A Rose Is Still a Rose (song)

In 1994, Aretha Franklin began working on her first studio album since What You See Is What You Sweat (1991). That album resulted in her lowest sales and charting peak in her career at the time.^[3] In between that time, Franklin collaborated with Babyface on several songs that were included in her greatest hits collection, Greatest Hits: 1980-1994, including "Willing to Forgive", which became her first top 40 single in five years, which was to be followed by the studio album, which was delayed due to other commitments.

In 1995, fellow Arista label mate and honorary niece Whitney Houston handpicked Franklin to contribute to the soundtrack for Waiting to Exhale, where she recorded the ballad "It Hurts Like Hell". Franklin's vocals for the song showcased a higher mezzo soprano vocal, recalling her Atlantic Records period, which was accomplished after Franklin had quit chain smoking cigarettes in early 1992.^[4]

During the first fifteen years of her Arista tenure, Franklin had mostly sung under a deeper, raspier contralto as a result of vocal damage from chain smoking. The Waiting to Exhale soundtrack was a hit, selling over 12 million copies worldwide, leading to contemporary R&B producers offering to produce Franklin's next album, which finally started production in 1997. Among those younger producers were Lauryn Hill of the Fugees, who offered Clive Davis and Franklin her composition, "A Rose Is Still a Rose", to which the pair accepted.

Larry Flick from Billboard described the song as "a sleek, jeep-styled cruiser that matches her with Lauryn Hill of the Fugees," noting that "it's an absolutely electric union that results in Franklin's strongest, most instantly pop-viable single in eons. Hills dresses the track in fashionable shuffle-funk beats, a snaky bassline, and jiggly wah-wah guitars, leaving the legendary singer plenty of room to flex and vamp to maximum effect." He also added, "Kids will dig the contemporary vibe of the track (and, it is hoped, use this single as a springboard into a deeper exploration of Franklin's plush catalog), while more mature listeners will bond with the sage, almost motherly tone of the lyrics. A li'l something for everyone."^[5]

Jeremy Helligar from Entertainment Weekly said that "A Rose Is Still a Rose" "doesn't match the soulful finesse of "Spanish Harlem", but when Lady Soul sings about a rose, something divine happens." He concluded, "Even after a dozen listens, the song's it's-his-problem-not-yours message doesn't lose its bloom."^[6] After the passing of Franklin in 2018, Alexis Petridis from The Guardian wrote, "The late 90s attempt to give Franklin a hip-hop/neo soul-influenced makeover didn’t really work, except on the album’s Lauryn Hill-penned title track. The beat and the lyrical references to “flossin’” are contemporary, but the singer sounds unfazed, delivering a coolly controlled performance."^[7] Music Week stated that the single "will produce another hit for both these accomplished musicians. The combination of Lauryn's laid-back hip hop style and Aretha's powerful voice means the track will appeal to all markets. The most contemporary track released by Aretha lately, it is now in the top five of the RM Club Chart."^[8] A reviewer from People Magazine named it the best song of the album.^[9]

The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 43 and number ten on the Hot R&B Singles charts on March 14, 1998.^[10][11] Eventually, it reached its peak of number 26 and number 5 on the respective charts on May 2.^[12][13] It spent 18 and 25 cumulative weeks respectively on the Hot 100 and R&B singles charts.

"A Rose Is Still a Rose" became a sleeper hit for Franklin, producing her best singles chart results since the mid-1980s. It would be her 43rd -- and final top 40 pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100 nearly 37 years after first reaching the top 40 with her rendition of "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" in 1961. It was her last top ten single on the Hot R&B Singles chart and her pentimulate top forty hit on that chart.

An accompanying music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Lauryn Hill and designed by Ron Norsworthy. It features Franklin, Hill and other female R&B singers such as Faith Evans, Changing Faces, Amel Larrieux and actress Elise Neal as protagonists along with A Tribe Called Quest rapper, Q-Tip.