released in November 2002, More Than A Woman garnered lackluster sales and failed to produce a hit single. Disappointed by its performance, which Braxton attributed to the little promotion activities that the Arista management had arranged for her due to her second pregnancy, she requested her manager Barry Hankerson to obtain a release for her from any future recording obligations to the label. In March 2003, Braxton issued a press statement saying she was leaving Arista for Hankerson's Universal-distributed Blackground Records. Soon after, she began recording her Blackground debut with husband Keri Lewis. The pair worked on several tracks for Libra, about seven or eight songs which made the first record they turned in to Blackground and requested the singer to make significant changes to Libra, prompting them to book additional recording sessions with producers, including musician Scott Storch, to place it in more hard-edged productions.