Fortunate (song)
title: "Fortunate (song)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1999-singles", "songs-written-by-r.-kelly", "songs-written-for-films", "music-videos-directed-by-francis-lawrence", "1998-songs", "columbia-records-singles", "song-recordings-produced-by-r.-kelly", "maxwell-(musician)-songs", "contemporary-r&b-ballads", "soul-ballads", "1990s-ballads"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortunate_(song)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Fortunate |
| cover | MaxwellFortunate.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Maxwell |
| album | Life Soundtrack |
| released | March 3, 1999 |
| recorded | 1998 |
| genre | Neo soul |
| length | 4:59 |
| label | Columbia, Rockland, Interscope |
| writer | Robert Kelly |
| producer | R. Kelly |
| prev_title | Matrimony: Maybe You |
| prev_year | 1998 |
| next_title | Let's Not Play the Game |
| next_year | 1999 |
| :: |
| name = Fortunate | cover = MaxwellFortunate.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Maxwell | album = Life Soundtrack | released = March 3, 1999 | recorded = 1998 | studio = | venue = | genre = Neo soul | length = 4:59 | label = Columbia, Rockland, Interscope | writer = Robert Kelly | producer = R. Kelly | prev_title = Matrimony: Maybe You | prev_year = 1998 | next_title = Let's Not Play the Game | next_year = 1999
"Fortunate" is a neo soul song from the 1999 motion picture Life and was released on the film's soundtrack. The song was written, composed, produced and arranged by R. Kelly and recorded by Maxwell. "Fortunate" was awarded Best R&B Single of the Year at the Billboard Music Award and Best R&B/Soul Single (Male) at Soul Train Music Awards. Maxwell was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Male Vocalist and also nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for Favorite Song of the Year.
The song, Maxwell's biggest hit to date, spent eight weeks at number one on the US R&B chart and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It is his first number-one R&B hit, eventually followed by "Pretty Wings" in 2009.
According to R. Kelly, Maxwell didn't want to sing "Fortunate". Instead, he wanted to sing the song "Life" - which Kelly gave to K-Ci & JoJo. Kelly rejected Maxwell's idea because he felt that the neo-soul singer wouldn't have been believable singing a song from the perspective of a prison inmate.
Charts
Weekly charts
::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for "Fortunate""] | Chart (1999) | Peak position | Australia (ARIA) | |---|---|---| | 52 | | | ::
Year-end charts
::data[format=table title="Year-end chart performance for "Fortunate""]
| Chart (1999) | Position | US Billboard Hot 100 |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | ||
| :: |
Certifications
|}
References
References
- (11 April 2013). "Q&A: R. Kelly – The Mind Of A Mad Genius". SpinMedia.
- {{cite Ryan
- "Billboard Top 100 - 1999".
- (January 22, 2000). "Best-Selling Records of 1999". BPI Communications Inc..
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::